Atlas Wagon Top Box Cars----PRR?

Norm posted:

Atlas is offering some wagon tops in their October Newsletter.....did the Pennsylvania Railroad actually have any?

Norm 

Seems like the Pennsy did.

BUT, I have a love/hate relationship with Atlas freight cars.  On one hand, I really love all their molded plastic details.  They're superb for the ultimate scale realism.

But on the other hand, I really HATE all their molded-on plastic details - just look at them cross-eyed, and all those details break.  Lionel and MTH: seem to have a lot more metal details.  A WHOLE lot more durable.

Which probably explains why I can get REALLY good deals on used Atlas freight cars at train shows.  I have to spend a fair amount of time scratch-building and fixing up all the broken/missing stuff after I get them home.

Oh well, it is what it is.

I have a lot of Atlas O freight and passenger rolling stock, and locomotives.  I have not encountered breakage but I take good care of my trains.  I did have some drain pipes dropping off of passenger cars but I reglued any lose parts on those cars.

PRR did have wagon top box cars.  Hopefully a Pennsy expert will offer some facts on these.  I would like to know if any of those made it into Penn Central paint?

PRR X-31 series boxcars were round top.  I didn't do the full research, but several hundred of the X-31A series appear to have still been on the roster in 1968.  Whether they got PC paint is another question.  Most of these cars were built in the mid to late 30's.

Guys, the B&O wagon top design was unique to the B&O.  No other railroad had them: zip, zilch, nada.  PRR had a few classes of round roof boxcars but they were very different from the B&O wagon tops.

From the pdf version of the October 2019 Atlas All Scales Monthly Catalog:

"Paint scheme is correct for a car of a similar prototype."

This note pertains to all non-B&O paint schemes for this current announcement as well as for those cataloged when the cars were first released by Atlas.  Weaver (the original owner of the tooling) never cataloged the cars in anything but B&O. 

Bob,

Thanks!

Norm

I appreciate the prototype info Bob!

I agree with Bob.    The B&O wagontop was unique to the B&O.   

Pennsy Roundroof cars look similar from a (long) distance but are very different.     Lionel did a sort of creditable round roof Pennsy car as a 40 ft X31 single door and a double door.     Don't remember double door class.    

Pennsy had a 50 ft version of the car also with both single and double doors.   

The PRR cars were traditional construction with a raised, rounded roof to increase volume capacity.    But the roof panels are separate pieces mounted to the sides and side frames.

The B&O car is basically an Outside braced car with the side panels and rolled right over the roof from one sill to the sill on the other side.    The frame bracing is similar to the way bows were put on old covered wagons to support the canvas tops.    It is possible that is where the name comes from.      Apparently the construction was simpler that traditional types, lighter weight, and could be done in their own shops, which I believe they did.

Mixed Freight posted:

 ...snip... But on the other hand, I really HATE all their molded-on plastic details - just look at them cross-eyed, and all those details break. ...snip...

Hmmm, one does not even have to look at an Intermountain car for the finely applied scale-sized details to fall off.

PRRMP54 posted:

Mixed Freight posted:

 ...snip... But on the other hand, I really HATE all their molded-on plastic details - just look at them cross-eyed, and all those details break. ...snip...

Hmmm, one does not even have to look at an Intermountain car for the finely applied scale-sized details to fall off.

Rotflol!

Weaver offered this paint scheme, one with a large B&O logo, one in green with gold lettering and one in blue with gold.  3rd Rail offered B&O wagon top boxcars in green, blue and yellow.  Atlas may be using the Weaver molds.  John in Lansing, ILL

rattler21 posted:

 

Weaver offered this paint scheme, one with a large B&O logo, one in green with gold lettering and one in blue with gold.  3rd Rail offered B&O wagon top boxcars in green, blue and yellow. 

The old Sunset/3rd Rail car had some detail mistakes, so the Weaver B&O cars were dead-nuts accurate.

Atlas may be using the Weaver molds.

Correct.

  John in Lansing, ILL

Weaver tooling would make sense as the Weaver tooling for the most part went three places:

1. Atlas
2. Lionel
3. Away

Hot Water posted:

rattler21 posted:

 

Weaver offered this paint scheme, one with a large B&O logo, one in green with gold lettering and one in blue with gold.  3rd Rail offered B&O wagon top boxcars in green, blue and yellow. 

The old Sunset/3rd Rail car had some detail mistakes, so the Weaver B&O cars were dead-nuts accurate.

Atlas may be using the Weaver molds.

Correct.

  John in Lansing, ILL

 

Don't forget that "Right of way industries" did a red B&o wagon top boxcar back in the 1990's.