USRA boxcars for 1930s version of layout

[gear-jammer]

This a photo of a NP boxcar at the Northern Pacific Railway Museum at Toppenish, WA.

Sue

[Cox 47]

Gotta love those Wabash cars...Great weathering job....Also that wooden station has a great weathering job...I'd like to see more...Cox 47

[gear-jammer]

 

 

Really nice weathering, Sue.

Cant say I recognise the PTM RR though.

 

Jon

Jon, PTM is Portland Terminal.  Now sure if it is the left or right coast.  Probably Maine.  I am sure someone will clarify it for us.

Sue

[jon grant]

 

 

Really nice weathering, Sue.

Cant say I recognise the PTM RR though.

 

Jon

[gear-jammer]

Jon,  You have been busy.  I like that crusty, dusty pickup, too.

They weather up great.

Sue

[orsonroy]

I'm assuming that that's a typo in your comment about the USRA "DS" boxcars, as these did have the fishbelly underframe. 

Oops. Yup; I meant SINGLE sheathed. I fixed the post!

 

[doctorwayne]

As usual Jon and Wayne, great jobs on your cars! I usually keep your posted photos as inspiration for my own weathering attempts.

Thanks, Ray.

Just one comment: technically, the Accurail eight panel single sheathed boxcar is NOT a USRA car. The USRA DS boxcars came with a straight underframe sill, rather than the fishbelly sill. The Accurail car is most properly a CN car, which was based partially on the USRA design; the CN design engineers didn't trust the "wimpy" U-channel center sill and used a fishbelly, resulting in an overbuilt car. The Tichy model is the only plastic USRA single sheathed boxcar on the market (Westerfield has them in resin).

Good point, Ray.  I think that most of us were so happy to see this type of car when it was released that we didn't even think about the discrepancy!

I'm assuming that that's a typo in your comment about the USRA "DS" boxcars, as these did have the fishbelly underframe.  The TH&B purchased 300 used ones from part-parent NYC in November of 1940, and rebuilt them in their own shops - they were acquired to augment a fleet of singlesheathed 36' boxcars, as the use of steel was restricted due to the fact that Canada was already 12 months into WWII.  I grew up with the TH&B always close at hand, and had to have some of these cars.  The Train Miniature car, incorrect as it was, was the only one available at the time that I could afford, so it was the logical starting point.

Wayne

[orsonroy]

As usual Jon and Wayne, great jobs on your cars! I usually keep your posted photos as inspiration for my own weathering attempts.

Just one comment: technically, the Accurail eight panel single sheathed boxcar is NOT a USRA car. The USRA SS boxcars came with a straight underframe sill, rather than the fishbelly sill. The Accurail car is most properly a CN car, which was based partially on the USRA design; the CN design engineers didn't trust the "wimpy" U-channel center sill and used a fishbelly, resulting in an overbuilt car. The Tichy model is the only plastic USRA single sheathed boxcar on the market (Westerfield has them in resin).

But...the Wabash car IS mostly correct for a series of car that they owned. The mainstay of the Wabash boxcar fleet from the mid-1920s to the early 1960s was a HUGE number of single sheathed, double door auto box, many of which survived the N&W takeover in 1964, and which ended up in museums all over the Midwest (I don't think there's a museum in Illinois that doesn't have at least one!). In addition to all of the double door cars, a smaller number of single door cars were built to the same general specifications, and they look a lot like the Accurail model. Wayne's door and a half Wabash car looks a lot like another series of Wabash box, and I've got a string of half-finished double door cars, modeled by cutting out two 4 foot sections of the Roundhouse 50 foot single sheathed box (which results in a very close model, as it has the correct round roof). For those of you who really want correct Wabash models, Speedwich just released a series of these cars in resin, and they're 100% accurate (I know; I helped measure a few of the prototype cars for the model!)

[doctorwayne]

VAPEURCHAPELON

[

Wayne, congrats to these fine cars! if these are Accurail and Walthers - how did you get of the original cast on ladders and grabs? Did you use new ends to avoid the work there? On the sides I can see no hint that there were once cast on parts! How did you make it that precisely?

Thank you for the kind words.  On the Accurail car, I removed only the grabirons on the sides and the roofwalk, using a chisel blade in my X-Acto.  I didn't feel that the ends were worth the effort, especially since I have so many Accurail "wood" cars.  On the Walthers 50' car, I replaced all of the grabirons, sides and ends, with wire parts, but left the ladders "as-is".  The TH&B Train Miniature car (I built three) was a fairly major rebuild:  I used Tichy ends, which were more like those used on the prototype, and removed all cast-on grabs and ladders from the sides.  I re-scribed the lower sides, which were a plain representation of the sidesills, then added a new sidesill from strip styrene:  this brought the carside to the proper height.  I then constructed new ladders, roofwalks, and underframes and replaced the doors with ones from Tichy.

 

The Train Miniature EG&E boxcars (again, 3 cars) got new ends from Tichy, and all grabs were replaced with wire parts.  The end ladders were out of my "parts department", while the side ones are the original cast-in-place ones.  New roofwalks, underbodies, and modified Athearn doors.  I also added .010"x.030" styrene strips to the bracing on the car sides, to make it look more like "Z" bar.

The Proto1000 Fowler cars were actually the hardest to do, or at least the most work.  I was fortunate to pick up 6 body shells, used, at my LHS, for a couple of bucks each, much better than the $39.95 that they were asking for the entire r-t-r car.  These were a very common car, especially in Canada, so I couldn't resist the bargain.  However, I felt that the factory-applied plastic grabirons were too thick, so I replaced them with wire parts (I had to custom bend them, as they're an odd width) 36 per car, plus 6 dropsteps and new roofwalks (the ones on the model are about 6" short on both ends) and roofwalk grabs.  I built new floors and underframes, and, as with all of the other cars, replaced the corner dropsteps with wire parts.  The problem with replacing the grabirons was in trying to retain the nbw detail, which was part of the plastic grabs, then filling the oversize holes where the grabirons had been remove, and finally, redrilling for the wire parts.  All of the cars were painted with Floquil paints and lettered with dry transfers from C-D-S, except the DSS&A car, which has Champ decals, and the CStPM&O car, which has Microscale decals.

Wayne       

[VAPEURCHAPELON]

The Accurail USRA 40' doublesheathed boxcar:

Or the Walthers (formerly Train Miniature) version of the USRA doublesheathed car (it's too low as it comes - mine has been modified a bit) :

And finally, the Walthers (formerly Train Miniature) 40' single sheathed boxcar - not sure what the prototype for this one is - mine has been modified:

Wayne

Wayne, congrats to these fine cars! if these are Accurail and Walthers - how did you get of the original cast on ladders and grabs? Did you use new ends to avoid the work there? On the sides I can see no hint that there were once cast on parts! How did you make it that precisely?

[jon grant]

Lots of interesting variations there, Wayne - all added to my shopping list.

 

Jon

[doctorwayne]

Nice looking cars, Jon. 

Other "wood" cars available, besides the many resin craftsman kits, include Accurail's 6-panel version:

 

The Accurail 9-panel USRA car, with the addition of a half-door conversion kit from New England Rail Services:

 

The Proto1000 36' Fowler Patent boxcar (I replaced the oversize plastic grabirons):

 

The Walthers 50' automobile boxcar:

 

The Accurail USRA 40' doublesheathed boxcar:

 

Or the Walthers (formerly Train Miniature) version of the USRA doublesheathed car (it's too low as it comes - mine has been modified a bit) :

 

And finally, the Walthers (formerly Train Miniature) 40' single sheathed boxcar - not sure what the prototype for this one is - mine has been modified:

 

Wayne

[jon grant]

Do you know if anyone manufactures wood boxcars other than Accurail?  I don't know if I've ever seen any others offered except by them.

 

Titchy (undec)

 

 

Compared to Accurail

 

Jon

 

[tstage]

Beautiful layout pics, as usual, Jon.  I just love those wood Accurail boxcars.  I have several on my own layout.

Do you know if anyone manufactures wood boxcars other than Accurail?  I don't know if I've ever seen any others offered except by them.

Tom

[jon grant]

Westerfield kit of USRA steel boxcar

FEC boxcar in MOW siding

 

Jon

[jon grant]

Built up some more 1930's era boxcars over the last few days.

Accurail USRA Boxcar

 

Funaro and Camelengo Ventilated boxcar

 

Jon