What we do not know, and do not NEED to know is the operating purpose of these boilers. If they are building heating boilers, they likely operate at 15 to 30 PSI. If they are power boilers, they

Shoot. That’s what I get for posting before I’m fully awake. Fred you’re right these just had compartmentizers. I got them confused with the 1954 cars with the cushion under frame. Brian J.

The vinegar car has been sold. Dennis Storzek

Hello Dan, don't know if it was there (but I believe), but I remember the story of using some of these cars for scrap iron movements. Someone said that the cars in that service were WAY overloaded -

Always enjoy your blogs, thanks for sharing Fenton

A few of the big ex VGN “Battleship” gons ended up at Northwestern Steel & Wire in Rockford, IL. They were there in the early 1980’s at least, still showing some VGN lettering, being used for

What a great shot! Thanks, James. It is interesting to see how the cars are spread out. Looks like not all might be 40' cars. The shed where I worked was built after WW2 so all of our cars were

Didn't know this was an experimental car. As far as I know WP 20801-20820 was a regular 1951 PS-1 order with an experimental WP paint scheme. Fred Jansz

The title says it all. I have one Sunshine Models Kit No. 60.2 Standard Brands Vinegar Tankcar with Red Decals, unbuilt, new in box for sale. I'd like $45 plus shipping and take Paypal. PLEASE REPLY

Kadee has stated several times are not doing those cars and the other cars with the experimental features because they’d have to tool a new underframe. Maybe in time they will change their

Thanks to all that replied, both on and off list. It looks like the partial assembly fell short of moving these kits into the "easy build" category, so I think I'll stick with describing them as

Bill Welch's PDF on Archer surface detail decals can be accessed via the RCW blog Helpful Links page. The latest blog post covers the info, plus an update on the Sunshine Models kit archive website

Bob, having built and repaired lots of (steam locomotive) boilers a long time ago, I wouldn't say these boilers are very large. Even by allowing a certain surcharge to the wall thickness (don't know

Hello Gary, these cars are indeed former VGN battleship gons because of their 6-wheel trucks (and their height and other proportions). The C&IM gons were much lower and rode on 4-wheel trucks (as

Friends, I'm surprised nobody has commented that the left hand "Battleship" gondola is lettered USN. I suppose it's appropriate letter on a battleship. (Ewwww!) I'm supposing that these cars were

Yes, and not one of them is 100% prototipical... Asked Kadee several times , but was ignored as usual. Fred Jansz

The War Emergency 2-Bay hoppers were also Timesavers. The brake detailing and underframe was assembled with the body. Rob Manley "Better modeling through personal embarrassment"

B&O cars were modified specifically for "gypsum wallboard" loading in the 1950's when a large gypsum deposit was discovered near Shoals Indiana. Note that the Intermountain model has "Return to B&O

And the steel weight is separate and securely taped to the bottom of the box. It gets glued to the top of the floor / underframe assembly. Todd Sullivan

Hi Dennis, To answer your question with one kit as an example ... I just received a P2K ATSF Fe-24 50ft auto boxcar kit that is a Time-Saver kit. The main parts are the body shell and floor /