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NYMX (was not-PFE Mechanical Reefer Model Project)

B.L. Griffith
 

It’s way down in the cue, but I might just have to go down this rabbit hole.  If I’m successful and the modification to make the sides resemble the NYMX car sides come out well, I might even see about pulling RTV molds and resin casting a few.  Of course, then there is the challenge of coming up with decals for the heralds, numbers, and lettering.

Tim O'Connor
 


I think that 1028 is just faded -- all of the cars were painted (and repainted) the same way


On 12/8/2022 11:55 PM, B.L. Griffith wrote:

In rereading the Hinman MDC book material on the mechanical reefers (five pages plus a paragraph and pictures on a six), I find I misread it.  The additional converted car (NYMX 2000, built 1946) to the 50 car 1956 order from PC&F that I mistook to be 40’ long is the same length as the others, it does however have 9 panels with riveted overlapping seams between the plug door and the car ends.  Photos of cars from the 50 unit PC&F order show those cars to have six panels occupying the same space.  The ventilation panels and equipment space door is also different on that one car. 

Another oddity is the late 70’s photo of car #1028 on page 250 showing the original decorating scheme, but with a gray side stripe and herald on a solid silver car instead of green stripe & herald on light yellow sides.

After a cursory inspection, it would appear that the Pacific HO kit could be kitbashed into something credible.   Oddly, the model side depicts 7 panels and two horizontal rivet seams in the panel adjacent to the plug door, not an issue if you’re scraping the sides smooth to rework the seams and replace the “golf ball rivets” with resin ones anyway.  With the possible exception of slightly oversize rivets along the horizontal mid seam, the kit manufacturer does appear to have gotten the ends (1-3-4 improved dreadnaught) right, even the rib taper appears to match photos.

Replacing the kit roof with a Moloco 50’ Stanray Overhanging roof (part #RF-0805), if attached to the locating rib on the top of the kit sides, spaces the roof above the car sides per photos.  As the Moloco roof length exactly matches the kit side length, it’s ends would need to be lengthened with styrene strip stock to overhang the car ends per photos.

The kit supplied roofwalk is not see through, so a proper Apex style replacement from KaDee or the photo etched one from Plano would be a must.

Coming up with the correct lettering & heralds might be the most challenging aspect of this kit bash.

The photo shows the kit sides and ends with the Moloco roof.

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--
Tim O'Connor
Sterling, Massachusetts

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