"I am looking for some 2D-F8 Pennsy trucks. I don’t like the Kadee trucks because I don’t think the sprung trucks look prototypical. I have looked for Bowser and Red Caboose trucks but can’t find any. Does anyone have any suggestions for trucks that would look close?"
Previous responses (including some dating back to 2004) have covered this; however, here are several other things to consider:
- Bolster design changed over the lifetime of these trucks, with the Red Caboose trucks representing an earlier version and the Bowser trucks representing later trucks.
- Bowser charges a flat shipping fee of $9.95. Consider bundling your order with other items if you order directly to amortize the shipping.
- Additionally, Bowser included these trucks as stand-ins for AAR cast sideframe ("Bettendorf") trucks in non-PRR kits, particularly ACF covered hoppers, so you can rob trucks from those kits as you'll need to replace them anyway.
- Finally, consider the Kadee trucks with view blocks (to minimize the Ovechkin effect) for open cars as they'll add weight for tracking. (If you go that route for the Bowser hoppers and gons, you can then reuse those trucks for house cars).
