Happy Thanksgiving!
Does anyone have Intermountain HO Santa Fe Caswell and/or SP versions of similar Gondolas? I could use a protoype link or your pics to see which versions I'd like to have on my layout. GS, GT, etc. I model the mid 1940s so the 1930 version (see modeltrainstuff.com) could work.
I'll probably use a solid bottom version for machinery and a drop bottom version (but not sure which) for between the tracks (GS...I think) and GT for flat bottoms.
I'm not sure what the inside bottom doors look like on the various drop doors and would love to see the Intermountain versions if you happen to have them. None of the dealer sites I regularly go to,show the inside bottom doors.
I have tried prototype photo search but haven't found a good one yet.
Many thanks, Jim
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Here's the Intermountain USRA composite gondola (styrene and wood kit):
...and its interior:
This is the Red Caboose version of the Espee G-50-22 and U.P. steel-side drop bottom gondola:
...and a view of its interior:
...and the Walthers USRA composite gondola:
...and a look inside:
Wayne
Thank you Wayne! Extremely helpful shots. I appreciate the time and work to take these.
I guess I'm partly confused by the drop door versions' interiors. Are the doors molded in flat without obvious openings, seams, etc.? I guess I expected something similar to hopper bay doors... but gondolas are the only cars I've had no prior experience with.
It's great to see the different patterns the wood bottoms are built with. It's a shame the dealers/catalogs don't show the interior bottoms (or even the undersides)
Jim
Not sure if you've seen these....
http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/259/19317/march-2000-page-15
http://modelingthesp.blogspot.co.nz/2011/04/small-modeling-project-caswell-gondola.html
and this, though it is of the later drop bottom gondolas....
http://www.sunshinekits.com/sunimages/sun61.pdf
Hope they help,
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Capt. Grimek....Are the doors molded in flat without obvious openings, seams, etc.?....
Yeah, the doors are modelled fully-closed and tight-fitting, as they would have been when new. There is moulded-in suggestion of the perimeter of the openings, though, which could be accentuated with more detailed weathering. Mine were done only with general weathering, but your comment is a good reminder for me to add further more specific weathering to those cars. The only GS-type gondola with modelled openings, of which I'm aware, anyway, are those by Ulrich, from the late '50s/early'60s. They're an all-metal kit with working drop doors, although only those between the trucks actually open. I cemented mine in the closed position when I updated the car's details, as I use "live" loads and was getting tired of cleaning-up partial loads of crushed stone or coal strewn along the right-of-way. Even if I'm representing an empty car, there's always some remnants of previous loads or perhaps some scrap lumber (dunnage and blocking) from non-bulk lading.
Here's the car:
While these cars are long out-of-production, they can still be found at train shows or hobby shops (usually as part of estate sales). Prices vary widely.