That photo also illustrates the practice of having 5 grab irons on the side and end on early-built R-30-12 and R-30-13 bodies, while later bodies had 6 grab irons at the same location (car at left). C

Nice find for the pre-WWII crowd, Tim. I don't believe the March 1941 photo date, though. The car is freshly painted, and that is definitely NOT a 1941 lettering scheme. The scan is too low res to rea

Tim, The only PFE 40-ft steel reefers that I know Sunshine did were the R-40-10 and the R-40-26. The R-40-14 and R-40-20 are very similar, with the -20 being 1-1/2 inches taller. I would make an R-40-

For those that care about prototype accuracy, it should be pointed out that these kits are pretty bogus. The car body is the InterMountain PFE R-40-23, so the ends, doors and underframe are not correc

Tom, I have no drawings before 1905, and I have little interest before 1940. So I am of no help. There have been some articles in The Streamliner about early freight cars, but still Harriman era. See

For those those not aware, the clinic I gave at RPM Chicagoland this year is up on my SmugMug site: https://harley-trains.smugmug.com/UP-PLN-FRT To browse other parts of that site, the top level is: h

The problems with Tichy PFE decals far extend past their being too thick (you can feel the ink with your finger nail). Tichy PFE decals have lettering that is the wrong size and shape - some too big,

I have posted my photos from RPM Chicagoland on my SmugMug site: https://harley-trains.smugmug.com/Model-RR-Shows I also posted my clinic on UP freight car painting & lettering at: https://harley-trai

I've gotten my photos from Collinsville uploaded and captioned. More coverage of the show and less of the individual models, which seems to complement the photos already listed here. Take a look at :

I am not a regular reader of this (or any other) internet list. So my apologies for the slow response. I noticed in the past week or so a lot of viewers to my UP Freight Car painting clinic on SmugMug

Let me make a couple corrections to Bill's message, lest people have the wrong idea. Several HO PFE pre-prodction wood reefers were shown at Collinsville by InterMountain. The models being produced ar

I'm late to this party, but have a few comments. The original question was are there Pantone numbers for RR paints? The answer is usually no. The reason is that there are only 1200 or 1400 Pantone col

And if you are going to CCB, you could stop by Ocala, FL and pick up a copy of this useful publication: https://www.brasstrains.com/Classic/Product/Detail/061264/Publication-Estate-Collection-Planning

While I won't debate Tony Thompson's words regarding the law, UP has continued to put the Overland Banner Medallion on a very few boxcars every few years up until at least a decade ago. I don't keep t

Schuyler Larrabee asks, "What’s the best way to protect these tools from rust?" WD-40. "Drives out moisture." Wipe/spray a wet layer and allow to evaporate. HTH, Dick Harley Laguna Beach, CA

Don't know why none of the UP knowledgable folks on this list never answered Arnold's question about truck color. The answer for the time period of this list is: All UP boxcar trucks were painted UP's

Pete Hall asked me off-list: "Were these 'twisted grabs' on both sides and both ends of the car, or only above the retainer valve? In the photo, it looks like perhaps the twisted rod was intended to p

Tim O'Connor asks: "something I've [n]ever noticed before! what is the twisted "grab" directlyover the ice hatch latch and next to the corner grab? Was this found on very many PFE reefers?" Well, yes,

Considering that the UP class B-50-17 boxcars were rebuilt cars made in 1935-36 during the Depression, and Arnold is modeling the 1950s, when who knows what has been done with the trucks during the pa

Readers of this list may be interested to know that the complete 1951 PFE Refrigerator Car Diagrams book is now available on-line at my SmugMug site: https://harley-trains.smugmug.com/PFE-FRT-DATA/PFE