Were these cars painted black, or oxide red, when they were new? Tim O'Connor -- Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts

STMFC, I have corresponded off-list with Lester about this question. For the STMFC discussion group I offer the following information. For the ATSF Bx-48 box cars 274000-274749, my STMFC roster with

Southern-grown watermelons. Real thick rind (made great watermelon pickles) deep red juicy flesh with lots of black seeds. Weighed a ton, but shipped and stored well. Fell out of favor in the early

Garth Groff wrote: Sometimes when a photo like this, of the shady side of a car, doesn't have all the detail you wished it did, the lab would "improve" it for you. Both the trucks and the rivet

Friends, Did anyone else notice that the photo of NJI&I is a very crude fake? Blow it up and you will see that the rivets appear to have been added through retouching and the trucks look like they

I wondered about pumpkins as well, Doug, but these have too much length for any pumpkin variety I've ever seen even some grown hereabouts that have gone well over 1,000 pounds. Some have been carved

Proving once again that the DL&W LOVED concrete! I don't know if I've ever seen another road that used so much concrete for everything from culverts to major viaducts. Most seem to have withstood the

Alan, You may be able to obtain a scan of the Santa Fe blueprints for the cars from the archives in Temple Tx. Contact Craig Ordner, he archivist. I have obtained the sheets for the Bx-34 for this

War Emergency gon available in kit form from Funaro & Camerlengo. Bill Welch

Photo: Wabash Gondola 13000 From the Decatur, IL, Herald & Review

Photo: NJI&I Boxcar 4100 From the Decatur, IL, Herald & Review

Here is a used 3D Systems Projet 3600.

One on the left back of the truck looks like an abnormally large neck pumpkin.... the one that looks like a U....at least that’s what my wife says. Love the cars! Matthew Hurst Modeling the late

Ryan, thanks for this very good explanation. I reread it 3 times. I've been monitoring 3D printing with interest for about 3 years now, looking to move past having shapeways print my small detail

And that small angle retaining piece is significantly bent, as are the tie rods attached to it, making it appear that the girder probably had a significant shift forward, assuming that the leading

And in this photo, the retaining piece on the bottom at the end is fully attached to the girder, supporting the contention that the Steamtown photo is a "damage" photo. Regards, Bruce Smith Auburn, AL

Eric's post points out that produce that would have been loaded into freight in the steam era may at times have little resemblance to what you might see in the market today. Agriculture and the

Hello All, AESX 576 is a Pressed Steel Car Co. product. Speedwitch Media's "Steam Era Freight Cars Reference Manual, Volume Two" has several photos for reference. The underframe of GRYX 168 may

Those could be of the Moon and Stars variety, or Sugar Baby. There have been many varietals. Here are some. https://www.saveur.com/gallery/Varieties-of-Watermelon/ Eric Hansmann Murfreesboro, TN

Perhaps, Mel, but I wonder if they are just quite a bit larger than we are used to. Cordially, Don Valentine