I have been accused of being a "nit picker." Guilty as charged.

I am modeling the Southern Railway Murphy Branch June 21, 1942. Talk about trying to be specific.

The fact of the matter is that as much as I've researched there are still HUGE holes in my knowledge base that prevent me from getting everything accurate. I don't believe there are ANY photographs of the Standard Oil facility in Bryson City, NC and I wonder if any were taken.

But let me talk just about freight cars (since that is the group focus.)

Even getting accurate freight cars is problematic. Southern ran SU box cars. Before you get excited and smugly suggest "Westerfield"- did I mention I model in N scale? I went to the trials and tribulations of researching the SU and designing it using 3D Cad and then having it Rapid-Prototyped. It comes closer to the SU than anything else in N (Hutchins end and all) and I'll even suggest there might be a feature or two more correct than its big HO brother. <g>

At some point though the best nit picker must raise the white flag. Anyone making press steel roofs? Anyone have adjustable truss rods?

As I alluded earlier a real issue for some of us is just 1:1 information! Some of us (multiple scales) have been looking for good photos of Southern Railway pulpwood cars (or what was used for pulpwood) between say 1920 and 1942. Based on the photographic evidence one might almost think the RR didn't haul pulp nor wood. BTW, yes for part of that period they actually stacked pulpwood IN BOXCARS! Do the research. Pulp in boxcars? Talk about labor intensive!

Those of us interested in accurately modeling (to satisfy our nit-picking gene) sometimes forget that part of the hobby is to have fun. We just have a different definition. I'd quote a definitive definition but darned if I've found one in my research!


Gordon Andrews
Southern Railway Murphy Branch- June 21, 1942