That’s certainly true, and the cars which I showed earlier were not necessarily an attempt to make them more accurate, but rather one to make them more suited to my layout’s era, when many boxcars were not as tall as more modern ones.
And, of course, for that reason I lettered them for my freelanced railroad, rather than for a real railroad. I think that the changes lifted them above the originals detail-wise, but it was simply an exercise to see what could be done.
Here’s another Athearn boxcar, one of perhaps two dozen that I modified many years ago…
The changes were fairly minor, and included free-standing wire grabirons on the ends and sides (the ladders were left as-is), and metal drop steps at the car’s corners.
I didn’t bother to alter the incorrect brake gear at all - it was outside of my interests at that time.
I did thin the bulky running board on the roof (an autobody file, used carefully to avoid breaking the plastic, works surprisingly well) and added scratchbuilt corner grabirons at the lateral roofwalks.
Probably the most noticeable change was for the doors, where the door tracks were modified to look more to-scale, and the bottom one placed more prototypically-lower. Because of that, the doors needed to be made taller, but Athearn doors were readily available at most hobbyshops in this area, and it was a simple operation to cut apart the originals and splice-in an extra segment. They no longer worked but at least looked more prototypical.
When I back-dated my layout’s era to the late '30s, I felt the lettering to be too modern-looking, so sold-off quite a few bo
ATSF didn’t have extended vision cabeese until the 70s. And most of the map cars were repainted into the “all the way” slogan (with the name trains) by the 1950s, there were a few that lasted into the 60s
Wayne I will study the info about re-working the box cars, I love that sort of stuff.
Rick, I do have some Santa Fe books and also one Color Guide. I try to snatch them up whenever I see them at a sale as these things are expensive new. I also picked up a stack of 40+ Santa Fe Modeler back issues and those things are filled with interesting info, its gonna take a while to get through those.
And to everyone else thank you for your thoughts on the topics I brought up, it all makes sense and its great that there are different ways to look at it. Every post you guys write has some useful info in it. I learned a lot about how I might look at things. One thing for sure, getting a decent, if not totally accurate, car for $1-3 is a great deal. And I like the idea that you can use it as is, or work on it and rebuild it, or whatever. Even if you put new couplers and wheels on it its still not that much money. This is fun hobby stuff to do, cheaper than a boat or a car
I enjoy reading about the railroads, in particular the Santa Fe, and learning all sorts of stuff about how they were. And having a setup is fun. In the end, how many people that might come and see the railroad are going to look at the 4th box car from the end and say “the grab irons are way too big for prototype scale, the brake underneath is mounted the wrong way, the road number doesn’t match with the actual production of that particular car…” Hahaha, no one is gonna know all that, unless you guys come over!
Lazers - I have found the info about train models to be somewhat scattered, there is a lot out there but nothing comprehensive like you said. It would be cool if there were something like scalemates.com. That site is great if you are research a scale model such as a plane or ship and such. Its a big database filled with details about each model, whenthey were made, how they relate to similar models, and so forth.
That, and perhaps we have becomed so numbed to what new model trains cost, compared to what we wish they cost, that the sellers of used stuff feel they can charge more because it is still so much less expensive than new. I have noticed that as well with AHM and IHC structure kits, which are good kitbash fodder. And while there was a long time there when Athearn Blue Box was being sold very cheaply, if you were seeking a particular model or particular road name, you were likely going to be disappointed. So prices were low and buyers were either very lucky or very unfussy. I can remember one vendor in particular who was selling off an estate and the deceased modeler was nuts about the Monon and seemingly had nothing but Monon (unless the non-Monon sold out first and I never saw it). So you could get just about any car you wanted, cheap, so long as it was Monon. It might have sold like hotcakes in Indiana. You could hear the crickets chirp in Green Bay, Wisconsin, year after year at their booth.
At the big train show in Madison WI (which this year will be Feb 15 and 16 by the way) I have long noticed that a table can charge one price for something, be it Atlas snap track or Athearn blue box, or whatever, and a nearby – even adjacent – table can be selling the same thing for a radically different price, and both tables are selling briskly. I don’t know if that is a sign that the laws of economics are being violated or verified …
Thinking back to the OP’s questions, the fact is that if you want to be even slightly accurate and prototypical about your layout or collection, there is such a lot to learn and
In response to 'SeeYou190’s post. The vender’s call them ‘‘Vintage, Collectible or Rare’’.[^o)]
Maybe some new to the hobby, Model Railroad Hobbiest, do not like paying $29.99+ per car. So BB’s suites them fine. It takes alot of rolling stock to fill a yard and move fright.
The price of attending a show for the vender has gone way up over the years, so the cost of their products need to go up to make the show profitable. Then again some venders just seem to want to sell trains and make no profit.[%-)]
Some of us are sitting on a gold mine of BB’s.[(-D]
ysvtoys, Model Railroading is to be fun, wrap the rubber band as tight as you like.
Until last year I had a fine collection of Athearn BB and Roundhouse cars that well suited my needs… I susposed my collection of today’s highly detail cars clouded by better judgement and I sold all my BB and Roundhouse cars.
My point?
The majority of those cars was bought used with KDs for $4-6.00 at train shows a far cry from what I paying now. If the Athearn BB and Roundhouse cars fills your needs I would go that route. OTOH if you are willing to pay $40-60.00 for today’s highly detailed freight cars then go that route.
As a PS.
However,there is another choice if BB and Roundhouse cars doesn’t fill your bill Check Accurail line of fine car kits.
Sometimes it is not about “making a profit”. It may not have occurred to anyone, but there are a few of us who enjoy getting out once in a while, so if we sell enough to cover our expenses we’re happy. Anything above that amount is chocolate sprinkles on the ice cream.
Your earlier suggestions about replacing the couplers with Kadees is a good one. I keep a supply of Kadees around and all junk couplers get replaced. Likewise, I clean out the trucks with a MicroMark truck tuner and replace those old original plastic wheelsets with metal ones I buy from Intermountain. This makes an amazing difference in how easy it is to pull the car around.
I started my HO train collection in the 1950s. I have accumulated a lot of old rolling stock, and have upgraded almost all of it with Kadees and metal wheelsets. Yes, I have a few much nicer pieces of rolling stock, but I have no trouble running my old Athearns along with them.
Yes it has occurred to me a long time ago, I hit these fokes first and we are both happy campers. Some of my best buys have come from under their table. My latest BB purchase was a 50’ covered gondola. I remember getting second hand BB’s with metal sprung trucks. Most of those truck side frames and bolsters are in gondolas as scrap loads. I still pick up MDC/Roundhouse and Athearn BB.
Keep in mind that only tells you when the car was made. As has been mentioned, railroads had to reweigh cars every few years, and from time to time would bring them into their shops for major work which might include repainting them. They would be repainted in the then-current paint scheme for the railroad. So in 1973 you might see a 1942 built boxcar that was originally boxcar red or brown wearing a flashy red or blue or green 1960’s paint scheme.
For those of us who are seriously into operations, Athearn Blue Box cars have the enormous advantage that they do not shed little tiny parts all over the railroad as they get used. Our forces are WAY more than scale forces should be, and I’ve seen delicate cars disintegrate just through normal wear and tear.
I have removed several roof walks from blue box boxcars in order to make them fit better into my 80’s/90’s layout. It’s not too hard with some sprue, a bit of putty and files followed by a bit of paint. No doubt that many of the liveries or dates are not exactly right, but chopping the walks goes a long way to make older cars fit visually into a newer layout.
This is a good point. I’m not deep into operations but I am a klutz and my partner in this layout is my young son, so the purchase delicate rolling stock would be risky at best.
Michael, I have devolpe and fine tuned a “kiss coupling” method that doesn’t move the standing car when I couple on to it. I simply ease into the coupling and stop as soon as the cars couple.
Of course the KD couplers need to be fine tuned where they open and close smoothly at the slightest touch… That’s not as hard as it sounds since the majority will do that from the package…I just smooth the knuckle face with a needle file.
