PRR BM85 & BM85a Cars

[jmlaboda]

What does your note (2) Baggage 60' Mail infer. Does that mean that 60 ft of the car was used for mail.

Yes.  60' was used for the mail section, the rest was used for baggage.

[Alwyn Cutmore]

Hi Jerry,
Thanks for that. The rest is still confusing.
Regards

Al

[OldEastRR]

Al:

Here's my version of this car.



I used a KATO smoothside baggage/RPO, which is UP prototype, but like the PRR car, it's ACF-built so it's very similar. The RPO section was built exactly the same on every railroad's RPO. The stock baggage doors are 4'9" wide, close enough to the Pennsy's 4'6". I had to switch the position of the baggage doors to the opposite side of the baggage area, which I did by cutting the walls off the baggage section and switching them to  their opposite sides.
But for the Pennsy version there's more work than just the baggage door, whether you use the CCS or KATO car. The letterboards above all the  doors needs to be deepened. I worked from plans from Rob's PRR website, which showed square windows. Of course once I got done, this thread put up actual photos showing ROUND ones.
I didn't know about  the CCS car, but even so I'd still choose a KATO car for rebuilding because of the excellent rolling quality, the ease of adding lighting and these qualities match the other cars of an all-KATO PRR consist.
However, the CCS roof is more prototypical, and if that part is available separately it should be easy to replace the KATO roof with it. And add rain gutters ...
Last note: I started painting silver the impact panels on the car, then decided using that rub-on metal foil would look much better. Now if I can just find it in my piles of RR stuff ....

[chicken45]

Al:

Here's my version of this car.



I used a KATO smoothside baggage/RPO, which is UP prototype, but like the PRR car, it's ACF-built so it's very similar. The RPO section was built exactly the same on every railroad's RPO. The stock baggage doors are 4'9" wide, close enough to the Pennsy's 4'6". I had to switch the position of the baggage doors to the opposite side of the baggage area, which I did by cutting the walls off the baggage section and switching them to  their opposite sides.
But for the Pennsy version there's more work than just the baggage door, whether you use the CCS or KATO car. The letterboards above all the  doors needs to be deepened. I worked from plans from Rob's PRR website, which showed square windows. Of course once I got done, this thread put up actual photos showing ROUND ones.
I didn't know about  the CCS car, but even so I'd still choose a KATO car for rebuilding because of the excellent rolling quality, the ease of adding lighting and these qualities match the other cars of an all-KATO PRR consist.
However, the CCS roof is more prototypical, and if that part is available separately it should be easy to replace the KATO roof with it. And add rain gutters ...
Last note: I started painting silver the impact panels on the car, then decided using that rub-on metal foil would look much better. Now if I can just find it in my piles of RR stuff ....

I just saw you post this on the WU and I mentioned the doors needing to be taller and the windows to be more square. LOL. Looks like you already noticed it.

[Alwyn Cutmore]

What windows are you talking about Josh. :

[chicken45]

What windows are you talking about Josh. :

The square ones.