Brass Hopper...

Looks like a USHobbies or a Max Grey brass tender. Not sure what the # used to identify it 

@Franky-Ogee posted:

Looks like a USHobbies or a Max Grey brass tender. Not sure what the # used to identify it 

Pretty sure that those bolsters are USH and that it's a hopper car,

Cool; thanks guys.  I figured it was probably not homemade, as the workmanship is pretty tight and neat.

I put on some older Gloor Craft soft metal trucks (a brass car with plastic trucks just didn't seem right) and also replaced the original kingpin springs with some "softer" ones; rides really nice and smooth.

Now to figure out some "proper" couplers; those are really small holes in the coupler boxes!

Mark in Oregon

Looks like USH or MG to me too, but the plastic bolsters are probably replacements.    All those cars came unpainted and without trucks but with dummy couplers generally.     A side photo may give someone the information to identify the # in the MG catalogue.

Max Grey and US Hobbies imported trucks and sold them separately.    The holes in the coupler boxes might be threaded for 072 screws.

MARTIN  you are correct it is a hopper car. I guess I'll have to learn the difference someday

Or pay attention to my typing

@prrjim posted:

Looks like USH or MG to me too, but the plastic bolsters are probably replacements.    All those cars came unpainted and without trucks but with dummy couplers generally.     A side photo may give someone the information to identify the # in the MG catalogue.

Max Grey and US Hobbies imported trucks and sold them separately.    The holes in the coupler boxes might be threaded for 072 screws.

Here you go:

A closer look at the bolsters reveal that, although plastic, they have a brass insert for the truck screw. Dunno if that helps...

Mark in Oregon

Yes, it's US Hobbies. They had the black plastic bolster. The MG did not. You can see the image below. You can kind of see the MG in the background.

Make nice models when finished.

The car is a US Hobbies model 506 ribbed side twin hopper based on a USRA prototype.  The USH March 7, 1972 newsletter lists the car (less trucks) for $18.60 and they were built for USH by KTM in Japan.  A very similar model was imported by Max Gray some 10 years earlier.  The MG 1963 Max Gray Reference and Price List has the 506 twin hopper priced at $9.90. It is interesting to note that the 1963 MG list includes 16 different brass hoppers.  A generally reliable spotting feature between MG and USH KTM built cars is that MG cars had sheet brass bolsters while the USH ones had plastic ones with brass inserts.    In the late 1970's or early 80's Precision Scale imported from Korea a better detailed model of the same prototype featuring lost wax brass castings and brake rigging  under the slope sheet.    In the 1990's Intermountain offered a highly detailed plastic kit (very delicate grab irons) for the USRA twin hopper in a variety of road names.  Still later Atlas imported assembled models of the USRA twin hopper built in China using former Intermountain tooling.  O scalers don't lack for choices in rounding out a roster with USRA twin hoppers.  My personal favorite is a Bob Parri built in the USA hand crafted brass model (photo below). Bob's brass hoppers and gondolas are noted for their detail and rock solid assembly.

models

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the information.

Dan, how did you get the Kadee mounted in that coupler box?

Mark in Oregon 

I filed the Kadee coupler sides enough to fit the box that was there. I used the spring but not the Kadee box. The coupler will not self center but I can live with that.

Rod Miller also had a way of doing this on Max Gray and U.S.Hobbies cars. Rod's text and images are below.

Here is the info on the KD coupler adapters for Max Gray and U.S.Hobbies cars.
The first photo show a KD in the original MG coupler pocket.



The second is how to make them: a piece of .020" x .25" styrene bonded to a piece of 1/8" x 1/8" styrene. Length isn't critical, just so it fits into the hollow in the coupler (you have to force it in) - the adapter in the photo is .3" long.

Put the coupler in the coupler pocket and mark through the hole in the bottom of the pocket where to drill the hole for the mounting screw.

My last car, a MG 4 truck flat car required some minor filing and fitting, e.g., YMMV but still simpler than removing the coupler pocket in order to install a KD box. There may be little coupler swing but the slop in the knuckle gives plenty of leeway, and no automatic centering of the coupler - hey, there aren't centering springs on the real thing!

Thanks Dan.

Mark in Oregon