WW2 US Army Flat Cars ???

[Anonymous]

Guys: I'll admit up front I'm not a railroader, however I have it in mind to scratchbuild a typical flat car of the WW2 period in 1/35 scale as a display for some towed artillery pieces in transit. I have the Army TM for each piece which shows how the items were to be loaded/secured, but the "flat car" appears to be a training dummy.

I have issues 17, 77, & 81 of the Train Shed '43 Car Builders Cyclopedia as a start. Would building something from here, be "period" enough ? Were there "War Dept" cars kinda like the later DODX or were most trains commercial ??? Or Both.

As you note, I will be in 1/35 scale. Are there good trucks & other detailing available in 1/32 (#1) scale ? My brief scan thru Walthers didn't show me much.

But most important, can someone provide me some references, preferably photographic, concerning WW2 era flat cars hauling military equipment, preferably artillery. I've googled around without much luck.

Thanks in advance, for any help I can get.

John

[Pennsy58]

Can't help you with the scale resourses, but I recall seeing picture books on railroads during the war from time to time. I did find some listings at a favorite book resource of mine. www.karensbooks.com One book listed is " America's Fighting Railroads" is listed as a picture book. Never seen it but it may be of assistance.
Good luck...

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pennsy58

Can't help you with the scale resourses, but I recall seeing picture books on railroads during the war from time to time. I did find some listings at a favorite book resource of mine. www.karensbooks.com One book listed is " America's Fighting Railroads" is listed as a picture book. Never seen it but it may be of assistance.
Good luck...

Thanks, I have "America's Fighting Railroads" on order, although I understand that many of the pictures are not actual WW2 because of restrictions on anything other than official photography of same.

I shall check out www.karensbooks.com -- thanks for the lead.

[orsonroy]

The military really didn't own any freight cars during WWII, so any plans of 1930s-1940s railroad flat cars would be what you're looking for. RR plans aren't generally posted online, so you'll have to look for "Freight Car Cyclopedias" (check Ebay) for real plans of flat cars.

As for photos, good luck. Besides 2-3 WWII and railroading books, there's really nothing out there. Using the FM for car loading and tiedowns is about the best you'll get.

Unfortunately, you'll probably end up with something that's not quite correct. Until recently, railroads never kept a lot of flat cars on their rosters, so during the war they were mostly reserved for large dimensional loads like tracked vehicles. Small items like Jeeps, 1/2 tons, and field artillery was usually crated and carried in gondolas, or shipped in boxcars, both of which make for boring (but simple!) construction projects. Except for a couple of photos of French 75's on flatcars during the 1940-1941 Louisiana maneuvers, I've only seen photos of 155mm Long Toms on flatcars.

[jrbarney]

John,
You might want to add this site:
http://www.ww2modelmaker.com
to your list of resources. Also, you might want to pay for the NMRA's Kalmbach Memorial Library:
http://www.nmra.org/library/
to do some research for you. The fee even for a non-member should be reasonable and contingent on how much you ask for.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy
---- >8 snip 8<----
Except for a couple of photos of French 75's on flatcars during the 1940-1941 Louisiana maneuvers, I've only seen photos of 155mm Long Toms on flatcars.

Ray:
Thanks for the background -- I've learned a lot in the last few days. I did see a few nifty shots in the Transportation Corps books in the US Army WW2 "Green Book" series -- one had a couple dozen jeeps stacked & cross-lashed across a flat car -- and there was quite some discussion on the difficulties of getting everyone to stop wasting space on very limited rail assets.

Long Toms are exactly the load in mind !!! (As well as the 8in Howitzer)
Are the photos you mention available ???

Bob:
Thanks for the NMRA search tip !! I will check it out.