AtlasO gondola and the Menards gondola

Atlas makes a 40 foot gondola?

Would it be easy to swap out the plastic trucks for diecast ones?

Would love to see a photo of the Atlas 40' gondola.

I didn't know they made them, either, but they do. 40' USRA Composite gons. Bunch of road names available. Looks like they have nice simulated wood floors.

Here's some info on the Pennsy ones. Older cars, in that they were rebuilt with steel sides by 1937. Other roads may have had the composites longer, I don't know.

PRR Class G24 - 40' U.S.R.A. composite & all steel gondolas

General information:

The G24 gondolas are steel framed 50 ton United States Railroad Administration ("U.S.R.A.") design 50 ton steel framed wood composite construction gondola cars. The PRR received 750 of these cars in total, (500 from lines west, 50 from the GR&I and 200 from the LIRR.) 200 of the lines west's cars were transferred to the LIRR in late 1924. All were transferred back to the PRR by 1940. All of the cars were rebuilt with steel sides starting around 1930. By 1937 all cars were converted. Some cars also had their ends replaced. The cars were built with K brakes but were later retrofitted with AB brakes and some of the rebuilt cars ran into the 60's with one car still on the roster as late as 1963.

Matt Kramer posted:

Would it be easy to swap out the plastic trucks for diecast ones?

It looks like some sort of rivit is holding the trucks on. You would have to drill it out. I doubt it would just pop out. 

There is no way to get to it from the floor of the gondola. 

Dave