That is a drop bottom gon. Some of the doors are open inside. And the bottom of the sides slope inward. There is a structural brace running along the side below the side Doug

You are correct, Tim. My info came from the RPI site. I may have misread it or their info is incorrect. Maybe 1953 was the rebuild year for the ribs? There was info sometime back on the EJ&E photo and

Gary, there are no open cuts! The inside vertical ribs are coming THROUGH the side wall at that area, and they are still vertical, and what you think are cuts are just the shadows of those ribs.

Hi Ralph: It is. Look at the top of the double riveted strap between the Rio and Grande. There is at the top of the strap a cut into the side of the gondola and there are 5 others along the side

Hi Gary, Looks like a drop-bottom gon to me. Pax, Ralph Brown Portland, Maine PRRT&HS No. 3966 NMRA No. L2532 -----------------------------------------From: "gary laakso" To: "stmfc" Cc: Sent:

I suppose one could etch a simple L with the holes. Design it for one peaked roof, file it to match the radial roof if needed. Then use a short stub of styrene to support the center of the L, under

Gary, Look at the similar car in the upper right of this photo to see what Richard means. Yours Aye, Garth Groff

Ben Hom, responding to Chuck Cover, wrote: Full agreement, and I know Richard Hendrickson had reached the identical conclusions. Incidentally, he pointed out that though white chalk was by far

Friends, How about these scribbles? At least they were done in chalk and not spray paint. Yours Aye, Garth Groff 🦆

I think what you are seeing is the side sheathing angling in toward the center of the car, not cut out holes. You can see that on the inside of the car relative to the opposite side.

Chuck Michael Gross's model here showing a mixture of chalk ages and colors, which was completely typical And a Reading gondola shows chalk marks of different

While the company service tank cars and the DRGW 4-8-4 are extra eye candy, the DGRW gondola in the foreground on the left is the subject of this question. What are the cut holes on the side of the

Also remember that this is chalk, and it washes off and in many photos is light or smeared in appearance – a plus for pencil vs. ink. J. Stephen Sandifer

Chuck Cover asked: "I am wondering if anyone can tell me how common chalk marks actually were? I know there are some prototype photos with clear chalk marks, however, are they the exception or the

I am wondering if anyone can tell me how common chalk marks actually were? I know there are some prototype photos with clear chalk marks, however, are they the exception or the norm? What percentage

Looking very good, Frank! -- Michael Gross Pasadena, CA

Looks very good! -- Michael Gross Pasadena, CA

Pierre Oliver asked: "Would Allan Seebach of Tappan NY, please contact me offlist. Or if anyone knows him , please forward this to him." Sadly, he's another model railroad community casualty of

Folks, Note that Moloco does make these in plastic. https://www.molocotrains.com/collections/parts/products/rb-0804-roofwalk-support-brackets-new-w-3rd-arms?variant=12400281845865 The running board

R. J. Dial wrote: “YMW has the lateral supports, that should help Marty. I was referring to the longitudinal running board supports ("saddles" is the industry term on drawings).” As