Any Cotton Belt Modelers?

Hello,

The St Louis Southwestern has always appealed to me being a central Texas train fan, however other than a few diesels and freight cars there’s not a lot out there. It seems even the historical society is no longer around.

The main thing missing seems to be fifties wood cabeese and any kind of passenger car. I have never even seen passenger car decals done for this road.

If you model the Cotton Belt can you please tell me what you do for passenger cars to go with your Proto 2000 Pa or Genesis FP-7? What about the common single sheathed wood caboose? Anything close out there?

Thanks

SB

Steven Allen Goen’s Book on the Saint Louis Southwestern is a good start for SSW Modeling if you reside outside of “Blue Streak Fast Freight Route”.

Do not know if the book is still available new from the publisher, but is available from “High Dollar Bill” and other booksharks, better know unreputable “Dealers”, that will gouge you in a heart beat!

Stick with reputable dealers that advertise in Trains, Classic Trains, Railfan & Railroad…

Beware of E-Bay. You could find this book, but may end up with a “True Stinker”, no joke a book that has a very unpleasent odor, that you never can rid of!

A SSW Wood Caboose, would be easy to scratch build and would make a excellent 1st rolling stock scratch building project.

Can also kit bash one from several MDC Roundhouse “Old Time” caboose blue box kits.

Years ago, Walthers did indeed manufacturer in house SSW Decals and I think Micro-Scale may have.

MDC Rounhouse offered it’s Alco RS-3 Kit in both Espee (which never had) and St.L.SW.

Bev-Bel Corporation did up Athearn 72 foot streamlined cars in SSW, which Coton Belt did not have, but…

Know for concrete fact that they did a baggage car and roundtail observation car, but not certain if Bev-Bel ever produced a Athearn Alco PA-1, coach and dining car in Cotton Belt Scheme.

Bev-Bel also did Athearn EMD F7A/B’s in Black Widow Cotton Belt, and EMD GP-7’s (9’s) in Black Widow.

To the best of knowledge they never did either the EMD SW-7 or BLH S-12 in pumkin or tiger strips or bloody nose for…

Some stock freight cars were produced by Athearn. Bev-Bel did a few, also. MDC Roundhouse did a few and did a special run of 40’ XM’s, with the Blue Streak logo.

Athearn produced a stock wide vision caboose as well as a bay window.

Accurail has turned out a few Cotton Belt’s as well.

Train Miniaturer did a few.

So, there