With the apparent interest in the covered hopper thread and the ideas that has come from it regarding making a B&O covered hopper. How about we start a new thread where we can post a picture or diagram of a freight car that has not been mass produced and take some ideas from posters on how they would make said car? Lets keep it to freight cars in revenue service and no make believe. You can include proposed and experimental cars that were intended for revenue service. Revenue service is to include interchange with other railroads. All eras from the inception of railroads to the latest can be done.
Let me start with something not very well represented in the modeling communities.
The PRR class FN. Well hole flat car. Built 1902 to 1915 with 37 built.
http://prr.railfan.net/freight/freightphotos.html?photo=PRR_425034_FN.jpg&fr=clFN
http://prr.railfan.net/freight/freightphotos.html?photo=PRR_425034_FN_endview.jpg&fr=clFN
http://prr.railfan.net/freight/PRRdiagrams.html?diag=FN_notrnum.gif&fr=cl
For such a light looking car it had a capacity of 140,000 Lbs. Later changed to FNa when they switched out the archbar trucks with crown cast 2E-F2 trucks. Also some FNa got a removable floor in the well section. The railings are for the safety of car men while the car is in motion and removed when loaded. Each end had its own brake system
Gidday Pete, Interesting question, certainly got me thinking while carrying out some mundane w**k tasks.
My initial thoughts are, for HO, scratchbuilding the basic body out of 1/8 inch steel strap, for strength and weight and using CA to glue appropriately trimmed styrene channel for the sides and ends, and thin styrene sheet, suitably embossed with rivets for the deck. Several manufacturers advertise 5’6" wheel base Arch Bar trucks with 33" wheels.
The downside to my proposed method of construction is that while drilling and tapping , 2-56, the steel frame to attach the trucks and coupler boxes is no problem, I fear I would break several small (Nos: 74 & 79) drill bits while drilling the holes for the brake rod shafts and the hand rails.[sigh]
Thanks for giving me something to think about,
Cheers, the Bear.
That should be an afternoon project out of styrene. The basic body is extremely simple. Then add as many details as you require to meet your level of “rivet counting”. I would use the Archer or Micro Mark rivet decals for the rivets in the side sills and deck. Weight could be hidden under the deck on the ends and I would use metal trucks, for more weight. Decals would be cobbled from a Westerfield set.
Pete,
The diagram(3rd link) indicates 100,000 capacity when loaded within lines ‘A’, and 120,000 when loaded outside of those lines. The ‘tare’ weight of the car is 34,800 lbs. Still an impressive car for it’s era.
Jim
Jim.
There is always some discrepancy when it comes to the light weight and capacity of some cars when built. In my research of this car it appears some had light weights of 34,800 and some had 38,200. The author thinks this is due to several factors such as thickness of the sheet iron and some were weighed when they received the Crown cast trucks. I had learned that 4 were permanently assigned to the Navy for transporting gun mounts. Another 27 with shorter well holes were built for the Navy during WW1 for the same reason. They could be seen all over the country on both coasts serving the Navy. The flat car book from the PRRT&HS has several great pictures of these cars. One is carrying a large ship propeller. The amount of rivets in the sides and ends are incredible. It would take several sheets of Archer rivets to do one car. Someone on another Forum suggested Funaro and Camerlengo for a well hole but it is a later F33 with 3 axle trucks.
Thanks guys keep it going.
Pete
I just found a revised diagram. Wt of 43500 and capacity of 175000 lb. It appears that extra material was added to the deck and the hole was lengthened by 1 1/2 inches.
http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/PRRdiagrams.html?diag=FN-E72776.gif&sel=&sz=sm&fr=
Pete
Pete,
that makes sense if they were re-built for WWII era gun shipments. Larger axles(and bearings), plus what-ever was done to the deck would increase the weight, and 22 tons makes sense. 87-88 tons of capacity is very impressive. This was in an era when 40-50 ton payloads were ‘normal’.
Sort of like those PRR and MILW 30’ flat cars that were used for moving gun tubes to Navy yards - 100 ton capacity for WWII era…
Jim
