Football boxcar

[7j43k]

Here's the Kadee CofG boxcar:

 

 

I expect it is done correctly, if for no other reason than Kadee would be horribly embarrassed if it turned out to be wrong.

 

Ed

[mikeGTW]

I have the bev-bel box car it is still un assemblied but it is a 50 foot single door dark blue with silver roof and the oval is silver looks just like the picture that was posted by Bigdaddy

[oldline1]

JaBear,

That's an interesting story. And all this time most thought it painted incorrectly. Ha!

That reminds me of a lesson I learned earlier in my painting history. I had a customer who was a Great Northern modeler sent me several beautiful brass steamers to paint. About the only info he gave me was the numbers and amount of weathering he wanted on each. So, with my trusty GN paint diagram in hand, I painted them and they turned out rather nicely (to me!). When he picked them up he was horrified! It seems GN had different shops that rebuilt their engines and they all had variations on the way they painted things. I had painted them for the "wrong" shop for the area he modeled. Minor things like some had black cylinder covers, domes, etc where the others may have used the green or a combintion of the two. Some had a red cab roof-others black. Lots of minor things that made a difference to him and apparently the GN!

So lesson learned-I now have a paint instruction sheet that the customer fills out to let me know anything particular like that.

I like the NZ and Aussie steamers. One of those countries has a light green semi streamined Hudson that's neat.

Roger Huber

Deer Creek Locomotive Works

[ATSFGuy]

Athearn/Bev Bel also released a kit with either a 40 ft or 50 ft boxcar for the modeler to assemble.

["JaBear"]

oldline1

Obviously the cars are popular due to the number of makers producing them. Obviously the makers spent at least 1 minute doing their research.

Gidday Roger, this is a wild generalisation but I guess that from a manufacturers perspective, “if it sells, it’s good”. Personally, I’d prefer prototypical accuracy but then what is prototypical accuracy?

 

This link shows NZR A class, 4-6-2, A423, in the foreground, with Wab800, 4-6-4T, behind. Taking into consideration that red fades badly, you will notice the different reds on the headstocks.

 

http://www.maciulaitis.com/nzrolling/nzr_steam/a423_1.jpg

 

About 20 years ago, I was a volunteer at the storage facility/ museum where, along with others, these two locomotives were stored. I was there, on the day, when A423 headstock was repainted in the colour it still sports, and was subsequently shocked by   the furore, to the point of animosity, that was created because of that “incorrect” shade of red!

 

It actually continued until one day a visitor commented that he was pleased to see that the headstock had been correctly painted, “Addington Red”, the NZR Addington Workshop being the last place A423 had been overhauled before its withdrawal from service in 1969. The visitors’ credentials were that he was a foreman at Addington at the time.

 

Turns out there were two reds!! (and a few red faces!!)

 

That incident is always at the back of my mind when I’m carrying out research because it goes to show, that despite a vast amount of verifiable documentary evidence, there can be notable exceptions.

 

As a modeller, within reason, I’m a prototypical heathen in that if no documentary proof exists, then it is up to the questioner to prove me wrong.

Cheers, the Bear.

[oldline1]

Gidday Roger, to be perfectly honest while carrying out research for myself, I like to have at the very least two corroborating sources, more is even better. However, I rather suspected you’d evaluate the validity of the information in the link, so I posted it.   I am pleased to see that the scheme is just appropriate for my modelled era. Cheers, the Bear.

JaBear,

Again, thanks for the link. Some very neat cars there. I agree that 2 sources are really needed to model from and even more if possible. Unfortunately ALL information, be it books, magazines, reports or articles are to be questioned for accuracy. We have to really go by photos and even they can be misleading as modern day museums have been known to paint equipment properly using actual paint diagrams, etc but using the wrong equipment. If you happen to, say,  love the Virginain and own a Frisco wide vision caboose nothing prevents you from painting it VGN. The bad part is someone now will assume it's correct and then the errors & mis-information start piling up. Fact tends to get distorted with partial information and maybe desires.

A good example is the N&W J. Yes, the 610 ran several runs during testing on the Pennsy above 110 mph and they were known to run on the N&W at 100 at times but many folks swear they were run over 100 ALL THE TIME. It's just not so. Legends distort facts.

So far the CG definitely HAD 40' cars painted with the football and definitely didn't have them. I have found nothing to substantioate either way. I do know they had 50' cars.

According to various manufacturers the CG cars were gray, purple, black or blue with gray or silver footballs. Some say silver or yellow dividing stripes between the colors. Some don't mention stripes. 

Obviously the cars are popular due to the number of makers producing them. Obviously the makers spent at least 1 minute doing their research. Obviously I need to dig further to find the answers.

I personally like the cars and think in a sea of boxcar red at that time they were attractive. I remember always watching for them and the RWB State of Maine cars to go by in trains.

Roger Huber

Deer Creek Locomotive Works

[dknelson]

Kurtz Kraft offered a Central of Georgia "football" scheme 40' PS1 boxcar kit circa 1960, so it wasn't just the trainset crowd that slapped the scheme on 40 footers if in fact that was a scheme reserved for 50' boxcars.  The old Walthers Prototype Lettering Diagram Book IIfrom 1958 shows the scheme on a drawing of what looks like  40' boxcar but the number on the car in my 1962 ORER is a 50 foot car: 5753.  Walthers described it as a black car with an aluminum balloon, black lettering, black and yellow herald.

I was surprised by how few CG freight cars came up in a Google images search.  That reminds me of a thought I had at a recent swap meet: it isn't enough to have the Morning Sun freight car books for your own railroad (although you should).  You almost need them for every railroad.

Dave Nelson

["JaBear"]

Gidday Roger, to be perfectly honest while carrying out research for myself, I like to have at the very least two corroborating sources, more is even better. However, I rather suspected you’d evaluate the validity of the information in the link, so I posted it.

 

I am pleased to see that the scheme is just appropriate for my modelled era.

Cheers, the Bear.

[JOHN C TARANTO]

DSchmitt,

Thanks for the info!  I didn't know that about PFE #14760.  Kind of a unique car.  I'll take a little "artistic license" with it since my era is 1946-1950.  Nice model, produced by Red Caboose.

[7j43k]

Looking at the C of G and the reefer, I'll endorse "different" rather than "attractive" or "stylish".  And for marketing, it's been said that the former is the moneymaker.

 

Ed

[DSchmitt]

JOHN C TARANTO

 

 

7j43k

I, too, would like to know more about this paint scheme.  No one else did it. 

 

Why?

 

Ed

 

 

 

 

 

The refrigerator car on the right was a Pacific Fruit Express, jointly operated by Union Pacific/Southern Pacific.  Please click on photo for a closer look.

I suppose you could call this a "football" car...

 

Looks more like a cigar to me.

 

Thats the "curved corner" scheme of 1936. At least 22 cars, records incomplete.  Only one car #14760 had "Pacific Friuit Express" in script which was applied in June 1938. (other cars had it in standard font) Cars were older R30-5 and R30-6 and had arch bar trucks. The "curved corner scheme did not last long, by Oct 1938 all the cars were repainted again.

Information from Pacific Fruit Express by Thompson, Church and Jones.

 

[JOHN C TARANTO]

7j43k

I, too, would like to know more about this paint scheme.  No one else did it. 

 

Why?

 

Ed

 

 

The refrigerator car on the right was a Pacific Fruit Express, jointly operated by Union Pacific/Southern Pacific.  Please click on photo for a closer look.

I suppose you could call this a "football" car...

[oldline1]

JaBear,

Thanks for that link. It was pretty interesting however a quick look showed some errors so that's one of those sites to take with a grain of salt.

 The CG "football" cars were black, not gray. The State of Maine cars were BAR and New Haven, not B&M. Those are the obvious ones I caught immediately but there may be others.

Roger Huber

Deer Creek Locomotive Works

["JaBear"]

oldline1

Were they 40' or 50' cars?

This site says there was both.

http://www.smarttinc.com/content/newsletter-june-2014

Cheers, the Bear.

[ATSFGuy]

Anyone here a CofG expert?

[7j43k]

I, too, would like to know more about this paint scheme.  No one else did it. 

 

Why?

 

Ed

[ATSFGuy]

Does anyone know vwhy CofG painted them this way?

[trwroute]

That scheme was only applied to 50' boxcars...

[7j43k]

I am not a Southern or CG modeler.  But I did look at some photos of CG 40' boxes, and none had the football.

My leaning is that they didn't.

I did find a photo of the AHM 40' CG boxcar at hoseeker in the 1967 catalog:  part number 5220.

 

Ed

[oldline1]

Thanks! That's obviously a 50' car. Anyne know if they had 40' cars too? I seem to remember an AHM car way back in the 1960's that was a 40'er. I know that doesn't make it correct but maybe they also did them up as the shorter version.

Roger

[BigDaddy]

Except for me

The description says 50

 

[oldline1]

I imagine most of us have seen the models over the years of the Centralof Georgia football boxcars. The black cars with the silver football oval covering the sides. Were they 40' or 50' cars?

Thanks,

Roger