Santa Fe FE-26 class, 40" double door cars were equipped with Evans loaders
during the 40s and they were removed during the 50s, as the cars were
transferred to auto parts shipping, etc.

A model of these was available from C&BT Part # HO-0401.to HO-0405. I've
found them in hobby shops and they appear on ebay from time to time.

They also made a variety of other road names including Wabash, NYC, B&O,
etc.

The ATSF cars are pretty accurate IMHO.

I don't know whether the other roads listed are prototypically accurate. I'm
sure other on this list will know.

Cheers

Dave

Sunshine made and Fe-26 but unfortunately it was discontinued. Wish I'd
gotten one when they were available. The riveted fishbelly side sill made it
stand out.

Jim Hayes
Portland Oregon



_____

From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of
David North
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 4:04 AM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: 40' Autobox cars



Santa Fe FE-26 class, 40" double door cars were equipped with Evans loaders
during the 40s and they were removed during the 50s, as the cars were
transferred to auto parts shipping, etc.

A model of these was available from C&BT Part # HO-0401.to HO-0405. I've
found them in hobby shops and they appear on ebay from time to time.



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8:00 AM

David North wrote:
"Santa Fe FE-26 class, 40" [sic] double door cars were equipped with
Evans loaders during the 40s and they were removed during the 50s, as
the cars were transferred to auto parts shipping, etc.

A model of these was available from C&BT Part #HO-0401 to HO-0405.
I've found them in hobby shops and they appear on ebay from time to
time.

<<snip>>

The ATSF cars are pretty accurate IMHO."

It depends on what you mean as "pretty accurate". If you use the
parts given to you in the box, you will not get an accurate model.
The greatest tragedy about the C&BT line is while the concept of the
kits is very sound (providing a base carbody with separate detail
parts, e.g., ladders, grabs, brake details), the execution is
dreadfully flawed to the point that the first step in assembling a
C&BT kit is to immediately throw away the detail parts, running
board, and wheelsets, and replace them with aftermarket parts. To
make things worse, instead of correcting these deficiencies, the
manufacturer chose instead to retool the carbodies to included molded
on ladders and grabs, essentially taking a step backwards.

As for getting an accurate Fe-26, you will also need to rework the
sidesill of the kit. The Fe-26 had a distinctive full-length
fishbelly sidesill with lots of rivets. See Hendrickson's _Furniture
and Automobile Box Cars_ for more details - it's the car featured on
the cover photo.

BTW, this book is still in print and available from the SFRH&MS:
http://www.atsfrr.net/store/bookFrt.htm

Fortunately for the HO scale modeler, the C&BT line has mostly been
superceded by Branchline (postwar boxcars) and Intermountain (SFRD
reefers); however, for some paint schemes and prototypes (most
notably 12 panel welded postwar boxcars, the auto boxcars that we've
been discussing, and some rebuilt SFRD steel reefers), they're still
the only game in town. These kits can be built into nice models, but
the modeler needs to be aware that they require some TLC to get there.


Ben Hom

however, for some paint schemes and prototypes (most
notably 12 panel welded postwar boxcars, the auto boxcars that we've
been discussing, and some rebuilt SFRD steel reefers), they're still
the only game in town.
Ben Hom

Ben, do you know if there's a list of C&BT cars that have not been
duplicated and correct road info for those cars?
Thanks,
Clark Propst

Clark Propst asked:
"...do you know if there's a list of C&BT cars that have not been
duplicated and correct road info for those cars?"

The information has been posted on this list in dribs and drabs, but
nobody to my knowledge has compiled it into a list. It's certainly a
worthy projects, as it would help identify what's worth picking up or
what's worth keeping in the kit stash.


Ben Hom

I think C&BT produced single door cars

6, 7, 8 ft door openings
3 different ends -- 4/4 RP, R+3/4 RP, R+3/4 Taper
10 panel or 12 panel riveted
RP or DP roofs

for a total of 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 36 permutations

Many of them have no prototype.

For the double door cars I think there was only one
side pattern and a single choice of door width, so you
only have variations by roof and end choices.

Tim O'Connor

Tim,

C&BT made double door cars with 4/4 ends and rectangular roofs, and with R-3/4 ends and diagonal panel roofs. I have both types in my stash. I believe all had the same double 8' doors. I haven't found a prototype for the latter car, and plan to use the sides to build a C&NW double-door riveted PS-1. Someday. Maybe.

Kind regards,


Garth G. Groff

timboconnor@... wrote:

--- In STMFC@..., "Garth G. Groff" <ggg9y@...> wrote:

Tim,

C&BT <snip>

Do the letters C, B and T actually stand for anything? Someone's
name? Location of company?
Gene Green

As I remember, owner Dick Schweiger named it for his model railroad, but I don't recall the full name as I left Pittsburgh 14 years ago.

CJ Riley

--- In STMFC@..., timboconnor@... wrote:

I think C&BT produced single door cars

6, 7, 8 ft door openings
3 different ends -- 4/4 RP, R+3/4 RP, R+3/4 Taper
10 panel or 12 panel riveted
RP or DP roofs

for a total of 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 36 permutations

Many of them have no prototype.

For the double door cars I think there was only one
side pattern and a single choice of door width, so you
only have variations by roof and end choices.

Tim O'Connor

But they sold separate doors, so you could mix & match. Starting with
their model and using their parts, some time back I modelled a B&O
car that had a 14' opening but not four 7' doors -- an 8' main door
and a 6' auxiliary per side. The car could use more details but I
still have it -- one of these years I'll upgrade the thing & bring it
back to Cocoa Beach.

Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.

Al Brown wrote:

But they sold separate doors, so you could mix & match. Starting with
their model and using their parts, some time back I modelled a B&O
car that had a 14' opening but not four 7' doors -- an 8' main door
and a 6' auxiliary per side. The car could use more details but I
still have it -- one of these years I'll upgrade the thing & bring it
back to Cocoa Beach.

There was a version of the kit decorated for the B&O class M-59 with the
correct width doors [8' and 6'] included in the kit. I maybe guessing,
but I believe Chris Barkan had some input into creating that kit. As
noted for some of the other railroads, the side sills have to be changed
to match those used on the B&O boxcar; and we all know to replace all
the details parts. Of course the Sunshine kit for the M-59 was better,
but I recall did not model the Duryea underframe.

Bob Witt

It depends on what you mean as "pretty accurate". If you use the parts given
to you in the box, you will not get an accurate model. The greatest tragedy
about the C&BT line is while the concept of the
kits is very sound (providing a base carbody with separate detail parts,
e.g., ladders, grabs, brake details), the execution is dreadfully flawed to
the point that the first step in assembling a
C&BT kit is to immediately throw away the detail parts, running board, and
wheelsets, and replace them with aftermarket parts. To make things worse,
instead of correcting these deficiencies, the
manufacturer chose instead to retool the carbodies to included molded on
ladders and grabs, essentially taking a step backwards.

As for getting an accurate Fe-26, you will also need to rework the sidesill
of the kit. The Fe-26 had a distinctive full-length fishbelly sidesill with
lots of rivets. See Hendrickson's _Furniture
and Automobile Box Cars_ for more details - it's the car featured on the
cover photo.

BTW, this book is still in print and available from the SFRH&MS:
<http://www.atsfrr.net/store/bookFrt.htm>
http://www.atsfrr.net/store/bookFrt.htm

Fortunately for the HO scale modeler, the C&BT line has mostly been
superceded by Branchline (postwar boxcars) and Intermountain (SFRD reefers);
however, for some paint schemes and prototypes (most notably 12 panel welded
postwar boxcars, the auto boxcars that we've been discussing, and some
rebuilt SFRD steel reefers), they're still the only game in town. These kits
can be built into nice models, but the modeler needs to be aware that they
require some TLC to get there.
Ben Hom





Hi Ben,

By "pretty accurate" I mean that I feel the body has the correct roof, sides
and ends.

I find very few kits on the market that don't require replacement detail
parts, running boards, wheels, etc., to a greater or lesser extent, so I
don't see this as part of the criteria.

Nice if they don't need replacing, eg Kadee's PS-1, but the items I
mentioned are my primary criteria.

And I agree about the retool to moulded on details.

Front Range, Accurail, Branchline (Yardmaster) did the same thing.

Sadly we have our fellow modelers to blame here. Way too many people want a
quick fix rather than having to grow their ability to construct a more
detailed kit.

The extension of that attitude has seen the proliferation of RTR and the P2K
timesaver kits.



Rivets aside, I'm not sure I agree with you about the sidesill.

Yep, I have that excellent book by Richard H too Ben and IMHO, the C&BT
sidesill profile is reasonably close . The door track is too low, making the
sidesill appear shallow.



Unfortunately, "mostly superceded" doesn't mean much to Santa Fe modelers
wanting ATSF built cars as, to my knowledge no-one else offers a suitable
styrene 12 panel 10'6"high boxcar, or furniture/automobile car, which is the
one we were discussing.



I wish someone would do similar (16 panel) sides for 50' ATSF cars.

Cheers

Dave

I recall when these came out. Some sold rather quickly.
The B&O auto M-59 had the wrong doors. CB&T replaced them free. And yes the various parts were not nice.
However they filled a void and still are attractive for other endeavors.
Just my thoughts.

Sincerely, Mark Morgan