Dear Tom, Richard’s collection of 60,000 rolling stock photos is destined to go to the California State Railroad Museum, for sure, so everyone can access it. Yours, Sandra Sandra Hendrickson

Dear Mike, I’ve gotten so many cudos to Richard …. it’s a shame he isn’t here to hear them. Thank you for your kind words. And please relay to STMFC my thanks. This was so sudden and unexpected that I

Attached. These 10K AC&F Type 21s were painted white with black underframes, bottom sheets, and lettering. Photo ca. 1947. R

Gary, the MPCX billboard scheme remained current during the 1930s but was dropped early in WW II in favor of reporting marks, numbers, and data only. It’s likely that at least some MPCX cars lasted in

Brad, keep in mmd that in the 1940s the railroads were inconceivably filthy. Car underbodies were subjected to constant attack from the ashes and soot from steam locomotives, journal oil sprayed on th

Here you are, Brian. Richard Hendrickson

Rob, before they adopted red, Swift reefers had the sides painted a yellow-orange color very similar to that used on PFE and SFRD cars. A slightly lighter color than Daylight Orange would be just abou

I’ll add to this that Athearn’s fine National B-1s, which aren’t in my PDF because I assumed they are out of production, were still available as recently as a month ago if you phone or e-mail their pa

RIGHT! And if there’s anyone out there who believes all this, I have a really nice orange-painted bridge I’d like to sell you at a bargain price…. Richard Hendrickson

The Santa Fe’s Bx-34 and Bx-37 class box cars provide a good example, since their bodies were essentially identical; only the underframes were different. Bx-34 with Duryea cushion underframe: length o

Clark, I assume you’re referring to the Bx-3 and Bx-6 class sectional-wood-sheathed box cars that were converted to salt cars in the early 1950s by fitting refrigerator car doors and updated brake equ

On May 25, 2014, at 5:01 PM, abrown@... [STMFC] <STMFC@...> wrote: My apologies, Al. I inadvertently addressed my recent message to “Bill,” knot “Al.” I guess I had another Floridian,

Bill, I have two photos of WofA 11017 reweighed in ’56. One is a broadside (possibly the one in Bob’s book); the other is a 7/8 view showing the B end. It’s a bit fuzzy, but it you want it I’ll see wh

Unfortunately, no, since it sounds like Don Valentine’s version of the Atlas model will be a good one. Cudahy continued to operate a sizable fleet of 36’ wood sheathed meat reefers through the ‘50s, b

No, Don, read my e-mail again. In the 1920s reefers, both 36’ and 40’ with four large door hinges per side, were virtually a trademark of the Pressed Steel Car Corp., which built many cars for North A

Thanks for this admirably accurate and succinct statement of the facts, Dennis, though i suppose there are still STMFC subscribers who will dismiss it as nothing more than “roundhouse rumor." Richard

Roundhouse rumor? Aside from having a malfunctioning spell checker and a sizable chip on his shoulder, Mark Rickert simply doesn’t know wheat he’s talking about here. Tony has not only read the entire

Don, obviously your research didn’t extend to the Billboard Refrigerator Car book by myself and Ed Kaminski, published by (and still available from) Signature Press. In that book there are three photo

Yes, that’s undoubtedly the tank from a Class II tank car with a threaded dome manway cover. Richard Hendrickson

[snip] Mike goes on at length about NMRA track and wheel standards but I have to say this discussion interests me not at all, because those standards are essentially obsolete, the NMRA having chickene