Canadian stock cars

[CNscale]

Recently I stumbled across an ad saying that PWRS is doing a limited run of CPR 40’ stock cars. Great news! The Canadian railroads had thousands of these in the steam era, and to date there’s never been anything in N-scale that captures their distinctive appearance. (My modelling standards will overlook a rivet or two out of place, or even excessive board spacing on meat reefers, as long as the model “looks” right).

http://www.pacific-western-rail.com/announcements/view.php?ID=12332

So I arrive at their website, only to discover that they’ve already produced a limited run of CNR stock cars last year, and I missed it! Rats! But wait — there’s still some available1 I grab my credit card to order some of these puppies before they’re gone, but then I see the photo — that doesn’t look right.

Has anybody seen the PWRS CN stock cars? Can you point me to a photo of a prototype car that looks like one of those? Even the prototype photo on the PWRS website doesn’t match the model at all.

So the CN cars are a bust. Why would I pre-order the CP cars, knowing that there’s no guarantee they will in any way resemble the prototype photo that PWRS is using to promote the model?

Any other Canadian livestock modellers here? Am I missing something? Is it because it would have been difficult to apply the lettering that they changed the design of the model? Or is there an obscure prototype I don’t know about, or a modern era rebuild that they based their model on?

I’m sure the cars are great quality, but at 30 bucks a car in packs of 6, I’m not sure I can overlook the discrepancy.

CN cars: https://www.pwrs.ca/announcements/view.php?ID=10433
Prototype photo in pre-release announcement: http://static.pwrs.ca/product_images/241215_8.png

[craigolio1]

You're right. That's way off. It's been my experience that while PWRS does do special run paint schemes, the models are often (usually?) just an off the shelf model from whomever.

Pass.

Craig.

[Missaberoad]

They are Micro-trains stock cars with Name panels glued on the sides.
The cars are based on a New York Central prototype. There is nothing close on the CN or CP roster... 

[Missaberoad]

This is the NYC car the Micro-Trains model is based off of.



MT did do this car painted up as a CP stock car both in the Action red scheme and an
inaccurate all brown scheme (based on a museum piece)



Likely the PWRS car will follow the lead of the Action red car.

If you want an accurate Canadian stock car Geoff Gooderham @Angus Shops makes a very nice CPR dominion stock car kit.
These cars were the bulk of CP's fleet until the late 1950's and some lasted into the 1970's.
http://www.central-hobbies.com/products/ggood.html

[PGE_Modeller]

I don't have a copy of the Official Railway Equipment Register from the late 1950s - early 1960s to confirm this, but the prototype photograph in the PWRS advertisement looks as though the cars were converted from 10-panel steel box cars with diagonal bracing added to the four panels either side of the door to support the side slats.  The ad states that these are Micro-Trains cars and their stock car appears to have the same side bracing as the single-sheathed 40' box car, with 8-panel sides and diagonal bracing in the first three panels either side of the door.  Comparing the prototype photograph of the CP car and the photo of the NYC car mentioned previously by Missaberoad (and the M-T model), closely spaced boards on the CP car are at the top of the sides, not at the middle as on the NYC and M-T cars.  The M-T cars also have a flat panel roof with 17 ribs while the CP car shows what appears to be a raised panel Murphy roof with 11 ribs.  Not even close IMHO.

Cheers,

[Missaberoad]

I don't have a copy of the Official Railway Equipment Register from the late 1950s - early 1960s to confirm this, but the prototype photograph in the PWRS advertisement looks as though the cars were converted from 10-panel steel box cars with diagonal bracing added to the four panels either side of the door to support the side slats.  The ad states that these are Micro-Trains cars and their stock car appears to have the same side bracing as the single-sheathed 40' box car, with 8-panel sides and diagonal bracing in the first three panels either side of the door.  Comparing the prototype photograph of the CP car and the photo of the NYC car mentioned previously by Missaberoad (and the M-T model), closely spaced boards on the CP car are at the top of the sides, not at the middle as on the NYC and M-T cars.  The M-T cars also have a flat panel roof with 17 ribs while the CP car shows what appears to be a raised panel Murphy roof with 11 ribs.  Not even close IMHO.

Cheers,

According to Richard Yaremko's book In 1958 CP started converting random older 10'6" AAR boxcars by removing the steel sides and bolting the slats to the existing steel bracing. You are correct in your observation that they would have a mix of Murphy panel and diagonal panel roofs.

The NYC cars are rebuilt USRA boxcars with the bracing reversed.

I agree with your assessment Just about everything that can be different between these two prototypes is...