Looking for a 50' P-S Boxcar

[BCR 570]

I am looking for a way to model these cars:




These cars were rebuilt from 40' P-S boxcars by USRM in 1973 for Atlantic & Western Railway, and the BCR leased 80 of the cars from 1973 to 1980.  Inside height was 10'-6".

I know I am going to have to add the reinforced side sill, and will have to remove running boards and cut down the 'AR' corner ladders on models with running boards and high ladders.

Models of 50' boxcars with offset double doors would not be appropriate as the doors on these cars are close to centre of car length.

I would appreciate any advice on which N Scale 50' boxcar would be best to start from.

Tim

[nkalanaga]

Looking at the roof and side panels, and door track, I think that is a standard offset double door boxcar.  If the doors were centered, the door track would be centered on the side sill.  That door track pretty well matches the one on the MT double door boxcar, although it looks like the doors are a little wider, probably 8 ft instead of 7.5 feet.

[mmagliaro]

And MT makes separate parts packs of 8' doors, if you wanted to retrofit them onto a car that comes with 7'.

[OldEastRR]

Is that warping of the steel sides splotching all over or some kind of camo paint scheme? Either way, that would be neat to duplicate in the model.

[Point353]

Try the Micro-Trains 037-series of cars: https://www.nscalesupply.com/MTL/MTL-37000.html

[bbussey]

The Athearn model is more faithful to prototype and you wouldn’t have roof holes to plug, but this prototype appears to have symmetrical doors which the model does not. So the molded on doors would have to be cut out and replaced (with MTL doors if they are the proper width, though the door height should be accurate). Other than the lowering of ladders on the A end, the model matches your prototype.

[cjm413]

The Athearn model is more faithful to prototype and you wouldn’t have roof holes to plug, but this prototype appears to have symmetrical doors which the model does not. So the molded on doors would have to be cut out and replaced (with MTL doors if they are the proper width, though the door height should be accurate). Other than the lowering of ladders on the A end, the model matches your prototype.

I think the MTL 50' PS-1 also has the "half bow tie" issue on the end roof panels after removing the roofwalk that I brought up in the other thread.

[wcfn100]

I think the MTL 50' PS-1 also has the "half bow tie" issue on the end roof panels after removing the roofwalk that I brought up in the other thread.

It's not a half bow-tie but a big mounting hole through the bow-tie for the running board under the end platform.  I would think the car w/o running board would be okay in that regard.

A stock MTL 50' w/o running board with a brake wheel car end from a donor car might get you most of the way there.



Jason

[bbussey]

I think the MTL 50' PS-1 also has the "half bow tie" issue on the end roof panels after removing the roofwalk that I brought up in the other thread.

Yeah. They (and the 40’ variants) weren’t that way originally. The roof was changed when the roofwalk was thickened. So if using a MTL boxcar as the basis for a kitbash, it’s better to start with a non-roofwalk version.

[bbussey]

It's not a half bow-tie but a big mounting hole through the bow-tie for the running board under the end platform.  I would think the car w/o running board would be okay in that regard.

A stock MTL 50' w/o running board with a brake wheel car end from a donor car might get you most of the way there.



Jason

Keep in mind that the new MTL PS-1 boxcars have the same distortion issues as the originals, while the MDC/Athearn cars do not.

[wcfn100]

Keep in mind that the new MTL PS-1 boxcars have the same distortion issues as the originals, while the MDC/Athearn cars do not.

Right, but I think that's baked in by now.

Jason

[BCR 570]

This picture appears to show low brake wheel and ladders at the 'BL' corner which is an issue.  Not sure which is worse, plugging roof holes and cutting down molded ladders, or converting back to high brake wheel and ladders.  I have plugged roof holes before, but it is a pain.

Tim

[wcfn100]

This picture appears to show low brake wheel and ladders at the 'BL' corner which is an issue.  Not sure which is worse, plugging roof holes and cutting down molded ladders, or converting back to high brake wheel and ladders.  I have plugged roof holes before, but it is a pain.

Tim

Right, so use the brakewheel end off a standard MTL box car.  Then it's just the two grabs that need to be replaced with a half ladder.

Jason

[cjm413]

It's not a half bow-tie but a big mounting hole through the bow-tie for the running board under the end platform.  I would think the car w/o running board would be okay in that regard.

A stock MTL 50' w/o running board with a brake wheel car end from a donor car might get you most of the way there.



Jason

Or just use the MDC/Athearn model as the starting point

[cjm413]

This picture appears to show low brake wheel and ladders at the 'BL' corner which is an issue.  Not sure which is worse, plugging roof holes and cutting down molded ladders, or converting back to high brake wheel and ladders.  I have plugged roof holes before, but it is a pain.

Tim

Even more frustrating when there are no known prototypes that match the MTL model...