I assume you mean the USRA cars? Tony Thompson

Eric Hansmann wrote: Very good-looking car, Eric. But presumably the Archer “rivets” represent bolt heads on a car like this? Tony Thompson tony@...

Tim is right. Tank car handrails used 1-1/4-inch pipe, a NOMINAL size, not the actual diameter. For the actual diameter of such pipe, in HO scale the right wire size is 0.019 inches. Tony Thompson ton

Ray Breyer wrote: You're thinking of the Transportation Act of 1920. The ICC Val predates that, and was an offshoot of antitrust legislation from the turn of the century. No, the Valuation Act of 1913

Ray Breyer wrote: I don’t think this is correct. The intent of the valuation was to find out the actual capital value of each railroad, so that a “fair return” on investment could be instituted by the

Nice job, Charlie, showing what really has to be done on these “R-T-R” models, and nicely done too. Tony Thompson tony@...

Bob Chaparro wrote: I have written a couple of times about this very useful book in my blog. Below are a couple of links, if you’re interested. https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2012/04/waybills-18-r

Since Bettendorf exited the truck business in 1941, if it’s a later truck, then obviously not prototypical. Now that one’s beyond my ability to answer. Tony Thompson tony@...

I think Randy overstated the stability of pigments. The UV in sunlight DOES change pigments. Tony Thompson

Please remember that the color faded in service . Tony Thompson

Thanks for this post, Eric. It is most interesting to see masters. I always enjoyed Bill Welch’s posts showing the masters he was working on, sometimes only preliminary stages, but all were intriguing

Exactly my own situation, and the exact reason for the junkyard. Tony Thompson tony@...

Bill Pardie wrote: Thanks, BIll. You do of course know what’s in the junkyard. Tony Thompson

Nelson Moyer wrote: Nelson, you are of course right that metallurgy has progressed over the decades, but galvanized still means zinc coated. What’s improved is paint formulations to “stick” to galvani

That's a long-standing debate, and to my knowledge never settled. I heard it hashed out many times, by knowledgeable people, when I lived in Pittsburgh. Some WW II WM photos sure look like fresh black

Very nice-looking car, Bruce. Wish I could justify one of the “War Bonds” schemes in 1953 . . . Tony Thompson tony@...

I’ve recently completed building a plywood-sheathed PFE Class R-30-24 reefer in HO scale, and described the parts of the build that were unusual or perhaps needed explanation. The car is shown in the

Bryian Sones wrote: Late 1950s. I have SP photos of experiments at a lumber mill but they are from 1963. Tony Thompson

Don’t know if it was Maple Valley coal, but when I was at UW in the early 1960s, with an office in Roberts Hall alongside the track to the power plant, an NP switcher would bring a single NP offset ho

I have read that the real enlargement of palletizing freight was in World War II, where it turned out to be a great way to prepare overseas military cargo, and after the war became far more widely ado