John Swearingen asked:
"The Roundhouse line of old-time 36' boxcars has the brake wheel
atop a vertical shaft on the end of the car. However, as designed it
only extends about 12-18" above the roofwalk. Is this accurate for
that period?"
A quick check of PRR 36 ft boxcar equipment diagrams at
http://prr.railfan.net shows vertical shaft brakewheel height above
running boards varying between 11" - 17". The low height appears to
be a concession to the tighter clearances of that time.
FWIW, if you're after a quick and dirty 36 ft boxcar model, the MDC
kit is pretty much the only game in town (the AHM/Con-Cor
ACL "Watermelon" ventilated boxcar is the other shake-the-box 36 ft
boxcar, but it has large stops for both doors that make it difficult
to use the kit for ordinary 36 ft boxcars). MDC recut the dies a few
years back to allow for a separate roof casting, so it's an easier
matter to substitute roof/ends to match different prototypes (no 36
ft Murphy flexible panel roof is available commercially, but it's an
easy matter to scratchbuild one from styrene. The kit roof is
wooden, which is anacronistic for 36 ft cars remaining in the stam-to-
diesel transition era). The bad news is that the boards in the
sheathing are too narrow for most prototypes (closer to sheathing
found on wooden passenger cars than freight cars) and that the doors
are cast on.
Ben Hom
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