Eastern Car Works makes a kit they call an "Enterprise 2-bay covered hopper". Two versions, an NYC and CN. 6-panel sides with heavy dagonals in the first and sixth panels, and eight square roof hatche

My question remains, when was the 11-panel 41'6" gondola as modeled by Accurail, and earlier by Tyco, introduced? Structurally this was a modern design, similar to the 1932 ARA boxcar, so I doubt the

I'm not sure I've ever seen a Pullman ad or document saying exactly when each of the "PS-#" car types were introduced _by that name_. I've always thought of the PS-# family as being all welded carbodi

Tim O' wrote: No, this one is a normal height gondola. As a former Southern railroader, trust me, I know what to do with a low-side gon! But I've never seen this metal MDC low-side gon you have. The c

Looking through some of my Color Guides, etc, trying to tind prototypes for various models, I was surprised to find that into the 1950s the C&NW was buying what I thought was an obsolete design, the t

If memory serves, a horizontal white line on the main door of a boxcar meant it had auto loading racks inside. And there are other markings refering to load restraining devices. What I can't remember

http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/nyc-238717.jpg What surprised me most here are the T-section Bettendorfs under such a car, which I assume was built with archbars. Replacing the trucks was a

Thanks guys. It hadn't occured to me to look at heavy duty flats. The USAX/DOD 38016-series is definitely the prototype for the car. Pemco molded the bolster outward where it would be on a normal 4-ax

I guess it shouldn't surprise me to see a 1923 built date on that rebuilt NYC USRA cement hopper that Ben Hom posted a link to. Just how late were "USRA" twin hoppers built? Speaking of which, when we

Pemco made a 53-foot flatcar with riveted fishbelly sides and 16 stake pockets. The thin portion of the sides above the trucks extends a bit further inboard than most designs. Does this car have a pro

Was the first use of the large NYC logo/herald on the green & black scheme in 1959, or were some red-brown boxcars painted that way first? I know the "Century" style reporting marks were adopted in 19

Life has many mysteries, like how, many years ago, AHM could tool up a rather accurate plug-door PS-1 (certainly by the standards of the day it was nice), then turn around and tool up a strange 40' do

The gentleman from Portland Car & Foundry called me a couple months ago with a question about Champ decals. I've lost the note but found the decals in question. If he would drop me an email off-list,

A friend is scratchbuilding a model of an L&N 9800-series door-and-a-half boxcar. The roof design has him stumped. Since there appears to be 24 running board supports, I assume there are 24 carlines u

Tim O' wrote: Two points: I thought was Crockett was a sugar _beet_ refinery. Did C&H also bring in raw cane from their Hawaiian operations to be refined there? Or was sugar cane also grown in the Sac

So what happened to the Belkins? I loaned them some boxcar slides back in the mid-80s and never got them back. I wish that had taught me to never loan out originals to manufacturers except I did it 15

Did any truss-rod underframe cabooses survive in service on Class One railroads until 1960? I seem to recall an ICC order about not shoving on wood underframe cabs after, what, 1940? But was there any

Gene Green wrote: The Athearn "50-foot gondola" is _based_ on a Bethlehem design built in the early to mid 1960s for several customers, and copied by N&W's Roanoke Shops, and perhaps C&O's Raceland Sh

A quick look at Microscale turns up nothing for New York Central steam era boxcars, the oxide red cars with the oval logos (outline or black background). So what is the preferred source of NYC decals

Is there a prototype for MDC/Roundhouse's 30-odd foot truss-rod wood caboose? I've got one here that has a cupola whose roof has a bell-curve shape, which I've seen on their drovers caboose, but not o