I stand corrected, Red Caboose does sell kits. They are undecorated, meaning they will need painting and lettering; but, they are still a kit manufacturer and that is great!
I would have loved to include Speedwitch Media to the list; but, it appears to me that although the website is up and you can get to it, beyond that, I wonder if the company has ceased doing business.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
This is a Tichy tank car I recently completed. It is a wonderful kit, but has many fragile plastic parts; seems like something breaks on it every time I touch it. I replaced the plastic end handrails with brass wire because of this. Done with a Champ decal set.
BM 4806 is an IHC kit; I kitbashed the interior to match the prototype floor plan, the interor paint scheme is also similar to one of the 3 prototype schemes. Painted with Alclad on the outside.
This Russel winged snowplow, an Ambroid kit, was my first attempt at a wood craft kit about 40 years ago. I restored and repainted it a couple of years ago.
Caboose MEC 646 is a kitbash of an Atheran BB boxcar and wide vision caboose to match some boxcars converted to cabooses in the MEC shops in the 1960s.
Caboose MEC 556 is a Roundhouse truss rod kit that is a close match to an MEC prototype; painted in the pre-1955 colors.
The boxcar is another Athearn BB undecorated kit that I painted as a CR patch job over PC colors; using a Walthers decal set
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
When I ordered those X-29s (shown earlier) a couple of years ago, I bought directly from Red Caboose. They seemed to be clearing out their inventory in preparation of the arrangement with Intermountain. I don't recall if I was told directly or read it on their website, but Intermountain was supposedly going to be doing all production of the Red Caboose models, and selling the r-t-r versions, while kits could be had through Red Caboose - I don't see kit versions of Intermountain's own stuff on the Red Caboose site, but when I checked today, they do have most of their own kits for sale. Intermountain's site shows their own kits and, in the r-t-r section, some of the r-t-r Red Caboose cars, too.
Wayne
Several years back, Red Caboose began a relationship with IM where IM produces and distributes the RC line. My memory of the arrangement was that it was not an actual sale of RC to IM, but it's a bit hazy to me exactly what the relationship entails. So it's a technical definition. There are RC kits being made -- by IM.
Problem is in using this definition is that RC could get sold again or just go back to producing their own kits. I wouldn't worry about definitions based on corporate ownership, licensing or even current production. Makes more sense to me to simply say whether or not you're going to find RC kits out there available to buy and build under a particular name, because that's what you need to know to ask for and find them at the LHS, shows or on ebay.
If you do want RC kits, you pretty much need to order in advance. IM, RC, whoever, treats kits like RTR cars, unless you order it, you'll have a hard time finding one once the run is delivered. Again, not sure why the RC kits are listed under IM, but when you buy one, I'm pretty sure it'll say RC on the box. However, I haven't ordered any RC kits since the changes were made, so I can't say for sure. This may have changed
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Mike, Per Intermountain's website, they list Red Caboose's RTR stuff; but, RC is not shown as a kit producer. The kits shown at that website are listed under Intermountain. Don't know what this actually means.
Ha, I was just thinking that I'll post up my narrowgauge wrecker, coincidentally built from the same Gould/Tichy kit. I used the Tichy boom idler kit to run with my standard gauge 25 ton derrick.
With the wrecker, I narrowed the wheels to 3' gauge, lowered the couplers to NG height, and made a few other mods. I bashed a Blackstone 30' flat to use as an idler car for the wrecker. The wrecker represents OZ, the Rio Grande wrecker that was requisitioned by the War Dept in WWII, given new 42" gauge trucks, then disappeared mysteriously (I suspect was sunk when shipped overseas). Instead, OZ stayed closer to home on my layout, fixed up to help support vital war needs by ensuring that the narrowgauge had a wrecker that could respond quickly in case of need. Another kit I modified was that produced in HOn3 by PSC for the Rio Grande 6500 series steel flat cars. I added log bunks to two in order to haul long poles that will be treated and used for building powerlines. It never was, but it could have been.
With the wrecker, I narrowed the wheels to 3' gauge, lowered the couplers to NG height, and made a few other mods. I bashed a Blackstone 30' flat to use as an idler car for the wrecker.
The wrecker represents OZ, the Rio Grande wrecker that was requisitioned by the War Dept in WWII, given new 42" gauge trucks, then disappeared mysteriously (I suspect was sunk when shipped overseas). Instead, OZ stayed closer to home on my layout, fixed up to help support vital war needs by ensuring that the narrowgauge had a wrecker that could respond quickly in case of need. Another kit I modified was that produced in HOn3 by PSC for the Rio Grande 6500 series steel flat cars. I added log bunks to two in order to haul long poles that will be treated and used for building powerlines. It never was, but it could have been.
The wrecker represents OZ, the Rio Grande wrecker that was requisitioned by the War Dept in WWII, given new 42" gauge trucks, then disappeared mysteriously (I suspect was sunk when shipped overseas). Instead, OZ stayed closer to home on my layout, fixed up to help support vital war needs by ensuring that the narrowgauge had a wrecker that could respond quickly in case of need.
Another kit I modified was that produced in HOn3 by PSC for the Rio Grande 6500 series steel flat cars. I added log bunks to two in order to haul long poles that will be treated and used for building powerlines. It never was, but it could have been.
If I'm not mistaken, Intermountain and Red Caboose have an arrangement where Intermountain sells the r-t-r stuff, while Red Caboose offers the kit versions.
To add to your list, Funaro & Camerlengo offer resin kits, like this B&O wagontop:
...as does Westerfield:
...and Speedwitch Media:
Another one offering resin kits is Sunshine Models, although I have no example to show.
The Rail Shop, Inc. offers styrene craftsman-type kits for carbon black covered hoppers:
I'm not sure it would be considered a kit, but I picked up this Walthers Pennsy RPO at English Model Railroad Supply about a month ago. It was mostly assembled except for doors, diaphragms and grab irons, and was unpainted. I modified the porthole-style windows in the doors and painted and lettered it for my freelance home road:
According to Lee English, Bowser will continue to offer freight car kits as long as they continue to sell.
Tichy kits are still available, although I can't say for sure if they're still in production.
WOW, Superior Modelling by far!!!
I am learing what I need to do in the future following the detailing & total artistry displayed here.
Incredible modelling, thank you for sharing, & inspiring!!!
One manufacturer that has not been mentioned is Kaslo Shops Distributing in British Columbia.
http://www.kasloshops.com/ Unfortunately the web site is under construction.
EDIT: Here is a listing of their products as offered by Central Hobbies:
http://www.central-hobbies.com/products/kasloshops.html#CMLW
Most of their stuff is based on Canadian prototypes.
These are very highly detailed resin kits and they require some skill and patience to assemble. The instructions are fairly clear although the first time round I made some dumb mistakes doing things incorrectly that weren't fully explained. Some of the etched details are very fragile when assembling them i.e. the steps only give you one chance to bend them, and the instructions warn you about that. More bends than that and you have separate pieces to try to solder back together. That is not necessarily a criticism but they are delicate. A modeler experienced with craftsman kits would have no trouble.
I have built one of two CP caboose kits that I was given when I retired. It was my first attempt at a kit with this level of detail, but I think it came out OK - not spectacular mind you. I did not do a great job assembling the ladders and the steps, but the grab irons, cut levers etc look pretty good to my not too critical eye. The second will be much better.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Although some of you have listed manufacturers that I have yet to post on the list, I can't help but hope there are still more kit manufactureres we need to list. Look at what I've put on the list in the first post of the thread and tell me what I've missed!
Thanks for your help! When I can find a little more time, I will make sure everything is listed.
Branchline Berwicks boxcars,great looking kits that come out looking great.
Russell
peahrens ....if I buy undecorated kits or repaint a freight car (one MDC Roundhouse is an unrealistic yellow) how would I letter it? Are there decal sets or dry transfer sets that come out ok? Are decal edges too noticeable, etc?
....if I buy undecorated kits or repaint a freight car (one MDC Roundhouse is an unrealistic yellow) how would I letter it? Are there decal sets or dry transfer sets that come out ok? Are decal edges too noticeable, etc?
Of the cars shown in my post only the Soo Line boxcar and possibly the Pennsy round-roof car have factory lettering. All of the rest were done with decals and/or dry transfers, as is most of my rolling stock.
I forgot a relatively new kit maker, Moloco. Nick has produced an awesome model of a GATC insulated boxcar (RBL). The kit is an absolute joy to put together, even with all the myriad parts. The instructions and pictures are very clear in the steps involved.
Kit contents, many varied parts to build all the diffeferent prototypes.
The completed underframe with all the brake rodding and quides, cushioning equipment and extended coupler pockets.
Car end with walkover platform, grabs, roofwalk and ladders.
Finished car painted with Floquil Medium Blue and lettered with Mark Vaughn Decals.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
I've had good luck in S scale using American Models 72 heavyweight passenger cars to model Southern Pacific's new for 1927 72' chair cars, these introduced taller windows for the DAYLIGHT LIMITED, the AM example which I believe to based upon a NYC protoype replicates this feature nicely, I have also created a casting for the Arched roof examples, but this is not always necessary as SP aquired dozens built to a 1922 ACF design and aquired in the EP&SW merger with clearstory roofs, I also upgrade to NWSL wheels and some additional weight.
NP2626 Per my post on Rib Side Car Kits, I thought it would be a good idea to ask people to discuss rolling stock kits they have built that build into really nice models. Or, if you have taken a stock kit/RTR car and turned it into something else that you are happy with how it turned out, let's hear about it!
Per my post on Rib Side Car Kits, I thought it would be a good idea to ask people to discuss rolling stock kits they have built that build into really nice models. Or, if you have taken a stock kit/RTR car and turned it into something else that you are happy with how it turned out, let's hear about it!
While this is a stock data only Accurail 50' boxcar kit, it turned out far better then I thought or even hope it would.
Why is that?
You see this is the first car I decaled with my left hand shortly after I had a major heart attack and had around 30% use of my right hand at that time.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Rick (dti406): that AEX car certainly has a rather non-standard layout of lettering! That's a neat variation.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
peahrens On another note, if I buy undecorated kits or repaint a freight car (one MDC Roundhouse is an unrealistic yellow) how would I letter it? Are there decal sets or dry transfer sets that come out ok? Are decal edges too noticeable, etc?
On another note, if I buy undecorated kits or repaint a freight car (one MDC Roundhouse is an unrealistic yellow) how would I letter it? Are there decal sets or dry transfer sets that come out ok? Are decal edges too noticeable, etc?
There are plenty of decal offerings out there. Check out:
http://www.microscale.com
http://www.mgdecals.com
http://greatdecals.com/
http://www.greatdecals.com/Decals.html
Custom decals:
http://www.railgraphicsdecals.com/
Here are a few kits that I have built recently and have enjoyed.
This is an old Robbins Rails/A-Line/Concor Kit of a Greenville 60' Auto Parts Boxcar, this kit comes normally with cast on plug doors, I carved off the plug door hardware and glued on YSD 8' Sliding Doors that I got from Atlas along with the corresponding door tracks, I changed the wheelbase from 41' to 46', added a Details West Cushion Coupler Pocket and a Walkover platform from the junk box. Painted and decaled with Mark Vaughn Decals.
This is an old Eastern Car Works Kit (Still available on E-Bay and at Train Shows) replicating a GATC 3500CF Dri-Flow Covered Hopper. The kit consists of two Airslide kits and a new roof and hopper section, essentially a kitbash in a box. I cut the sides and glued together along with adding extra detail like airlines that were not provided. Painted Primer Gray and lettered with Oddballs Decals.
ExactRail still offers an number of their RTR models as undecorated kits, these are the PS 4427CF Covered Hoppers. The kits build up extremely well and I did them so I could have some cars that they have not or may never offer in RTR form. The Anderson's car is painted with my own paint formula and lettered with Herald King Decals and the Monfort car is Floquil Primer and lettered with Oddballs decals.
In HO, I feel the Tichy kits are hard to beat. They take a little work, but are a lot of fun. Here is one that built and lettered using Microscale decals...
I have also built a few in Sn3. The boxcar is an old Overland kit with handbent grabs...
Here is a PBL idler flat kit...
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
This is a very helpful thread for me as I like to build kits but am unclear on which makers are not still producing (e.g., Bowser?). Knowing that will help me stock up more on those that will get even harder to find. I have mostly (still in the box) Accurail and Bowser, plus a few others mentioned. Next up are two Proto 2000 8k tank cars which look cool.
Thanks for any clarification.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Intermountain's decorated cars all come R-T-R now, but you can still get them as undecorated kits.
Separate roofs, ends and doors on their boxcars make for great conversion fodder:
I always enjoyed the challenge of the old Silver Streak line of wood boxcar and reefer kits. They were not difficult to build, although after building just one you would quickly figure out some important steps that were sort of glossed over in the instructions, like sealing the grain of the wood roof piece before attaching the metal ribs, when to add weight, and that sort of thing. The real challenge was doing a neat enough job that the car looked presentable and photographable (if that is a word) when you were done. I still have a few unbuilt kits and know that I can do better when it comes to grab irons and such. The original ones now looks quite oversized.
Old Red Ball kits involve similar challenges - not so much in construction per se but in getting the "fit and finish" presentable.
Another kit that made for an enjoyable challenge was the old (old) Athearn all metal house car kit. Again it was not difficult to build per se, but it took some patience to really get the car to look good. I still maintain that nothing looks more like painted metal than painted metal (I also like the old Ulrich hoppers for that reason). The Athearn metal boxcar doors are scale thickness, and no other kit known to me allows you to model the bulge/dent damage that forklift trucks sometimes do to boxcar roofs as do those old Athearn metal cars.
On a more modern basis I greatly enjoyed the challenge/frustration of an IMWX 1937 AAR boxcar kit -- very similar in design to Intermountain and Red Caboose and quite possible the same tooling. But frankly some of the detailing is so delicate that I wonder if I am either doing something wrong, or if other guys also find these cars to be a lifetime of careful handling and re-cementing parts that flake off.
I like a challenge that nonetheless does not reach the hair-pulling, wife-arguing, cat-kicking, object-throwing level. And you know, some nights after a long day at work, chores around the house, a pleasant dinner with perhaps a decent quality wine, and bedtime fast approaching, it is still good to know that if I feel like just doing something I can grab a Blue Box or Bowser or Accurail kit off the TBB shelf ("To Be Built") and finish it off in 20 minutes or so, ready for weathering at a later date when I have built up a critical mass. Finishing a Blue Box may not make you strut about the basement in a burst of pride but you can start it and finish it with no measurable increase in blood pressure.
Dave Nelson
This is a Proto-2000 Mather box car that I built up from the kit, per the instructions.
Other than replacing the supplied couplers with a pair of Kadee #58s, this is the way the parts came out of the box. I didn't even paint or weather this car. The grabs are all factory-installed, so that sometimes-unpleasant taks was already done.
Unfortunately, they are now selling these only as RTR. I bought a bunch of them on closeout, for about $8 each.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
This is a Walthers kit, came across it in a bunch of stuff I was given. Missing a few pieces but nothing to prevent me from using it. Put it together, weathered it using a dry brush technique & added coal for a load.
An Athearn BB "work" baggage car. Put it together, didn't like the "uniform" one colour paint job, painted the roof black, then made it look like it's been sitting in the sun too long then went & weathered the rest.
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
Wonderful projects there Wayne, very impressive. Did you know that Branchline has a bunch of Bill Board- wood sided refrigerator cars that I think would fit your era?
(List moved to the first post in this thread).
I'm in general agreement with Tom's assessment, above, although I never saw much of Branchline's freight cars locally. Most of their freight offerings are too modern for my layout-era, anyway, although I have one of their boxcars which is suitable (bought in the U.S.) and a coach (bought locally).
MDC offered some unique stuff appropriate to my era, and a little work will make them into models which won't look out of place alongside more recent offerings from other manufacturers. Most of what I'll show here was picked-up used or on-sale, making these so-called less-than-excellent models very suitable for upgrading.
This is a fairly accurate model of the Southern's Su-class boxcars. They had almost 15,000 of them, and they're perfect for my era. Lots of work to make this MDC kit into what you see, but enjoyable work and a satisfying accomplishment:
Another modified MDC kit, and 100% true-to-prototype (well, it's freelanced, and is the prototype)
Another MDC kit, and not available in plastic from anyone else, the Pullman Palace cars. Many of these lasted into the '50s, either in branchline service or as company service cars. I converted several to CNR MoW cars for a friend who's modelling the late '50s. On my road, they're still in regular passenger service, although bumped to local runs. This coach has some added underbody details and wire grabs, plus American Limited diaphragms:
This one is detailed much the same, but got a steel underframe in place of its original truss rods:
Athearn gets a bad rap, in my opinion, but they played a big part in making our hobby accessible to the average guy (average skills and a budget to match). The car shown here was originally Athearn's version of the 1937 AAR boxcar. I modified eight of them to represent a cross between the ARA's 1923 recommended design for a steel car and the never-built USRA design for a steel car. Since they're lettered for my freelance road, I declare them to be100% accurate. The only Athearn part remaining is the sides, and they've been modified. New ends and doors (Tichy), floor and underframe (Central Valley), roof (Des Plaines Hobbies), trucks (Proto), plus lots of applied detail. Many Athearn cars make great kitbashing fodder.
Another Athearn car, this time a Pullman made into a quite accurate model of a CNR wooden baggage car. Roof and ends are Athearn, with Grandt Line windows, and American Limited diaphragms. The brake gear is from PSC, while the underbody and its details are scratchbuilt, as are the sides and doors. The un-modified cars, while not prototypical, are still useful models for those with small layouts and tight curves.
I'm a big fan of Bowser kits, and the addition of a few details, such as metal steps and grab irons, along with some modelled brake gear make them into very credible representations of their prototypes:
This Soo Line boxcar is my only Branchline freight car, one of their Yardmaster series. I replaced the steps and grabs with metal parts, then added some light weathering. Nice cars, but not often seen in hobby shops around here:
I like Walthers older style freight cars, some of which are the old Train Miniature cars, but one that seems to have found little favour was their own 50' automobile car. I bought four when they were first released, and later picked up nine undecorated ones at an exceptionally low price. Here's one of the original four, repainted and lettered with C-D-S dry transfers. I removed the cast-on grabs and steps, replacing them with metal parts, and also added some basic brake rigging:
The nine undec. cars were painted and lettered for my own road. I made operating doors on a few of them, adding wood floors to get rid of some stripwood which was cluttering-up the workshop:
Intermountain makes some nice kits, although I replace the steps and grabs with more durable metal parts, and usually re-paint and re-letter them to better-suit my late '30s era, as was done with this PFE reefer. Paint is Floquil, with decals a combination of Champ and Microscale:
Accurail cars are among my favourites: reasonably-priced, nicely detailed and generally fairly accurate. I replace the steps and grabs on boxcars, reefers, and gondolas, and often buy undecorated kits, as they make up a sizeable portion of my home-road's roster. I recently built several of their offset-side hoppers, beautifully engineered and nicely detailed right out of the box. I added paint, then used custom lettering from Rail Graphics to create a multi-car rolling tribute to my good friend, the late bil Marsland, a former Member here.
The Proto2000 and some Proto1000 cars offered free-standing details, although it was mostly plastic and over-size. Many complained about the difficulty of assembly, and the cars were eventually offered as r-t-r versions. While it required a fair amount of work, converting those plastic details to metal ones dramatically improved the appearance. My first one was found on the "used" table at a local hobby shop. It was an undecorated kit, with no manufacturer's markings and no assembly instructions. The parts were in a clear plastic bag, and no trucks were included. At that time, there were no Proto kits available, so I had no idea who made it, but it looked interesting and was only $4.00. I used the plastic brake details, but substituted metal steps and grabs, then painted it for my home road. It wasn't until several months later, when the ads first appeared for Proto2000, that I realised that my bargain was likely a pre-production sample supplied to the shop, which was a fairly large one in this area.
Proto1000 offered more basic cars (no free-standing details) but their version of the Dominion/Fowler Patent boxcars was an exception, with an abundance of free-standing grab irons, unfortunately all plastic and all over-size. At $40.00 per copy, these r-t-r cars were beyond my budget, but a lettering error later resulted in Proto offering replacement body shells for anyone returning the incorrect original ones. The hobby shop offered the returned bodies at $4.00 each, and I picked up six, substituting hand-made metal grab irons and A-Line sill steps. I made new floors from styrene and added brake details from my parts supply. Trucks are from Proto. CN and CP owned lots of these cars, and I eventually picked up several more, used, and at decent prices.
Proto gondolas and tank cars suffered from the same plastic details, but are otherwise nicely-done and can be upgraded without too much difficulty. Most of the Proto cars seem to be r-t-r nowadays, and many also have metal grabs and steps.
One manufacturer which Tom didn't mention was Train Miniature, long one of my favourites. Some of the line is still offered by Walthers, but their version of Pennsy's X-29 boxcar and the NYC's version of the USRA steel boxcar are among my favourite prototypes. For their time, these were fairly good representations of the real thing, and, with a little work, stand up fairly well even today. The price was reasonable, too.TM ARA 1923 double sheathed boxcar, modified to represent a Santa Fe prototype:
The same kit modified to represent a 1916 NYC automobile car:
...and the Pennsy X-29:
Here's the X-29 as offered by Red Caboose, although they have several versions of the car covering many of the prototype variations. As usual, the separate plastic grab irons and steps have been replaced with metal parts. Lettering, as on most cars shown here, is from C-D-S.
The rivet detail is finer than on the TM cars, and the fact that different versions covering the development of the prototype car are offered is nice, but I don't think that the TM cars look too bad in comparison, especially considering their time of manufacture.I did choose the Red Caboose version when I decided to create a retirement gift for a friend, though, and as another mutual friend lent some financial support, I ended-up making three versions of the same car. The money-man got the '50s version, the retiree the '40s version, and I built a '30s version for my own layout. The prototype of the model is still in existence, too, on the shortline for which the retiree was Operations Manager.
Under construction:
The '50s version:
The '40s:
...and my own for the 1930s:
In addition to Accurail and Branchline, both Bowser and Red Caboose continue to offer kits. While it's easier to modify a kit before or during construction, don't be afraid to modify r-t-r stuff, too, especially if it offers the opportunity for a more accurate model of a car in which you're particularly interested.
For rolling stock, I have built kits from the following manufacturers:
Here's how I would rank them In order of quality:
For me, anything from Accurail on up has built into a very nice model. Accurail and Branchline(?) are the only two manufacturers left that still make kits. I haven't seen any new Proto 2000 kits so I'm guessing that Walthers has gone the RTR with those.
I kitbashed a MDC 40' wood boxcar and a Walthers NYC 19000-series caboose and turned it into a NYC emergency war caboose:
It's just a prototype but it's not a bad stand-in for the original - i.e. minus the detailing:
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
This is a good place to come up with a list of manufacturers still producing kits. To keep them up at the top of this thread, you folks list them and I will upgrade the list right here as you let me know. You can visit each manufacturer's website by using a search engine and typing in their company name. Also, many of the various railroad historical organizations have models available, so check them out, too. Here is our list of Freight and Passenger Car "KIT" manufacturers:
Abacus Model Works (Mixed media prototype scale model railway kits in HO).
Accurail (I love this manufacturer, they have told me personally that they will continue to make kits)
Alkem Scale Models (Laser cut freight car kits and detail parts, car kits are from the 1860s to 1890s).
American Model Builders-Laser Kits (Out of the ordinary Wood Caboose Kits. There kits produce very fine caboose models)
American Models (S-Scale & S-Hi-Rail model kits and RTR, a wide selection of products).
Amesville Shops (Resin craftsman Kits of pre-1900s freight Cars).
Bethlehem Car Works (Passenger Car Kits)
Branchline By Atlas (Maybe the second widest selection of kits available. Some small parts that break easily. Branchline Passenger cars can be found at some of the auction sites [Ebay, etc.])
Central Valley Products (Has a very nice Northern Pacific Round roof Stock car Kit).
C&BT Shops (Fairly easy to build, mostly box car kits).
Crusader Rail Services (Handles craftsman kist from a few different manufacturers.
Deerfield River Laser (Laser cut wood kits in 0 scale narrow gage).
Durango Press (Now owned by JL Inovative, did have some HOn3 freight cars).
English Model Railroad Products--Bowser (Bowser sells a nice selection of Freght Car Kits! Easy to build and nicely detailed.)
ExactRail (ExactRail does offer some kits of their products. However, they sell their undecorated unpainted kits for the Exact same price as their RTR [ready to run] products?!?
Funaro & Camerlengo Highly detailed resin unpainted/undecorated kits. I've never built a resin kit, so I can't speak to there difficulty).
Hi Tech. Details (Make kits of Hy Cube Boxcars and detail parts).
Intermountain Railway (Undecorated kits and RTR)
JJLMODELS.COM (Resin craftsman Caboose kits).
JL Inovative Design (Detail parts, structures, line side details, etc.).
Kadee Quality Products (Kadee offers undecorated; but, painted car kits of many of their Freight Car offerings and has hundreds of detail parts, wheels, trucks and of course probably the best couplers available to the modeler.
Kasloshops (Canadian company with many products listed at http://www.central-hobbies.com/products/kasloshops.html#CMLW ).
Labelle Woodworking (Wood Kits, mostly older truss rod type equipment, both feight and passenger)
Moloco (An Austailian kit manufacture of two General American 50 foot box cars, caboose and freight car parts).
Mount Blue Model Co. (Mostly On3, On30 caboose wood kits.
NKP Car Company. (Prototypically correct passenger cars for many roads. Craftsman kits for experienced modelers, with brass car sides, plastic and resin parts.
OK Engine Company (Passenger car kits and will even make car side per the buyers descriotion of window positions and other data).
Precision Scale Company (As well as an importer of wonderful brass locomotives, the offer some kits in both HO, HOn3, O, On3 and large scale, both cars and locomotives).
QConnection (HO scale Whale Belly Cement car and CB&Q Havelock Baggage/Express car [unsure of material construction] and structure kits. Also sell American Model Builders [Laser Kit] CB&Q Caboose kits).
Rail Line (I could not find a website for this manufacturer; however, they are advertized in the Walther's Catalog as a producer of quality narrow gage plastic kits.
Red Caboose (Undecorated/unpainted freight car kits)
Rib Side Cars (CMSt.P & P, Milwaukee Road 40 & 50 foot Rib Sided steel boxcars with decals for road numbers. Middle as far as difficulty).
Rio Grande Models (HO, HOn3, On3 On30, Sn3 model craftsman's kits with laser cut and cast metal parts).
Silver Crash Car Works (Resin pre-1900 craftsman kits).
Southern Car & Foundry (Manufacture passenger cars, tank cars and box cars in both HO and O scales, fairly expensive).
State Tool & Die (Steel industry hot metal cars,Ingot mold car, Universail Mill cars for steel mills and some structure kits).
Sunshine Models (Another producer of high quality/highly detailed resin kits.
Tichy Train Group (Nice selection of out of the ordinary and ordinary Freight Car Kits)
Treasure Trove (HOn3 Trucks, Passenger and Freight cars kits).
Trout Creek Engineering (HOn3 freight and caboose craftsman kits in wood, styrene with metal detail parts).
Westerfield (Another resin kit manufacturer, extensive list of kits).
Wrighttrak (Resin kits Freight cars and cabooses, loved there sales position: Our models are not "ready to run" because we feel each model should be built and painted by the modeler according to their specifications. We also feel that a hobby should be "hands on" for enjoyment and to be able to say "I built that". A hobby is an activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, often in one's spare time. Personal fulfillment is the aim!
Ye Olde Huff & Puff (Wood Kits, older steam up to transition era freight cars and Cabooses from Silver Streak, Mainline Models, Sugar Pine Models and AC Models)
Decals by Jerry Glow:
http://home.comcast.net/~jerryglow/decals/full.html