Someone mentioned that one of the Sunshine mini-kits was
a replacement roof for the Kato ACF 70-Ton hopper. I'm
afraid to ask this, but: what was wrong with the Kato roof?

Shawn Beckert

The most obvious difference is the use of seam caps over
the gaps between the roof panels. This was common on both
GATC and ACF cars -- some railroads bought them that way,
and others bought them as depicted in the kits. I don't
know if equipment diagrams would even mention it -- the
only sure way to tell is to get photos of the roof that
you want to model.

As far as single vs. double latch, and hatch styles and
hatch locations -- those also were buyer options as far
as I know. If only we had documentation for covered hoppers
that was as complete as we have for AAR box cars! For each
series of cars from the same builder we need to know --

Style of roof and number of roof panels
Position, number and style of roof hatches
Side style (e.g. ACF -- small opening, large opening, no opening)
Running board style
Handbrake style


Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...>
Sterling, Massachusetts