Micro Trains CN head end car

[central.vermont]

Thanks for all the input guys looks like I will change out the trucks and put body mounted couplers on it. I think the only reason that MT did not put the BX trucks on is t hat they do not have a short shank coupler. All they have is medium shank and one with out coupler. This is the reason I wil body mount mine.


Jon

[bbussey]

As I stated above, the bolster variation tooling is interchangeable with the variations of truck side tooling. That is how there are Dalman and National B-1 trucks without couplers on the ESM G26 gondola. The proper combination of bolster arm and truck side frame could have been utilized with no additional tooling expense. They all are plug-and-play, so to speak.

[thomasjmdavis]

Brian, thanks for the precise information on truck/bolster tooling.

Does this mean that the bolster will need to be altered in order to swap in BX trucks (for height or ?).

The bigger question for me is "are the car ends correct"?  Photos I have on hand show a non-corrugated car end with a door.  Was there a later series of cars that had a corrugated end?

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn11141

As much as I would like some of these cars (great paint job), I am inclined to kitbash a couple and get it right, even if it turns into a multi-day decal job.

[wcfn100]

The bigger question for me is "are the car ends correct"?  Photos I have on hand show a non-corrugated car end with a door.  Was there a later series of cars that had a corrugated end?

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn11141

I think the car you've linked to is a different series of cars (dates show a later build) than the one MTL is representing.

The MTL car isn't correct to the prototype beyond being a box car.  Different sides, ends, roof, even the ladders with 8 rungs.

As for the trucks, MTL doesn't make anything like what's on the prototype car, so I don't see the issue with what they picked.  The prototype trucks are probably around an 8' wheel base.  You can tell box cars that have/had longer wheelbase trucks buy the small sill tab needing to moved closer to the center of the car for clearance.

Jason

[fifer]

I don't see any on the end of this car, but can only see one side of the end (it's also a refer, not baggage).

http://www.cnrphotos.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=51293&g2_imageViewsIndex=2

Wow Jon , yours is gonna take a lot of weathering !!!!
LOL
Mike

[Lenny53]

I wonder why they didn't use BX express trucks instead of slapping on Barber RBs?  The bolster crossbars are the same for all of the four-wheel trucks, so they could have used the short-arm bolster to mold the trucks.

Also, what is the true origin of the prototype?  I know it wasn't PS-1.  Looking at prototype photos it seems as if it was CN home-built.

MTL only offers the BX express in the medium shank length, I do not know why a short version has not been offered yet as it is high on my wish list.   
The green really seems off to me on this car, not nearly as olive as it should be IMO.

[central.vermont]

The green really seems off to me on this car, not nearly as olive as it should be IMO.

I agree with you on this Lenny but it does match up very well including the Baggage/RPO with the color Rapido is using on their cars.

Jon

[Puddington]

I agree with you on this Lenny but it does match up very well including the Baggage/RPO with the color Rapido is using on their cars.

Jon

Ok, let's talk CN green..... Notwithstanding the fact... and I mean FACT that in the prototype world there were 100's of shades of CN passenger green found on cars due to a myriad of causes, there is a standard that the CNSIG has issued that has been accepted by most modellers. We adhere to that standard. Micro Trains also is working to that standard and they had some of our cars to compare with; they did a pretty darn good job of replicating it too..... (Even though a heavyweight and lightweight using the same paint would look different... but that's another story...)

if you don't like that green, that's fine.... some do, some don't... but the fact of the matter is it matches the best reference available, the work of the SIG and although you can point to 100's of variations, the SIG's work is at least a common standard.

.... and people wonder why we mfg's "love" to talk colours....

[Lenny53]

I agree with you on this Lenny but it does match up very well including the Baggage/RPO with the color Rapido is using on their cars.

Jon

Maybe, but it looks awful with the Wheel of Time cars.   The MTL colour looks like what the CN green looked after fading and not fresh out of the paint shop.

[central.vermont]

Maybe, but it looks awful with the Wheel of Time cars.   The MTL colour looks like what the CN green looked after fading and not fresh out of the paint shop.

True, but that's what the CNSIG was aiming for something middle of the road. The WOT cars look fresh out of the shop so it makes a good variation of the color in a train. That's really what I like to see.

Jon

[Lenny53]

True, but that's what the CNSIG was aiming for something middle of the road. The WOT cars look fresh out of the shop so it makes a good variation of the color in a train. That's really what I like to see.

Jon

Since when do manufacturers go for faded/weathered paint colours?  I'll post something relevant to this on Thursday Proto Photo tomorrow.

[w neal]

Educate me. Any chance these cars would have made it into Chicago via GT's Maple Leaf?

[Upstate Gator]

We discussed the likelihood of the RPO appearing in Chicago in https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=36441.15

Possible.

Ben W.
Fairport, NY