Ed,
Thanks for what, if accompanied by some photos, would be a nice
magazine article. If the MPHS/Amarillo club ART reefers will have
square corners then the new model will NOT be appropriate for the
1947 cars in series 26000-26299, right? We already have a model for
this car don't we?

Gene Green
Out in the west Texas town of El Paso

<snip> Beginning in 1939 and continuing to 1947, ART assembled cars

in their company shops in which AC&F furnished kits consisting
primarily of car sides and underframes. The side design was then
considered unique, having 4 side sheets per side (two each on

either

side of the door) that were joined with horizontal overlapping

seams

midway up the sides. Only 100 came in the first series, 24000-

24099,

with car 24000 built 11-39, followed by a number of other orders

that

ultimately came to 700 cars in series 24000-24699 by 1945. The ORER
shows the series going to 24999, but the last 300 cars in this

series

were never built. ART also lumped 1,021 all-steel cars built late

1936

(series 22979-23999) along with the 24000-series in their quarterly
reporting to the ORER.

In 1946 an additional 75 cars were constructed from AC&F kits,

series

35000-35049 and 36000-36024, making a total of 775 cars with 4/4
Dreadnaught Ends. A total of 450 cars (24000-24449) came with 4/4
Dreadnaught Ends with square corners. The rest of the cars came

with

4/4 Dreadnaught Ends with round corners.

I prepared an article about these cars in the Winter 2003 Eagle

MPHS

quarterly publication, however, all copies are now sold. In 1947

ART

assembled an additional 300 cars in series 26000-26299 that also

came

from AC&F kits, however, these cars had Improved Dreadnaught Ends.

I'm not aware of any other refrigerator car kits produced by AC&F

and

sold to other customers. AC&F did offer kits of other types of cars
(i.e., box car kits for B&O) that were assembled in railroad shops.

Incidentally, an HO-scale model representing ART cars with
square-corner ends is currently in work as a joint project with the
MPHS and Amarillo Railroad Museum. We have approved test shots of

the

car body having horizontal riveted seams that have been specially
tooled as a exclusive project for the MPHS and ARM. We are now in

the

approval process of the artwork and we hope to begin production in

the

near future. The ARM will take orders and distribute the models

when

they become available. The as-built scheme will be offered as

assembled

models and as decorated kits. Other paint and lettering schemes

used by

ART during post-1948 period will be offered as assembled models

later

on.
Regards,
Ed Hawkins



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