I was thinking of modeling one of the CMO cars in the 20000-22414 series and thought I had a photo for the lettering. But my photo is for one of the rebuilt cars. Does anyone have a photo to show lett

I am researching Hocking Valley/Chesapeake & Ohio box cars to create a 3d printed model. The cars were built in 1924-25 with wood sides but were converted to steel sides in the early 40's. The ends ar

Good morning all, I'm calling on some of you freight car experts that might could help point towards a fairly close model of this series of cars. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jaso

These series of cars, CNW 65000-67418, appear to be 1937 AAR design, 3716 cu ft, 80000 capy. The number of cars were decreasing in late 1950s ORER. Were they sold, or converted to something else? Not

I was going through the cars I inherited from my friend deciding what to keep and what to sell and I can across a PFE mechanical reefer that looks like part of the refrigeration unit was protruding th

Fragile – Handle With Care This is a 1957 wreck photo from the Council Bluffs Public Library: https://www.councilbluffslibrary.org/archive/files/original/e9b445c24648e38d536b12ee1d8081e9.jpg Descripti

Alex Schneider wrote: “Did the MCB or later the AAR mandate how much brake effort a car should have, presumably based on loaded weight?” As recommended by the AAR’s Brake and Brake Equipment Committee

Many moon s ago had a stack of these publications. Unfortunately lost them all. Been looking at a few that I interested in purchasing. Big question, " How useful are they. Considering in some the scop

Guys, Here's the thing (from where I stand) ... Our priorities - primarily prototypical accuracy - are ... let's face it ... out there on the outer fringe of the modeling community. The mfgrs are, for

I'm returning to the Amherst Ry Soc train show in W Springfield next weekend. Is Bob's Photos still setting up in the hotel across the street from the fairgrounds? Sorry for the cross-posting.

I'm thinking of pre-ordering a couple of these. Unfortunately Atlas hasn't told us what paint scheme is appropriate for the 1950s. I think these two might be correct. Does anyone know for sure? Jeff W

Some time ago, I found this model at a swap meet. It was so nicely built, I bought it. Ever since, I have wondered if it was a kit, or scratch built. Does anyone recognize it? Thanks, Jay Styron Fallb

It's often said by those of us in the industry, and only partially facetiously, that the way to make a small fortune in model railroading... is to start with a large one. Bill Gould simply went on to

House car distribution on the Santa Fe 1929-43 House car distribution on the Santa Fe 1929-43 About ten years ago, I discovered a document at the California State Railroad Museum Library that was appa

Resin Car Works has produced a kit for a Missouri Pacific 1942-built steel box car. More details are in the latest blog post. http://blog.resincarworks.com/missouri-pacific-aar-box-car-kit/ Eric Hansm

Is Mount Vernon Shops still in business? I tried twice to place an order in the past week. I went through Pay Pal and both times my bank denied the charge as bring possibly fraudulent. The website (ww

Hello all, I'm looking for scale drawings for the ACF 70 ton covered hopper with the "triangular openings" (for lack of a more proper description!). Model Railroader in June 1955 had a "Dollar Car" sc

ScaleTrains has announced a new 40’ transition era steel reefer, full text below https://www.scaletrains.com/ho-scale/ho-scale-freight-cars/kit-classics-ho-scale-40-steel-reefer.html?availability=40 P

Hi Folks, Let me be very clear: on RealSTMFC, “members are permitted to criticize or praise manufacturer's products free from criticism from other members. Criticism of a manufacturer's business pract

I am reminded of an article on a local architectural model shop back in the ‘70s. The owner said he never hires anyone whose hobby is modelmaking because they want to pause and admire their work rathe