I think I know the car you are thinking about. Is it the "minibox autocars" built around the same time as the regular minibox? I always thought I'd take the spare dreadnought ends from the minibox kit

They look similar to a Barber S1, Rapido has some one can pre-order. Colin Meikle

Hi, I'm building a TH&B 36' boxcar and these cars have a particular kind of brake gear I haven't seen before. K brakes were being used on the underframe and this strange brakewheel brace on the B end.

Bill, what adhesive do you use for this job? Colin Meikle

I'm not an NP expert but I believe these cars kept the Rapido trucks their whole life. I bought some Tahoe trucks thinking the detail would be better but I found the Rapido trucks much closer to the p

You make an interesting observation Bruce. Looking through other photos of these cars I see some have the plate and others don't. It seems that the lower numbered cars have the plate and the higher nu

Lots of stuff to observe here. What I find most interesting is the difference in lettering application on these two identical CP flat cars. I guess I'll have to build one of each! From Vancouver Archi

The coupler sits a bit low. I need to add a shim but I will install short shank couplers first. The flat car's couplers are at the right height. Colin Meikle

One thing about these Rapido cars that could be corrected is the incorrect ride height. They ride high on the trucks. This was the same problem with the NP cars. I had to make a jig and sand down the

So I was wrong! Clark, for the CN cars you seek the article you want to read is Railmodel Journal October 2000. Available on TrainLife I believe. Colin Meikle

I think we're talking about 2 separate Accurail models if I'm not mistaken. Clark's model has dreadnought ends? The Accurail article refers to a similar single sheathed car with re-enforced ends. I'm

Why not 5 minute epoxy? Just curious. Colin Meikle

Andy W. wrote an article on these cars on his website. ColinMeikle http://www.readytrain.com/gallery/articles/war_emergency-boxcar/index.html

http://speedwitchmedia.com/product/d186-nashville-chattanooga-st-louis-fm7fm8fm9-flat-cars/

I built one of these as a NC&StL. Speedwitch Media offers beautiful (accurate) decals for these cars. Decals matter in my opinion. Colin Meikle

Scale wheels are useful when constructing models. I have some P87 wheelsets and I use them to visualize truck ride height. It's easier to see if the model needs raising or lowering. Colin Meikle

Looking good Bill. Can't wait to see it with paint and decals. I'll copy your notes for when I build one of mine. I happen to live a stone's throw from the shop where these were originally rebuilt so

They look great Pierre. Did you swap Tahoe trucks for the odd looking resin trucks (Elsey?) that your display models have? Colin Meikle

Just curious, how many cars were listed in '45? Colin Meikle

The Canadian cars indeed had a 54" dome, although I believe the Tichy offerings are either 52" or 60". The frames on the CGTX cars were longer than standard and purchasing an extra frame from Tichy an