I fear that another reason for the lack of single-sheathed box car models is that too many modelers (incorrectly) believe that they were all scrapped before the Transition Era. STMFC members know better, but I'm sure many of us have met a lot of folks who don't.

Regards,

-Jeff


________________________________
From: STMFC@yahoogroups.com [mailto:STMFC@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Hendrickson
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 4:55 PM
To: STMFC@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Single-sheathed box cars

Others have pointed out that there are a few more accurate single
sheathed box car models in HO scale than Gene suggests. However, his
point remains true that, aside from resin kits, there aren't enough
to accurately represent the typical mix of box cars in a steam era
freight car fleet. One reason, of course, is that, apart from the
USRA box cars, there was so little standardization of design in the
teens and '20s.

Gene,
Here is one that has not been mentioned yet. The Life Like Proto 2000 Mather single sheathed box cars. Some are right, some are incorrect due to the Mather cars were built in a couple of different heights.
Regards to all,
Tom Palmer



EarthLink Revolves Around You.

Gene, I've built the Tichy kits and resin kits by most makers. The
Tichy cars take just as long to asemble as a resin kit. I built and
painted a Westerfield 29000 series M&StL kit today in about 5 hours.
(36 holes to drill) Beatiful model.
I'm not bragging or trying to give the impression that anyone should
built that fast. I'm just saying guys shouldn't just rule out resin
kits.
Clark Propst
Mason City Iowa

Ray Breyer wrote

Why is the uf wrong? My shot of IC 16719 shows a fishbelly.

I've got that same photo: look at the crossmembers; they're
virtually nonexistent on the Accurail model.

That's a minor detail. Obviously they didn't want to tool
a new underframe specifically for this car. They're easy to
scratch.

And to be completely prototypical you'll have to add the braces
at the top and bottom corners of the sides.

True for my era, late 50's, but were they always there?

Chet French just told me that the ONLY truly accurate IC SS
box ever made is the Sunshine car...

Unless you want to quibble over Sunshine's use of Evergreen
siding for side sheathing. :-)

Tim O'Connor

Ray Breyer wrote

... he probably used as much existing tooling as possible
to come up with a six panel SS car that was as close to a
prototype as he could find.

What other car in the Accurail line has a short 4/4 end?
I'm just curious, because I know the Canadian single sheathed
car is taller and has Murphy ends.

Tim O'

Clark

Heck, it probably takes me 3/4 as much time to build an
Athearn blue box kit as it does a Sunshine kit, when you
include research time, building and detailing, painting,
lettering, and weathering... It's more like 10-12 hours
for me, spread over several days.

Tim O'Connor

Hi Tim,

Tim O'Connor wrote:

Why is the uf wrong? My shot of IC 16719 shows a fishbelly.

I've got that same photo: look at the crossmembers; they're
virtually nonexistent on the Accurail model.

That's a minor detail. Obviously they didn't want to tool
a new underframe specifically for this car. They're easy to
scratch.

Quite true, but considering which group we're talking on, I had to mention it as an inaccuracy. And they ARE easy to fix, as are most of the "problems" with using this Accurail model to represent the IC 176000-176999/16000-16975 series cars. You can even "fake" the proper ends if you're willing to move the rivet line joint.

And to be completely prototypical you'll have to add the braces
at the top and bottom corners of the sides.

True for my era, late 50's, but were they always there?

On these specific cars, it looks like it. All of the IC diagrams that I have showing these cars have the braces on them, and in fact, looking through all of my IC SS boxcar photos it appears that ANY SS box built for them after 1924 has them on as original parts. Looking at the pre-1924 cars, I don't see any that had them retrofitted either. I'd need to see more photos of the IC 154701-160000 series cars (the F&C kit), but they all look like they were built with the braces as well (built 1923-1926, so they straddle that semi-arbitrary 1924 line).

Chet French just told me that the ONLY truly accurate IC SS
box ever made is the Sunshine car...

Unless you want to quibble over Sunshine's use of Evergreen
siding for side sheathing. :-)

Sins of our Fathers and all that...EVERYONE was doing that until pretty recently when board by board built resin masters became the norm for SS sides!
 
Regards,
 
Ray Breyer




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I misread Gene's original post. I thought he already had Tichy kits to
build. He was just referring to them as available SS cars.

I like the character of SS cars and have way too many on the layout.
All are resin except for the Tichy.

Tim, many of the resinators give you so much info that I get confused
and end up with the wrong running board or trucks for the particular
number series I've chosen. Let's see...do I remember Athearn....blue
box?? : )
Clark Propst
Mason City Iowa

 
Chet French just told me that the ONLY truly accurate IC SS box ever

made is the Sunshine car; the F&C car, the next closest and
representative of the single largest group of late steam era IC SS
cars, is too narrow by 6 or 8 inches. Great...

 
Ray Breyer

Great! I plan on building one today...I only have it because of their
marketing.
Clark Propst

I'd like to build a CGW 23 SS car with the radial roof (RP Cyc 18)
based on the F&C BM model with DW ends. Anybody know if an existing
model has that roof?
Clark Propst

--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "rockroll50401" <cepropst@...> wrote:

I'd like to build a CGW 23 SS car with the radial roof (RP Cyc 18)
based on the F&C BM model with DW ends. Anybody know if an existing
model has that roof?
Clark Propst

Clark: It seems to me that the MDC/Athearn fifty foot SS cars have a
similiar but longer roof. That'd be doing it the hard way though. Lots
of sawing and swearing involved.

Stephan Parachuk
Toronto

Hi Clark,
 
It's still the only way to get one of these cars without scratchbuilding, so don't toss it out. The model represents almost 4700 IC cars running in 1950 (my baseline year) so for Midwestern modelers it's basically a must have. None of our freight car models are 100%, so I'll just live with the F&C model until something better comes along.
 
Regards,
 
Ray Breyer

Clark,

Do you do your drilling w/ a pin vice, or do you have some other technique to quickly drill those 36 holes?

Regards,

-Jeff


________________________________
From: STMFC@yahoogroups.com [mailto:STMFC@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rockroll50401
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 5:41 PM
To: STMFC@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [STMFC] Re: Single-sheathed box cars


Gene, I've built the Tichy kits and resin kits by most makers. The
Tichy cars take just as long to asemble as a resin kit. I built and
painted a Westerfield 29000 series M&StL kit today in about 5 hours.
(36 holes to drill) Beatiful model.
I'm not bragging or trying to give the impression that anyone should
built that fast. I'm just saying guys shouldn't just rule out resin
kits.
Clark Propst
Mason City Iowa

Jeff,
I'm going to jump in here and mention that for all of the holes I
drill in resin , I use a Dremel Mini-Mite. A battery powered moto-tool.
If you're careful and use the right feed rate and speed you can also
successfully use this tool for styrene as well.
Drilling 36 holes becomes a job of mere minutes.
Pierre Oliver

--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "Aley, Jeff A" <Jeff.A.Aley@...> wrote:

Clark,

Do you do your drilling w/ a pin vice, or do you have

some other technique to quickly drill those 36 holes?

Regards,

-Jeff


________________________________

Jeff Aley wrote:

Do you do your drilling w/ a pin vice . . .

Um, let's not get into vices on this list.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@signaturepress.com
Publishers of books on railroad history

.....all of the holes I
drill in resin , I use a Dremel Mini-Mite. A battery powered moto-
tool.
If you're careful and use the right feed rate and speed you can also
successfully use this tool for styrene as well.
Drilling 36 holes becomes a job of mere minutes.

I will second that. Just don't try to use carbide bits this way,
however. You (meaning me, of course) cannot hold the tool steady
enough to avoid bit breakage.

The battery-powered Dremel tools are a godsend.

Denny

A sewing machine foot pedal on a fixed speed dremel mounted in the drill press works well to drill holes in plastic or resin steam era freight cars.

----------------------------------------------------------------
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mailto:steve.sandifer@sbcglobal.net
Home: 12027 Mulholland Dr., Meadows Place, TX 77477, 281-568-9918
Office: Southwest Central Church of Christ, 4011 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX
77025, 713-667-9417
Personal: http://www.geocities.com/stevesandifer2000/index
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--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "Gene Green" <bierglaeser@...> wrote:

--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "pierreoliver2003" <pierre.oliver@>
wrote:

Jeff,
I'm going to jump in here and mention that for all of the holes I
drill in resin , I use a Dremel Mini-Mite. A battery powered moto-

tool.

If you're careful and use the right feed rate and speed you can also
successfully use this tool for styrene as well.
Drilling 36 holes becomes a job of mere minutes.
Pierre Oliver

Interesting. My son uses a similar technique. He regulates the speed
by choosing batteries already run down by the appropriate amount.
Gene Green

Gene: I had a friend in the eighties who would regulate the speed of
his Dremel by wiring light bulb sockets in series with the tool. By
screwing in different sized bulbs he could get different speeds. Yes I
know that's doing it the hard way but that was the sort of fellow he was.

Stephan Parachuk
Toronto

I'm with you Steve. I've used a sewing machine foot pedal for more than 20 years. I can control the RPM from about 5 on up.

Jim Hayes
Portland Oregon

Steve Sandifer wrote:

Hello group,
Beyond a brief mention within this 12 y.o. discussion of using the HO Walthers 50' single sheathed automobile boxcar kit to represent an IC prototype series, I have found little further info searching our archive, or in other groups.io discussion groups. I may have missed something.

1. How could one bash an IC double-door boxcar using the Walthers kit?
2. Has anyone a source for a photo or photos of a prototype car?
3. How about an IC company diagram?

Thank you,
Owen Thorne