Hi,
I recently purchased one of Jon Cagle's ATSF Bx-12 Extended Height Boxcars and am looking for guidance on the correct trucks for this car for the 1950s.
According to an article written by Richard Hendrickson (who I know is a well-known Santa Fe expert who sadly recently passed away) in the May 1995 Railmodel Journal, when originally built Bx-11s received Dalman two-level trucks and Bx-12s and -13s received Dalman one-level trucks. This makes sense because Dalman two-level trucks were manufactured before one-level trucks. The article goes on to point out that during post war service sometimes the original trucks were replaced with more modern types.
What I find confusing is that in the nine photos I have of prototype cars, all seem to have Dalman two-level trucks. I am still developing an eye for identifying trucks but as best I can tell they are Dalman two-level as opposed to other types including ASF A-3 ride control trucks. They are certainly not Dalman one-level trucks which have a more distinctive look. I realize 9 cars is no where near representative of 4,000+ cars but since all seem to have the same trucks, I am left to wonder whether or not most, if not all, Dalman one-level trucks were replaced by some point in time in the late 40s or early 50s.
I know Dalman one-tevel trucks are readily available in O scale but so are others that may be more prototypical correct for this car for the 1950s.
So would greatly appreciate any guidance and if you could cite the information source all the better.
Thanks, Bob