A few musings on this subject while I finish my morning coffee... I did some rough (very) compilations based on roster data provided by Ed Hawkins for our research (some of which is available on

Paul, I don't have any resource material here at work, so I will have to get back to you on this, but the D&LW had several classes of post-war boxcars with 12-panel sides and 8' doors. The old Front

Garth Groff wrote: "C&BT produced some 12-panel boxcars with various door widths and end types. Their 6' door car with 4/4 ends can match certain ATSF and D&RGW classes (with some tinkering). AFAIK,

Kevin, Are you sure about this use for gilsonite? Gilsonite is a solidified petroleum, roughly akin to solid tar. I can't see how it was used in cement, though it might have substituted for coal in

Richard is correct, after closer inspection (with correction for my older eyes) A small built date of 11/27 appears on the right side of the tank car. Thank you all for the help identifying this car

Shawn, It's not quite so simple. Door width depends a lot on the road you model, the traffic it carried, its interchange partners, and the era. Dave's study of the 1950 ORER is very enlightening in

Ned Carey wrote: I know Al Westerfield offers these in some kits. (I just broke off some on my Westerfield B&O USRA gondola, hence my current interest) Doesn't Martin offer these in etched stainless

In a message dated 6/25/02 6:17:38 AM Pacific Daylight Time, branch@... writes: << 10,576 (~7%) of these were 7' door cars sold to 14 railroads between 1946 and 1956. >> Of Interest: The

I only stayed for while this past Saturday. It was very crowded as it was in two smaller buildings. Steve Funaro had castings for his NMRA convention kit, three different versions of a Florida East

As recently as about 1990, I saw a similar vintage PQ ACF-built, insulated 103 Baltimore at Lamberts Point on the former B&O. At that time it was painted in an attractive (albeit faded) blue and

I'm a newcomer to the Group, but not to the hobby (!). Just want to acknowledge the work of Ted Culotta and John Golden (who at the last minute was not able to enjoy the fruits, meats and vegetables

Anyone know of a source for these kits without the horrible molded on details? Ebay although useful, is not the best place as the vendors of these cars do not give the detail that we want and some

I believe Carmer cut levers were a requested item on Ted Culotta's survey. I discussed these with my friend Michael Wotnoski who does Freestate Systems etched brass. Our discussions didn't get far

Possibly true, but is this only speculation? Might the cars' overall condition (or lack thereof) also have played a <very> important part in that decision? Might I further speculate by noting that

I was looking at photos of several Mather boxcars, specifically the Muncie & Western. The cars had a rather unusual mechanism on the car end. I appears to be a gearbox with a vertical brake wheel

Andy Carlson writes, on this subject: Okay, I will. The Santa Fe's Bx-48, Bx-50, and Bx-51 classes (a total of 2,500 cars) were all 12 panel AAR cars with rectangular panel roofs. Diagonal panel

Paul Catapano asks: Philadelphia Quartz Co. was apparently the main supplier of silicate of soda in the eastern U.S. PQ had a sizeable tank car fleet at least through the 1960s, and also leased cars

The Los Angeles Plant of Philadelphia Quatz, actually in the City of South Gate, is still operating. I beleive it's now called PDQ Corp. I hauled tank trucks of the slicate to 3M in Riverside where

Point taken, Ben. I suspect the reference to "USRA Clones" was introduced (recently) as a result of the post-war built dates and a superficial resemblance - an inadequate basis. To answer the