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Post by ambluco on Sept 25, 2015 5:31:58 GMT -8
I'm having a hard time getting more info on this. I think it's an ACF 50' but I'm not find any capy info to figure out a model (like 5077 or something like that). This is heading towards wanting to model one in HO scale. Any ideas? Thanks.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2015 6:00:19 GMT -8
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Post by TBird1958 on Sept 25, 2015 6:20:13 GMT -8
It's an ACF '50 car built in 1966, (63300-63499) nailable steel floor, 20" travel Keystone underframe, delivered without running boards. The pressed panels on either side of the doors were to help keep them from scraping the car side. They were general purpose cars, not assigned, 50were sold to the B&M in 1979.
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Post by riogrande on Sept 25, 2015 6:48:33 GMT -8
Jim Eager Color Guide anyone? =P I believe Kadee makes an HO model of that box car? Don't have it but it's on my to-do list.
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Post by wp8thsub on Sept 25, 2015 7:38:31 GMT -8
I believe Kadee makes an HO model of that box car? Nope. It's an ACF car and Kadee only make the PS cars which are superficially similar. |
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 7:44:48 GMT -8
Any suggestions as to best stand-in for the ACF cars? I've got plenty of the Kadees, but would like to supplment them for more variety as the budget allows. I can't say I'd scratch one, but details, paint and decals are no problem.
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Post by wp8thsub on Sept 25, 2015 8:05:49 GMT -8
Any suggestions as to best stand-in for the ACF cars? You could probably get fairly close with a Branchline kit.  The distinctive feature of the ACF Precision Design cars was the stamping pattern in the panels adjacent to the doors. This view may show them more clearly than the earlier one posted above. Image from www.rr-fallenflags.org/drgw/drgw-f.html .  Here's an older Front Range car I modified to more closely resemble an ACF box built for the N&W. I laminated some thin styrene to the sides to represent the raised panel edges. They have an impact on how the car weathers, so are definitely worth the effort to add. |
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 8:35:09 GMT -8
Rob, Thanks! very helpful. I have a couple of 1100 series BL kits. There's rivets on the ribs of the stamped panels on either side of the door. Is that correct and these the kits you're referring to? I have decals and paint  If these are the right kits, I even have two of them. It'll be hard to repaint the GN one, too pretty, but the NYC one? meh. No problem getting new paint there.  Looks like all that's really needed is to trim the sidesill tab that's right under the ladders at each end on the side. |
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Post by roadkill on Sept 25, 2015 8:38:00 GMT -8
Any suggestions as to best stand-in for the ACF cars? Here's an older Front Range car I modified to more closely resemble an ACF box built for the N&W. I laminated some thin styrene to the sides to represent the raised panel edges. They have an impact on how the car weathers, so are definitely worth the effort to add. I did the same to a Front Range kit too years ago but did mine in 13d NW  |
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Post by TBird1958 on Sept 25, 2015 8:49:05 GMT -8
Rob, That looks fantastic!
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Post by wp8thsub on Sept 25, 2015 9:09:39 GMT -8
Rob, Thanks! very helpful. I have a couple of 1100 series BL kits. There's rivets on the ribs of the stamped panels on either side of the door. Is that correct and these the kits you're referring to? The prototypes are welded, but that sounds like the same kit. You can get away with a riveted Branchline car if you shave off the rivets and add the weld seams, which is pretty easy. Careful with the NYC car. Branchline produced an NYC specific version of their kit with the Despatch shops roof and unique ends. The roof has two rectangular stampings per panel, and the end has corrugations that look somewhat like a Pullman end. That car's pretty much limited to representing an NYC or successor road car. If yours has the diagonal panel roof and improved dreadnaught ends you're good to go. |
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Post by stottman on Sept 25, 2015 9:27:06 GMT -8
Here is one that I photographed June 2011, in Canon City, CO, and a shot of the data. Accurail offers a factory decorated car as a close stand in. An exact reproduction with the panels and 7'(?) door is going to be a scratch build. Attachments:
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 10:15:11 GMT -8
Rob and stottman,
Thanks for the tips.
Yeah, can shave rivets, just wanted to be sure there wasn't a welded BL kit I should be looking for.
Noted the NYC features mentioned in the kit lit, but hadn't sorted that out yet. Probably means that purty GN car goes under the knife instead, but it may get lucky if I have an assembled example already on the layout that could be used instead.
I thought that left door looked narrow. I'll see what I can do about that, but it may end up being good enuf there.
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 10:32:53 GMT -8
SNIP Careful with the NYC car. Branchline produced an NYC specific version of their kit with the Despatch shops roof and unique ends. The roof has two rectangular stampings per panel, and the end has corrugations that look somewhat like a Pullman end. That car's pretty much limited to representing an NYC or successor road car. If yours has the diagonal panel roof and improved dreadnaught ends you're good to go. Just confirmed I've got the NYC special features with BL #1105. I may see what the ebay gods can turn up rather than hack the GN car, as nothing else on hand to serve. Cut the 8' door down to 7' -- still thinking on that one. I really don't want to clean up a bunch of cut through ribs and not sure I can cut along the side reinforcement and looks right doing it that way, either. IIRC from similar discussions, stottman is right, there is no suitable commercial part available.  And is a narrowed door really close to correct anyway? Looks good enuf to do that to my eye, but maybe there's something I'm missing there that's bigger than simply being narrower? |
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Post by riogrande on Sept 25, 2015 11:05:47 GMT -8
I believe Kadee makes an HO model of that box car? Nope. It's an ACF car and Kadee only make the PS cars which are superficially similar. Thats what I get for not waiting until home to look it up first! Superficialagolistic  |
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Post by Spikre on Sept 25, 2015 11:32:12 GMT -8
 not all 50' NYC boxcars had Despatch Ends and Roofs. there were some PS-1s,and cars with Dreadnaught Ends, but not sure who built them ? some cars with Dreadnaught Ends were built by Despatch Shops if Stanray could deliver ends faster than Despatch could make them in House. Spikre 
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Post by wp8thsub on Sept 25, 2015 12:12:38 GMT -8
Cut the 8' door down to 7' -- still thinking on that one. I really don't want to clean up a bunch of cut through ribs and not sure I can cut along the side reinforcement and looks right doing it that way, either. The Branchline kit has the combination of 7' and 8' doors, so it should approximate the prototype in that regard. The [in]Accurail car has both doors the same width, plus a host of other issues including the wrong roof and sill. |
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 13:59:36 GMT -8
Spikre, The prototype may have had those options, but the Branchline kit has just the NYC config as Rob noted. I looked, carefully this time. The Branchline kit has the combination of 7' and 8' doors, so it should approximate the prototype in that regard. The [in]Accurail car has both doors the same width, plus a host of other issues including the wrong roof and sill. Rob, Well this will be easy. I just peeked through things quickly enough to differentiate the NYC features in the one from the standard config. Sure enough, a pair of 7' doors! Close enuf for me. Don't have a good pic of the ends. Do the rivets in the middle and bottom of the ends come off where the upper and lower panels meet and join at the floor, too, i.e. are the ends totally welded also?OK, found the slightly fuzzy pic in Eager's Color Guide showing the end. Looks like rivets on the end and on the last course on the side where the end is joined to the sides. Now 2 more questions... The GN roof has the roofwalk supports on it. Should these be smoothed down or were they present on the newly-produced roofwalkless roofs? Is there a quick and dirty way to simulate the 20-inch travel Keystone cushioned underframe? I'm thinking some channel, keep it simple, no need for Kadee level operational status. |
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Post by wp8thsub on Sept 25, 2015 15:04:32 GMT -8
Now 2 more questions... The GN roof has the roofwalk supports on it. Should these be smoothed down or were they present on the newly-produced roofwalkless roofs? The prototype had no running board brackets when new, so carve them off. My N&W car above just uses the Walthers cushion draft gear kit www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/920-2311 . It's not the most detailed, but it works and mounts solidly. |
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Post by mlehman on Sept 25, 2015 20:31:27 GMT -8
Rob,
Thanks for confirming no roofwalk brackets.
I actually thought I had a pack of that Walthers draft gear, but I either used it or can't find it. I did find some old blue box 86' Hi cube draft gear that was take-off when I upgraded those with the Walthers swing kit. Crude, but should work. Also some anonymous Walthers draft gear covers. I can probably kludge something together that works and upgrade later if it bothers me.
Got lucky on decals, I have a set of Kadee for doing their version of the PS cars. Must be pretty darn close.
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Post by stottman on Sept 25, 2015 23:34:35 GMT -8
 Here is the Accurail car. |
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Post by riogrande on Sept 26, 2015 5:10:00 GMT -8
Now that I'm home and have Jim Eagers Color Guide in front of me, I see why I got burned by that photo - checking the number series of the cars that match the Kadee box car, it looks like it is the D&RGW series 63500-63699 which are the PS box cars. That's what I get for relying on a bad memory.
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Post by mlehman on Sept 26, 2015 7:34:26 GMT -8
stottman, Thanks for the pic. It's not bad as stand-ins go. The extra wide door really stands out. With the Accurail shell cast as all in one IIRC it will be a project to modify the doors with that one, so the Branchline kit is definitely going to be a sweeter build if you do want to modify to be closer to the ACF car. I can't quite see if it's welded or not, as that would save a whole lot of rivet scraping, though, over the BL kit. Now that I'm home and have Jim Eagers Color Guide in front of me, I see why I got burned by that photo - checking the number series of the cars that match the Kadee box car, it looks like it is the D&RGW series 63500-63699 which are the PS box cars. That's what I get for relying on a bad memory. Memory? What's that? I can't seem to recall...  Truth be told, they are very similar cars, even beyond the obvious "brown, double door 50 foot boxcar" that first pops into my brain. |
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Post by riogrande on Sept 26, 2015 7:47:09 GMT -8
I know some folks have all the box car types memorized so I felt a disturbance in the force when I posted that comment on the Kadee model - sure enough off I went to do some things and came back later to an "error message"!!! If you don't look closely or the photo isn't big enough to see some of the features, it's not hard to scan it and mistake it for a PS box car. Regardless, the Kadee car is a no brainer. I passed it up many times because my original focus was on the 1980's but as I've backdated my interests more to include the 1970's, I've been trying to collect more rolling stock built in the 1960's. I'll be adding a few more of the Kadee freight cars I imagine now.
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Post by Spikre on Sept 26, 2015 10:57:00 GMT -8
Mike, while there are some Decorated NYC Branchline kits that only have the Despatch ends and Roofs,the Undecs is what is being reffered to. the Undec kit has all the Options,or should say HAD,as Atlas may not be doing kits anymore ? try to find an Undec 50' single or double door kit,if it hasn't been raided it should have several roof and end options. Spikre 
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Post by mlehman on Sept 26, 2015 11:43:06 GMT -8
Spikre, OK, yeah the undecs make sense to sort out if you need all the options. I bit my tongue and started scraping on the GN shell. It's soaking in 91% right now, so we'll see how cleaned-up it is once it's scrubbed. Probably from listening to too much Grateful Dead, to me every GN boxcar is a sacred thing, but I'll be OK when it's all over...  |
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Post by riogrande on Sept 26, 2015 11:49:36 GMT -8
Never could get into Grateful Dead. Pink Floyd on the other hand ...
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Post by Spikre on Sept 26, 2015 12:22:02 GMT -8
Mike, never could understand why the Thomas shows never had any Yardbirds music, but did use Ringo as a narrator for awhile,and maybe the best one ? never Stripped any Decorated Branchline Bodies,they came along way after that Model RR Ritual was given up. but the 8' and 7' doors do look better than two 8 footers. Intermountain was also guilty of putting a pair of 8 footers in the 50" PS-1 kits.ELHS had specially made 7' doors to get the cars closer to correct for Erie and EL. Gratefull Dead should go with 70s SP videos. Spikre 
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Post by dti406 on Sept 26, 2015 13:57:59 GMT -8
Mike, while there are some Decorated NYC Branchline kits that only have the Despatch ends and Roofs,the Undecs is what is being reffered to. the Undec kit has all the Options,or should say HAD,as Atlas may not be doing kits anymore ? try to find an Undec 50' single or double door kit,if it hasn't been raided it should have several roof and end options. Spikre Try finding an undec #1100 Branchline Kit anymore, they are as rare as hen's teeth. I have had friends and club members looking at out of town hobby shops and shows for any undec Branchline Kits of any type and they are extremely hard to find. Atlas does make undec kits of the ex-Branchline kits but they only show one part number for each type and for the 40' car with a 6' 7' or 8' door how do you what car door width you are getting. Rick J |
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Post by mlehman on Sept 27, 2015 6:47:42 GMT -8
Good taste in music guys. Jim, I saw Floyd at Soldier Field during the Animals Tour (77? 78?). That was quite the experience when the pig flew out over the audience on the field. Spikre, Yardbirds? Because Thomas and Friends spent a lot of time in the yard? OK, makes sense. OK, got things ready to assemble. Not one of my best rattle can paint jobs, as I should've remembered to warm the can with a hot water bath. The rivets weren't as bad as I feared and with paint covering up a few indiscretions, here's where I am this morning. I'm sure if a rivet counter wanted to grumble, there's probably more to be removed, but let 'em count where first  I found a set of short ladders so no need to cut down the kit ones. You can also see the extended coupler mountings recycled from an Athearn 86' hi-cube I'll be using to simulate the 20" Keystone cushioning gear on these cars. The brown (Rustoleum 7775 Leather Brown) could've been more reddish, but I can add some of that in with some washes when it's finished. |
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