Pulpwood Car - A Blast from the past!

[SilverSpike]

This pulpwood car is the only piece of rolling stock that remains from my grandfather’s layout, built circa 1950’s. Some of the paint is peeling and the original decals have fallen off, I believe it was labeled as Rock Island. Thought I would share these photos for your viewing pleasure. This was a kit, and I am not sure of what manufacturer, it is made of wood and metal construction. The pulpwood was made from cut matchsticks. The track base is wood and brass rail, the bottom of the track base has the following inscription: “Genuine HO G S 3”. Anyone seen any model kits like this one, and the track base, where do you find that kind of stuff?

[image] http://members.cox.net/elvistie/Images/Front.jpg[/image]

[image] http://members.cox.net/elvistie/Images/Angle.jpg[/image]

[image] http://members.cox.net/elvistie/Images/Side.jpg[/image]


Thanks,

Ryan

[rrinker]

Not sure about the car, but that track might be Tru-Scale. They made milled wood roadbed and track that looks like that.

--Randy

[cjcrescent]

Randy;
You're correct about the track. That definitely is Tru-Scale.

Ryan
Just a guess, but the car does look like an old Megow kit that was available from the late 1930's through the early 1950's. If it isn't Megow my next choice would be an EARLY Varney . I have seen some Megows, never owned one, but still have an old Varney Virginian Battleship Gon with cardboard sides and those awful flat ladders. Could be either company, both used same type construction in their kits from the late '40's thru early '50's before Megow left the business and Varney switched to plastic construction.

[tatans]

I would guess this is not a kit, it sure looks like a home-made job to me (the lack of detail may be a clue) was your Grandfather rather handy with construction? Are there any other odd cars around that resemble this pulp car?

[SilverSpike]

Thanks for the input on the track and pulpwood car.

Is Tru-Scale track still sold today?

My grandfather was known to be a "hands-on" kinda guy, he scratch built almost all of his stuff. I am not sure if the rolling stock was totally hand built from scratch, it appears that the metal parts and the bulk heads are pre-molded pieces. This is the only piece that is known to be left from his layout. He donated a large part of it or most of it to a Boy Scout Troop in Pineville, LA where he was from, back in the late 1960's after he became bored with the hobby. He kept this one car as a show piece on his dresser and I was able to get a hold of it after his death in 1991.

Ryan

[rrinker]

I believe Tru-Scale is still around in soe fashion. I don't knwo how much of the product line is still produced. They used to make 3 basic items - roadbed, which was just wood milled to a roadbed profile (sloping sides), a milled roadbed and tie combo for you to lay your own rail in, and Ready-Track which was the roadbed and tie product with rails already in place and ballast applied. That stuff in your picture looks like the middle product that had the rail applied. In their Ready-Track line they ad all sorts of wonderful pieces - crossovers and everything all made - sort of like an early version of what Bachmann has in the EZ-Track line, only it was wood not plastic.
Tru-Scale ready-track turnouts had pivoting frogs like toy train turnouts. Not prototypical (at the time - there now are high speed turnouts with closed frogs in use on the prototype now), but they were absolutely foolproof - there was no alternate route for a wheel to pick as it rolled through.
Tru-Scale also had some pretty risque ads in the 50's Model Railroaders, usually featuring scantily clad girls (cartoons, not photos) and alcohol. Nothing worse than you'd see on the side of a WWII plane though.

--Randy

[cjcrescent]

Ryan;
The car is metal? Plus you did say it is a kit. Then I would have to say it is an early "kit bash". Maybe used an old MDC kit as the basis? (They were metal). It really is hard to tell from the few pix. Could it be prototypical? It does appear to follow the general lines of the old pulpwood cars that the RR's in the south had so many of.

Tatans;
The "lack of detail" was really par for the couse for the late 40's early 50's, when this was supposed to have been built. The detail most modelers demand today was unheard of then and pretty much considered unnecessary unless the car was built for a NMRA contest. To get what would be a basically detailed car the modeller would have had to make almost ALL of the detail parts, as very little was available for separate purchase, or even came in the kit. Those ladders are a clue to the level of detail that could be bought. They are stamped out of a piece of metal, probably brass, typical of the kits from then. Any plastic car, very, very rare at this time, would have all the parts cast on and none separate. Then it was considered more important for the locos to have a higher level of detail. Even the most basically detailed loco now would be considered "superdetailed" compared to the standard then.
Even with the old "craftsman" type kits from that era, detail wise you may get some wire to make your own grabs, some stamped brass for the ladders, (very much that flat stamping as in the pix), some more stamped metal strips for making the roof panels, and if you were lucky two or three zamac "castings" that vaguely looked like a brake reservoir, a cylinder and a lump that passed for the triple valve. If the car had dreadnaught or corrugated ends, you may get a couple of castings that may or may not be correct for the particular car you wre building. These castings would be used in several kits of different cars from the same maker, as no one was concerned if there were six, seven, or eight ribs across the ends, only as long as it "looked like" the right car it was OK. The instructions consisted of three or four exploded views of the basic car body and maybe a rudimentary brake diagram, showing only the position of these three parts.
Irv Athearn started out making metal kits in O and then HO, generally composed of stamped ends and sides with a wood floor that everything was attached to. When Irv started making the Blue Box kits, a reviewer in one of the magazines commented on how well detailed the kits were, and how he doubted if that level of detail would ever be surpassed in a mass produced kit.
Wow, how times have changed!

[jrbarney]

Along with Trout Creek Engineering's, and Classic Miniature's, and BK Enterprises,' all of which are still available, Tru Scale Models, Inc.'s offerings until recently could be viewed at:
http://www.troutcreekeng.com
My first test loop was a circle of their pre-ballasted brass track. Still have it some fifty years later, battered from many moves. I bought it because I couldn't get Midlin track !
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
P. S. The Tru Scale roadbed is still listed, in the BK Enterprises section.

[trolleyboy]

Ryan that car is certainly a treasure.I hope you give it a place of honour in your trainroom.It's nice to have a few heirlooms from past generations,I have a set of schoolbooks from my grandfather which date back to world war one when he was in grade school so hang on to it.I wouldn't even attempt to rebuild it just enjoy it for what it is. Rob