I believe that's a O scale car which accounts for the price difference
between it and HO scale cars.

Jon Miller
AT&SF
For me time has stopped in 1941
Digitrax DCC owner, Chief system
NMRA Life member #2623
Member SFRH&MS

Friends,

While scanning MODEL RAILROADING at the hobby store last weekend (didn't
buy, seldom useful except as t.p.), I noticed that in the new products
section was mention of an SP tank car (O-13, IIRC) from Intermountain.
The price was something like $26, which smells like a premium kit kit
similar to their retooled PFE reefer. Comments anyone?

Kind regards,


Garth G. Groff

The coil steel cars like the Bachmann and Walthers seem like an obvious
solution to the problem of shipping coiled steel. It is so heavy you have
to load with a crane and you need some sort of weather protection. So why
can't we add truss rods and Andrews trucks to the Wathers models? In other
words, how did they ship coil steel before these cars back in steam days?
Or maybe they didn't? Was it the development of heavier cranes? Wider
spread use of 70 and 100 ton trucks? Some development in the auto industry
to ship steel in this manner? - John

Coil steel was shipped in open gondolas without weather protection. I've
seen numerous photos of such shipments.

Richard H. Hendrickson
Ashland, Oregon 97520

Jeez, with an intro like that how can I resist.... :>)

The Branchline "Yardmaster" series kits ("E-Z" has already been
taken...) are a new series of kits aimed at the "mass market". They will
have cast on details but the details will be as fine as we can make
them and include things like underbody brake gear (ala Central
Valley/McKean). The hope is to reach some of the market who thinks "all
those parts" make a kit too difficult to assemble but still want a
well-detailed good looking car. Think of them as our Proto 1000....

Bill, I'm devastated! You've sold out! To the toy train bozos! Arrgh.

Seriously, there's obviously a very sizeable market for such kits, and it's
about time that market was better served than by Athearn and MDC kits from
forty year old tooling. Proto 1000 and Accurail products, aimed at the
same market, seem to be selling very well. Also, FWIW (though it may not
be not good news to most subscribers to this list), Life-Like's Proto 2000
freight car kits aren't setting sales records, though they have a loyal
following; it's the RTR assembled models that are going out the front door
as fast as they come in the back door. Like it or not, model railroading
in North America is becoming more like European modeling all the time, with
many buyers who have more disposable income than time opting for high
quality RTR locos, rolling stock, and structures. What both L-L and
InterMountain have found is that if you build it, they will come.

Richard H. Hendrickson
Ashland, Oregon 97520

John and friends,

I can't speak for all railroads, but I know how they shipped coils on
the Western Pacific and Sacramento Northern in the steam/electric era:
in open gondolas. To find out more, drop by my web pages at:

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~ggg9y/gon.html

What I didn't know when I wrote this was that the SN also had a modest
fleet of 52' 6" mill gondolas built by Thrall in 1959. I have yet to
find if any were equipped with coil cradles or racks.

Kind regards,


Garth G. Groff

John Nehrich wrote:

Ever since Dennis Storzek said in effect the emperor had no clothes back in
April '82 RMC regarding the mainstay of the hobby, the Athearn car with its
undersized doors and CLAWS, I can't see past this feature. Every time I see
a model photo and there is a box car door with claws (at least clip the
claws, if nothing else), I can't see past this feature. I have this image
of the Kilroy was here sketch, only with door claws instead of hands and the
slogan "Irv was here!"
Of course, the whole point of Dennis's article was how to change this
and even salavage the paint scheme, but still, it's a lot of work.
In my opinion I would rather accept the Accurail steel box car with its
post '49 roof and post '54 ends as a stand-in for the '37 car than either
the MDC or Athearn. At least the Accurail car looks like a box car, even if
the wrong one, than either these two kits. And I know the MDC is closer in
details to the '37 car, but the end is pretty shallow relief - my feeling is
that if you are close enough to count ribs, you are too close, and if you
aren't that close, the Athearn is better.
So I will still hold my breath for the Branchline car. (And I trust
them to do appropriate schemes for the car, too, so we don't get an accurate
kit with the wrong schemes. - John

The coil steel cars like the Bachmann and Walthers seem like an obvious
solution to the problem of shipping coiled steel. It is so heavy you have
to load with a crane and you need some sort of weather protection. So why
can't we add truss rods and Andrews trucks to the Wathers models? In other
words, how did they ship coil steel before these cars back in steam days?
Or maybe they didn't? Was it the development of heavier cranes? Wider
spread use of 70 and 100 ton trucks? Some development in the auto industry
to ship steel in this manner? - John

The 1937 AAR box car has been available from MDC/Roundhouse
for about a hundred years... Athearn's kit is an accurate (and
as yet, unavailable in any other form including resin) rendition
of the 1940 AAR box car with S-corner ends built exclusively for
Illinois Central. If you replace the ladders with 8-rung style,
then the car is accurate for SOO and DSS&A.

Finally a replacement for the standard Athearn box car

The first car out in this series will be the pre war (1937?)
AAR 10-0 IH boxcar.

Timothy O'Connor <timoconnor@mediaone.net>
Marlborough, Massachusetts

AAAAhhhh - The King is dead - Long live the King!
Finally a replacement for the standard Athearn box car, in terms of
similar prototype (the Athearn prototype is still questionable, but in the
ballpark of the 1937/1942 AAR car) and ease of construction. Thank you
Bill! (But don't let this get in the way of the passenger cars!) - John

Jeez, with an intro like that how can I resist.... :>)

The Branchline "Yardmaster" series kits ("E-Z" has already been taken...) are a new series of kits aimed at the "mass market". They will have cast on details but the details will be as fine as we can make them and include things like underbody brake gear (ala Central Valley/McKean). The hope is to reach some of the market who thinks "all those parts" make a kit too difficult to assemble but still want a well-detailed good looking car. Think of them as our Proto 1000....

The first car out in this series will be the pre war (1937?) AAR 10-0 IH boxcar. If response to this car is decent there will be others. The tooling for this car is complete and has been test shot, but I have no scheduled release dates. (Of course, MR Rose will tell you that even if I did it wouldn't mean anything...)

This series will NOT replace the Blueprint Series kits we produce (occasionally...). It is aimed at the quick-build segment of the market. If you're looking for a highly detailed kit of this car with all the extra goodies, buy one from my friends at Red Caboose. If you want something to slap on the layout fast, this is your baby!

Bill Schneider
Branchline Trains
http://www.branchline-trains.com

byronrose@juno.com wrote:

On Wed, 17 Jan 2001 13:56:26 -0800 (PST) Jeff Aley - GCD PE
<jaley@pcocd2.intel.com> writes:

Does anyone have any details on the Branchline EZ Kits? Is this
based on their Blueprint tooling, but with cast-on details?

And what about their "Yardmaster" series? What's the difference
between Yardmaster and EZ Kits?

Regards,

-Jeff

ATTENTION ALL. Coming soon to this list will be Mr. Bill
"we-haven't-shipped-that-yet" Schneider, chief honcho and bottle washer
of that part of BLT dedicated to destroying the balance of styrene and
ABS in the universe. I'm sure he will be glad to answer any and all of
your questions about their new kits in complete detail. Honesty is
optional at extra cost.

BSR

PS In case Bill doesn't get to it soon, the answers to your above
questions are: yes, no, what about it, much. Don't thank me, that's
what I'm here for.
________________________________________________________________
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On Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:56:05 -0600 "Bruce F. Smith V.M.D., Ph.D."
<smithbf@mail.auburn.edu> writes:

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you might have information regarding WWII
era
Troop Sleepers and Kitchen cars manufactured by Pullman and ACF
respectively. I have seen the available info at the Cannonball site
(selling HO kits) and the NEB&W site. I am particularly looking for
diagrams of the underside of the car to locate steam and brake
lines.

Bruce,

MR published a drawing of a Troop Sleeper converted to a service car
several years back. I don't have a copy handy for the date but I'm sure
it will surface via some kind soul. The drawings included an excellent
underbody view showing all the structural members and full brake rigging,
both AB sets worth. I'd say it was indispensable to your efforts.

There are more than several troop cars still in existence, at least that
I am aware of. One is at Union Bridge, Maryland, in the WM Hist Soc
collection, an almost virginal car with all its windows intact and riding
on AFC trucks. Another is closer to DC in a small station display along
with other freight and passenger cars and a small steam lokie. It is in
about the same condition as the WMHS car. And one at Illinois Ry Museum.

I am told a troop sleeper resides at the B&O musuem in Baltimore
(Their web
site is next to useless) - anyone have photographs?

I know that the Southeastern R museum in Duluth Ga (atlanta) has a
Kitchen
car - I have photos and will be back there soon to craawl all over
that sucker!

How about photos documenting the underframe structure and brake systems?

Any other information that you think might be helpful would be most
welcome
- I'm building up a train of the Cannonball cars and am at the
detailing stage

Happy Rails
Bruce

Bruce, if that's the same Cannonball kit I saw at Mitchells last fall,
why would you waste your time on it? The rivets look like flattened
grapefruit halves and the panel line are non existent. It's almost
criminal that someone capable of producing scale size rivets hasn't done
this car yet. Of course, that statement leaves InterMountain out,
doesn't it? But I have been hearing rumors that it will be produced by a
capable manufacturer in the not to distant future. Let's all hope.

Byron Rose
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Here's the s-mail address and ordering info:

RP Cyc Publishing Co.
PO Box 451
Chesterfield MO 63006-0451

Each issue is $20.95 post paid.


Ben Hom

A friend of mine has a July 52 ORER he wants to unload,
asking $75, but I think he might take a bit less.
I will relay any offers anyone cares to submit through me (off
list, of course).

---------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff English Troy, New York
Proto:64 Classic Era Railroad Modeling
englij@rpi.edu

| R U T L A N D R A I L R O A D |
Route of the Whippet
---------------------------------------------------------------

Does anyone have any details on the Branchline EZ Kits? Is this based on
their Blueprint tooling, but with cast-on details?

And what about their "Yardmaster" series? What's the difference between
Yardmaster and EZ Kits?

(References: http://www.branchline-trains.com/ezkits/40ezkits.htm
http://www.branchline-trains.com/ ).

Regards,

-Jeff

--
Jeff Aley, Development Engineer jaley@pcocd2.intel.com
Graphics Components Division
Intel Corporation, Folsom, CA
(916) 356-3533

Guys,

For those of you wanting RPC #5 with the article on
troop sleepers, you can probably order right from
their website if you don't have a hobby shop nearby.

They're at: http://hometown.aol.com/rpcyc/rpcychome.html

Shawn Beckert

John,

You replied:

If anyone has this, I'll be glad to post it on our site for future
reference. - John

I'm a little foggy on what you meant? (I'm a little foggy PERIOD, but thats
another story!)...Were you referring to additional photos of the cars?

I can supply some info on the kitchen car. It is a 1944 ACF product and as
mentioned, it is at the Southeastern Railway Museum
(http://www.srmduluth.org/). The museum is located in Duluth, Georgia, a
suburb of Atlanta. It is owned and operated by the Atlanta Chapter,
National Railway Historical Society and is staffed completely with
volunteers. The car is painted in what I beleive to be a later US Army
scheme (as opposed to the original Pullman scheme), and I beleive that this
car was never modified fo alternative service and has its interior intact.
The car can be seen at: http://www.srmduluth.org/Exhibits/misc.htm

I will scan the photos I have of this car and create a photopoint site.
The staff at the site is really nice and when I asked, they seemed thrilled
that I would be interested in taking a really good look at their car.

BTW, the photo of Troop Sleeper #7040 on your site looks to be a "Phase I"
Pullman troop sleeper (as defined by Cannonball), which makes sense since
it is in the first number series (ie built in 1943). The Cannonball kit
most readily makes a phase II, but of course, I have to be difficult and
model the phase I variation! There are subtle variations like the side
sills that distinguish version...

Happy Rails

Bruce F. Smith V.M.D., Ph.D.
Scott-Ritchey Research Center
334-844-5587, 334-844-5850 (fax)
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin
__
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Ben wrote:

Bruce, the latest Railroad Prototype Cyclopedia contains a
comprehensive and well-illustrated article on Troop Sleepers and
Kitchen Cars.

Hi Ben

Great! Could you let me know how and where I might get this publication?

Regards
Bruce

Bruce F. Smith V.M.D., Ph.D.
Scott-Ritchey Research Center
334-844-5587, 334-844-5850 (fax)
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin
__
/ &#92;
__<+--+>________________&#92;__/___ ____________________________________
|- ______/ O O &#92;_______ -| | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ |
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|/_____________________________&#92;|_|____________________________________|
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I host the Iowainterurbansandstreetrailways mailing list. I will ask
there and see if anyone has information on what type of deck the
gun-flat has on it. In all my years of looking at it, I never noted
whether or not it had a wooden deck......

Kicking myself.....

Paul Kattner

--- In STMFC@egroups.com, Bob Johnson <bobjohnson@a...> wrote:

Paul,

The photo of MC&CL #104 sure looks like a PRR 30' flat car. The

shape

of the side sills is right, as are the number and spacing of the

stake

pockets. The trucks also appear to be PRR Class 2E1F1, although the
angled view makes it a little hard to tell.

These trucks were removed from the cars by 1930. However, they were
probably put into MW service, perhaps as spares in wreck trains.

The

1937 date may well be correct, but not for an F23. From diagrams

and

side view builders' photos, it looks like the F23 body rode lower on

the

trucks than did the F22. The lower edge of the F23 side sill comes

very

close to the top of the arch bar trucks. There's a noticeable gap
between the bottom of the F22 side sill and the top of the truck.

The

photo of MC&CL #104 shows a gap typical of an F22. Perhaps Byron

can

check the detail drawings of these cars to confirm this difference
between F22 and F23.

While all the F23 cars remained in service on the PRR into 1952,

several

F22 cars were dropped from the roster in the late 1930's. Many cars

of

that vintage were sold to railroad equipment dealers who resold them

to

short lines. The Pennsy probably wouldn't have sold the

relatively-new

cast steel trucks and substituted the old original arch bar trucks
instead - perfectly usable for MW service.

It would be interesting to check a few things to confirm that MC&CL

#104

is a PRR car. The castings should have PRR and a pattern number
(typically beginning with a V) in raised characters. Is the arch

bar

truck wheelbase 5'-7" (which I think is a relatively unusual size)?
What is the height from the rail head to the top surface of the

floor?

If it's an F23, this dimension should be 3'-4 7/8". If the car

passed

all the other checks and this dimension is a couple of inches

greater

than 3'-4 7/8", then it is probably a former PRR F22 that somehow

got a

steel floor. Does the steel floor look like a real steel floor with

a

multitude of rivets, or does it look like a slab of steel put on for
weight and/or to replace a rotted-out wooden floor?

As you say, a lot of questions, indeed.

Bob Johnson