I'm guessing that different manufacturers read the forums here so I'm posing this question in hopes that (1.) there is a lot of interest and (2.) some manufacturer just might take notice and pursue the suggestion.
As of now, there are few options for anyone wanting a Pennsylvania X23 boxcar. Westerfield makes a resin kit with several variations but I think a lot of even serious modelers avoid resin. If you are lucky, you might find an old wood craftsman kit of the X23 but the results from that one are probably marginal as well. I have an X23 brass model but it is way too heavy for practical use on a layout. Finally, there is an old (rather crude, so I'm told) plastic kit by Red Ball(?). To date though, no one has ventured to make a good, injection-molded plastic decently detailed model of the X23.
So, what kind of interest is there for such a model? Personally, I'm a Nickel Plater but I'm sure that the X23 made its way onto NKP trackage. So I'd like to have 3 or 4 for my layout. I'd think that other, non-Pennsy modelers would want a few as well if they model the timeframe from 1912 up through post WWII. Besides, that particular design is almost ugly to the point of being cute so it would be a great conversation piece. Certainly it would be a nice variation from the ubiquitous 40-footer. And we can't forget the hoard of Pennsylvania modelers out there who "should" likely want a bunch of them. After all, there were over 7,000 of them built. Also for Pennsy fans, if there was a nice plastic model that was reasonably priced, it could be kitbash fodder for the war emergency "cabins" (cabooses) the Pennsy built from some of the X23s as well.
So sound off if you think there would be a good demand for such a model. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, some manufacturer just might sit up and take notice!
dlm
I would be good for a half-dozen or so and I agree, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to make the NX23 War Emergency cabin car or the R7 refrigerator car.
There's a good example of an NX23, reasonably complete, in Urbana, Ohio.
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM596B_Pennsylvania_NX23_Urbana_Ohio
Well, hey, while I'm at it can we have some F22 flat cars, too. I have some 16" gun barrels to move.
Cheers, Ed
danmerkel...Finally, there is an old (rather crude, so I'm told) plastic kit by Red Ball(?)....
I vaguely remember those ads, but turned to Ted Culotta's "Focus On Freight Cars, Volume Nine" to see some photos.
Apparently, those cars were initially built with vertical sheathing on the sides, necessitating the horizontal bracing between the diagonals. Culotta notes that the use of diagonals arranged as a Warren truss was unusual for freight car construction, but after all, we are referring to the Pennsy.I also hadn't realised, until viewing the photos, that the doors open to the left - Pennsy's version (sorta) of Lehigh Valley's boxcars with the "wrong-way" doors.It's also mentioned that the same design was used for the X24 automobile cars, R7 refrigerator, and the K7 stock cars.The pictures don't show the car's ends, but a little research should yield something.There's a description of the car's underbody, including details of the fishbelly underframe's construction and a mention that the bolsters were U-shaped pressed steel members.The roof was comprised of overlapping flat steel sheets with interior carlines.
Looking at the two photos in the book (same side of the car - one to the left of the door, the other to the right) it looks to me to be a not-too-difficult scratchbuild.
Evergreen offers car siding with both vertical and horizontal layout, and the hat-section framing could be done with Plastruct heavy Tee, although I'd do the flat portion with strips cut from .005" sheet styrene (Evergreen) and the thick portion of the "hat" with suitably-sized Evergreen strip material - after it's attached to the car, a very light sanding will eliminate the sharp edges and make it look more like the pressed steel shape of the prototype.If I were making only one car (I already have quite a few Pennsy boxcars, mostly X-29s, on my layout), I'd be inclined to skip the scribed sheathing and use strip styrene, suitably distressed before application, over a sub-structure made from .060" sheet styrene.The original trucks on these cars were archbars, but those were later replaced with PRR 2D-F8 trucks, which I believe are available from Bowser. The doors, likely also a proprietary PRR design, but close in appearance to ones offered by CRECO, are similar to those used on the X-29s, but could be easily scratchbuilt.Wayne