Re: N&W G4 vs. CNJ rebuilt WE gondola
Pieter Roos
Hi Mr. Knott;
Thank you for a VERY helpful reply. I have found a couple of CNJ
prototype photos (after rebuilding) and noted the differences you
mention, as well as the use of ladder stile type grab mounts on the
N&W car where CNJ used individual bolted on grabs.
The end difference is interesting. I assume that the "y" panels you
mention are the spaces between the reversed Dreadnaught ribs, which
leads some folks to call them "bifurcated" ends. It appears that the
CNJ used normally oriented ends rather than inverted. Does the
difference in the end ribs and the number of boards on the sides
indicate a lower side height on the N&W cars? I find it hard to fathom
that there would have been different stamp patterns for the
Dreadnaught design ends, and to what purpose?
The result of all this is that I requested an unpainted version of the
car. I could fill in the side panels with styrene, but removing the
ladder styles and possibly the drop ends may require soldiering.
Pieter Roos
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Thank you for a VERY helpful reply. I have found a couple of CNJ
prototype photos (after rebuilding) and noted the differences you
mention, as well as the use of ladder stile type grab mounts on the
N&W car where CNJ used individual bolted on grabs.
The end difference is interesting. I assume that the "y" panels you
mention are the spaces between the reversed Dreadnaught ribs, which
leads some folks to call them "bifurcated" ends. It appears that the
CNJ used normally oriented ends rather than inverted. Does the
difference in the end ribs and the number of boards on the sides
indicate a lower side height on the N&W cars? I find it hard to fathom
that there would have been different stamp patterns for the
Dreadnaught design ends, and to what purpose?
The result of all this is that I requested an unpainted version of the
car. I could fill in the side panels with styrene, but removing the
ladder styles and possibly the drop ends may require soldiering.
Pieter Roos
--- In STMFC@..., "proto48er" <atkott@...> wrote:
Pieter -
I am an "O" scaler. I did the drawings for these cars for Pacific
Limited, an "O" scale importer, about ten years ago, and they were
imported from Korea in 2000.
At that time, we could not find any photos of CNJ/RDG cars as
composite cars. Furthermore, the CNJ/CRP cars had a cubic capacity
which indicated they were ALL STEEL very early - (by 1944?) - so I am
not convinced that all were really composite cars - maybe only a few
were! That was a pre-internet, simpler time, and that does not mean
that the photos of composite cars are not out there somewhere! I do
recall a photo of a steel conversion of the CNJ gon having (a) an
extra plate at the far ends of each side (the plate goes from the
bolster to the end of the side, and covers up the "open" area below
the 4" X 4" angle in the open air below the floor) and (b) ends with
THREE Y-shaped panels in them.
That being said, the N&W cars were UNIQUE among 52'-6" composite war
emergency gons in having only TWO Y-shaped panels in each drop end!
No other cars had these N&W style drop ends. Also, only the CNJ/RDG
cars had the little rectangular plates at the bottoms of the sides.
All other cars of this type had an opening from the bolster to the
end sill under the floor angle.
Some of the N&W cars, as built, had four side boards in each side;
some had five. All other cars built to that plan had five boards,
except LV, which had four also. This makes a difference in the rivet
pattern on the side braces. I cannot tell from the Crier Gray
website which one they modeled! CNJ/CRP cars probably had the five-
board configuration, if they started out as composite cars.
A prototype photo of the CNJ/CRP/RDG cars would help!
A.T. Kott