Bruce Smith wrote:
"The new Walthers flyer includes four new steam era freight cars:

40' steel USRA rebuilt wood boxcar
https://www.walthers.com/40-steel-rebuilt-usra-wood-boxcar-ready-to-run-undecorated 

FAIL.  This model has 5/5/5 Murphy ends and XLA roof, indicating an early rebuild reusing these components that did not increase the dimensions of the original car.  Unfortunately, none of these rebuilds (ACL/C&WC, SL-SF) had 10-panel sides, but exhibited 8-panel sides.  Also, the model lacks an inset side sill and brackets that are a spotting feature of almost all rebuilt boxcars.  This, along with the Atlas "Rebuilt USRA boxcar" model, is an overpriced representation of nothing.

Ben Hom

Lester Breuer 10:09am   #3327   I have finished a Funero & Camerlengo one piece body resin kit of rebuilt USRA Pennsylvania X26c Box Car with Youngstown steel door.  I scratch-built the ladders and special  bracket grab irons.  If you are interested in viewing, photos and writeup of build and finishing PRR X26c are now on my blog of modeling projects on my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company.  If you would like to take a look,  please do at the following link: http://mnrailroadcab100.blogspot.com/ Lester Breuer

Attachments:

• B8616544-B534-455B-8E3F-407D69F3EA24.jpeg

On May 1, 2019, at 11:47 AM, Rossiter, Mark W <Mark.Rossiter@...> wrote:

Ray, I agree with much of what you stated.  Most of the old P2K line can be picked up for a song.  In my opinion, they are no more difficult to assemble than the Gould/Tichy, Red Caboose or Intermountain kits.  One of the reasons for the fire sale pricing on P2K kits may be that they flooded the market with them.  One of the few remaining LHS in our area still has shelves full of P2K six-packs. 

The problem with any of the plastic kits with fine details (RTR or otherwise) is that they do not stand up well to handling.  Many modelers who regularly run their cars seem to gravitate towards the molded on details sooner or later.  I'd love to see highly detailed freight cars on our club layout, but we have too many ham-fisted members who think it's OK to pick up three and four cars at a time.  

Mark Rossiter   

----- Original Message -----

From: Aley, Jeff A

To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io

Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 7:43 PM

Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] this nice shot of the GM&O freight house

Attached is a map and an aerial photo.  The aerial photo shows the sheer density of steam-era freight cars in this part of Kansas City.

 

Regards,

 

-Jeff

 

 

From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2019 4:34 PM
To: STMFC <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io>
Subject: [RealSTMFC] this nice shot of the GM&O freight house

 

Hi List Members,

 

Consider for a moment this nice shot of the GM&O freight house surrounded by steam era freight cars...

 

https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:20988173

 

I have a question about how this all works regarding delivery of goods to the customer. Freight cars get parked here, they are unloaded into the freight house by fork lift or hand truck or elbow grease, right? Then what? How does the customer get their goods? Presumably they show up wuth their comapny truck (or in earlier days, with their horse-drawn cart). But I don't see any good street access to the building. Is it on the side of the building we cannot see? I'm thinking maybe not, since there are probably tracks there.

 

This is not the first time I've seen freight houses with what appears to be inadequate or non-existant street access. How was this handled? Presumably every inbound carload of items that goes INTO the freight house has to leave as well, and it's not leaving in a freight car, right?

 

Thoughts?

 

Overall, if you omit the large yard in the background, and included only the three tracks in the foreground with the building, a scene like this is very model-genic, and could serve as the focal point of a very nice switching layout or a fun area of activity within a larger layout.

 

Claus Schlund

 

 

     I note that they don't actually call their single-sheathed car a USRA, which is good because of course it isn't, much more like the ARA design, though pretty poorly rendered. In looking at these, and thinking how far we have (mostly) come in model freight cars, I'm just glad Richard Hendrickson isn't here to see these Walthers things.

On May 1, 2019 at 9:12 AM Benjamin Hom <b.hom@...> wrote:

Al Westerfield wrote:

"All of the DS cars shown had K rather than AB brakes.  The TH&B car had an Ajax brake wheel.  Although it’s not really clear, it appears that the brace on the door isn’t centered.  And UP never had the cars.  With dozens of roadmanes and lettering styles, why choose that?"

https://www.walthers.com/40-usra-wood-boxcar-ready-to-run-undecorated 

The disappointment grows the more you look at these models...

Other issues with the DS boxcar:

- There is no inset at the sidesill.

- The sheathing retaining strap along the sidesill is missing.

- The lower door track represents some roads' cars later in life; however, as built, the cars had six distinct rollers along the side sill.

- The door stops are missing.

- That hand brake is a throwback to the Train-Miniature "TV antennas".  It's more S scale than HO.

Vote with your wallets...don't reserve these models, don't by them, and support manufacturers that do better.

Ben Hom