I can't read it, but I presume this is a Santa Fe car based on the sill. Ron Merrick

I'm posting the diagram here. This is the one from the MPHS 1951 diagram book. There's a later one, from when MP redrew all the diagrams, after the renumbering, also. No MP steel 50' boxcar had end do

Some further information on the prototype. These cars were built by ACF in 1945, in three different number series. This car is from I-GN 14300-14349, later MP 350800-350849 (after the system renumberi

This 'cold galvanizing', as it's sometimes referred to, is 97% zinc powder in in organic binder. One common brand is Galvacon, trademark of Lanco Paints. If you look at something that's galvanized and

If you can find them, Branchline did several NYC cars in the Blueprint line with the Despatch-built distinctive ends and roof panels. Not sure how many paint schemes they were offered in, but there we

Thanks for the replies, they're all going to good homes. Ron Merrick

Not to divert from the current discussion, but I can offer a bit more information about the car being tracked in the blog post, or rather its origin. The point called "Atreco, Texas" is actually the y

I have approximately 100 used and new bottles of Floquil and Polly-S paints that I would like to pass along. I'm located in Houston, Texas. I know several people on this and other lists who could use

Not sure why, but the 40' steel boxcars didn't seem to be well represented in later MoW builds. One supposition I have is that more of the 40' steel cars from the forties and fifties tended to be reti

Tell me if I understand this right. First, this kind of reminds me of my first statics classes in 1970/71. The first truss is the steel casting that we can easily see, the outboard portion of the side

It's subtly different from the Greenville gon. The ribs at the end of the 'bottom' of the fishbelly aren't at the point where the bottom of the side slopes upward, but slightly closer to the center. A

Glad to see you're just ahead of me. I too have several MP (and Santa Fe and Rock) stockcars that I've started on. I did what the Westerfield instructions said and built up all the end detail first. G

I'm partway through an experiment. I bought online an undec CB&T car, since I didn't have one. Rather than sacrifice an undec Branchline, I bought one online from some roadname that was easily availab

I too have a layout to build, but I have surveyed all my remaining painted and lettered plastic kits and I'm trying to get the last of them built. That will probably happen this year. At least, the on

Here's another one. This one is inbound on the MP at Wichita. Guess it might have been to the lime plant also. Interesting, it's between other Santa Fe covered hoppers that look clean, as covered hopp

Elden: The shift in time is important, since I'm before 1966. Thanks for the details. Ron Merrick

So I see the square edges of the sidesill tabs in this as-built photo. And a new question: Did all or substantially all of this class get rebuilt with the same bolster-to-bolster side reinforcement la

In some places these storage vessels were called gasometers. To an extent they behaved like water towers, in that they provided a certain pressure to the system. If you see these vessels at different

That door issue happened a couple of times. They did a 50' C&EI box that had Youngstown doors, and needed Superior. Fortunately, I had some in the stash. Right now, I'm building a CMO 40' 4-4 end box

OK, never mind, I withdraw my question. I'm probably working on too many cars at once. I believe I was looking at a different car when I realized the doors weren't the right ones. Most embarrasing par