Early Auto Parts and TTX Trailer Flat Cars

[dti406]

Okay, for a 60' Autoparts Car there are actually several choices.

Robbins Rails/A-Line/Con-Cor, this the Greenville Double Plug Door Car which can be used as is or with modifications replicate an ACF or Thrall car of the same period.  Ford specified the Double Plug Door Car for their operations. These cars usually hauled the heavier parts such as engines, transmissions, bumpers, auto glass that were not carried in the 86' Cars.

Atlas, ACF Presicion Design Car, this is a very common auto parts car with either a 10' or 2x8' Sliding Door these were used in Chrysler and GM service as they preffered the sliding doors, again hauling the heavier parts.

Athearn, 60' Early PS Double Plug Door Car, Pullman Standard thought the demand for the 60' Car would not be great so did not participate at first in the building of 60' cars as the demand for 40' and 50' PS1 boxcars was taxing their facilities at the time.

ExactRail - 60' Greenville Double Plug Door Box, these were taller than the Robbins Rails cars and were mostly used in Ford Service from the Lima, OH Engine Plant to various assembly plants.

Walthers & Intermountain Railway, 60' PS Inside Braced in either 10' or 2x8' Sliding Doors. These were known as the Fisher Body Cars and were primary in GM Service. They also later came with a 10' and 6' sliding doors but no model exists for that car.

ExactRail - 60' PS Waffleside cars, used in parts service for various manufacturers. The DT&I car serviced a parts warehouse in Melvindale, MI.

Missing models of 60' Cars are PC&F cars for the MILW and SP, Despatch Shops Cars for the NYC and Sam Rae Shops Cars for the PRR.

86' Boxcars, the Athearn Cars are the 86' 4 Door Greenville/Thrall abortion, that has the side panel configuration of the Greenville car, but instead of rivits has the Thrall welded panels. This car was primarily in Ford/Chrysler service.

The Athearn 86' 8 Door Car is a good representation of the Thrall Car and was primarily in GM service as they preferred the 8 Door Car.

Walthers makes the 86' 4 Door and 8 Door Pullman Standard Car for the same service as the above cars.

Missing 86' Cars - PC&F, Despatch Shops, and a good Greenville and Thrall car, not the Athearn mess!

Rick J

[D94R]

Athearn made, in their blue box series, 86' box cars and currently Walthers has a selection. 

If Con-Cor and Intermountain(?) would tool their N scale offerings inot HO offerings that would be well recieved!

[zstripe]

Trailer Train flat car HO scale:

1956 

Should be able to enlarge, when you click on pic.

This is from a site, I belong to.

Frank

[V&A C-628]

When I talk about earlier TOFC cars from TTX, I mean cars that have a channel along the side instead of the flush appearance that came later. I know Athearn makes a car like this, but I wonder if anyone else makes this same style of TTX car as it's what was used before the flush side cars came on the scene. For the earlier autoparts cars, I mean cars similar to what Athearn offered (or still offer) in their Genesis line. Although this car is 60' similar cars were made in the full 89' version which included roofwalks. Here is a link to the Athearn car: http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=60%27+Auto+Box+ATHG&CatID=THRF

Although these are based on cars by Pullman Standard, a similar design was also built by Greenvile in the early 60's

 

[ndbprr]

 Forgot about the Keystone Modeler but there was a whole issue of the Keystone magazine about TTX.  PRR was instrumental in its forming and most of the early management came from the PRR.

[dknelson]

mlehman

For the hi-cube boxes, the Athearn models are the commonly available ones. There was a little in brass but a brass hi-cube is probably pretty heavy.

 

I can testify that that brass hi-cube imported by Trains (of Chicago if memory serves) is VERY heavy and for all practical purposes, probably not practical to run in a train with normally weighted cars.  But it is a handsome model and I think I paid just $20 for mine at a swap meet.   It sits unpainted in its box and probably always will.

 

Athearn had two styles of the auto parts hi-cube in the Blue Box line (I no longer recall the details but I think different auto makers specified the different door arrangements).  They are still pretty common at swap meets, I suspect because guys bought them because they were neat models, but few layouts really could handle such big cars.; also there were design issues with the coupler arrangement and the weight of the cars.  In fact Walthers made an after market coupler bolster for the hi-cube boxes as well as the Athearn 85' flat cars.  It is out of stock but again, fairly commonly seen at swap meets.      https://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-997

 

The Walthers 75' TTX flat is also seen at swap meets but easy to miss because the packaging is unusual - it comes in a very compact box.

 

Dave Nelson

[ALEX WARSHAL]

Is this the article you were mentioning? 

http://www.prrths.com/Keystone%20Modeler/Keystone_Modeler_PDFs/TKM%20No.%2087%20-%20Winter%202014.pdf

[ndbprr]

The very earliest TTX flats were PRR 50' flat cars. The PRR historical society had an issue of the Keystone devoted to TTX several years ago. It may still be available.

[mlehman]

They weren't the earliest TOFC flats, but TrailerTrain had 75' cars that could handle two of the shorter trailers used back then. Walthers offered these in a variety of roadnames in the past. The longer 89' flats came into service in the mid to late-60s as 40' trailers became more common.

For the hi-cube boxes, the Athearn models are the commonly available ones. There was a little in brass but a brass hi-cube is probably pretty heavy.

[7j43k]

Athearn has made the boxes and flats.  And Walthers has made the boxes.

 

Ed

[V&A C-628]

Hello. Does anyone know where I can find or who makes some of the early 89' auto box cars and TOFC cars that were introduced during the early-mid sixties? Is there a way to kitbash any of these cars? Any information is greatly appreciated