Dean Payne wrote:

I followed the instructions given, and found that the main difference
is that the rebuilds received an 8" increase in their height over the
original cars.

Not sure where you find 8 inches, Dean. Inside height of the rebuilds was 3 inches greater; height over running board was 6 inches greater. But the exterior height definitely WAS wrong on the first Red Caboose rebuild kits.

The door appears much shorter.

The door opening grew from about 6' 4" to about 6' 10", again about 6 inches more in the rebuilds.

The (first release) cars may be accurate for the WP cars,
however. Too bad I never picked one of those up! My car shows a
reweigh date of 36, I don't know if that is before or after the
rebuild. Since I model the 30's, I'm not sure whether the shorter car
could represent a PFE car before the rebuild or not.

Dean, perhaps you might trouble to check the PFE book, or my 1980s RMC articles on PFE modeling, or an ORER issue, before offering these vague generalizations. The original PFE (including WP) cars of this design had identical superstructures, with 1918 cubic feet capacity. Red Caboose has done that body correctly as "original" cars. But the rebuilds had several alterations, not only the height (at first not incorporated by Red Caboose), leading to 1988 cubic feet capacity for rebuilt PFE and WP cars, but also ladders instead of rows of grab irons, a second grab iron at the left of the car side, vertical-wheel hand brakes, and cast-steel U-section trucks for cars with Vulcan trucks and for many with T-section trucks. Most also received a strip of steel sheet above and below the door. All the rebuilds we are discussing were done after 1936.
If you have more questions, check the literature; or if desperate, ask.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
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