I’m building two NE-10 waycars as they would have appeared in 1953. Unfortunately, all of the photos in The Burlington Waycars book were taken after that date. There is conflicting information about when cars were first modified with generators, battery boxes, and radios and wagon wheel antennas, either 1945 or 1947. It isn’t clear from available information when the Mars lights were first installed on the ends, and when and whether the small round Mars lights or large square Mars supplied in the kit were used. The left side rear window was plated over and the toilet and vent were moved to that location, but the date this first occurred isn’t mentioned. At some point, the lantern markers were electrified, but the date is not mentioned. All of the photos from the 1960s show stem winders, but it isn’t clear if the gears were ratchet and pawl on the platform or a gear box at the bottom of the brake staff under the staff foot. The only detail brake photos are of the NE-10 at the Galesburg Railroad Museum, and that car was from the BN era with Ajax power hand brakes.
There is also conflicting information about paint schemes, as the instructions imply that these cars were painted Omaha orange when modified (black lettering decals are supplied in the kit), but other sources state that the first and only use of Omaha orange was in 1964, though some cars wore that scheme into the BN era. The earlier mineral red paint scheme requires white lettering, and those decals aren’t supplied.
The main questions I need answers to are:
When were the windows first blanked out and the toilet moved?
Was the small round Mars light ever used, and if so, when was it first installed?
When was the large square Mars light first installed?
When were the markers first electrified?
Was there a ratchet and pawl on the end platform, or a gear box under the brake staff?
The car shop awaits answers to these questions.
Nelson Moyer