I am curious on your thoughts. What one prototype of freight car has been produced in the greatest of quantities, but ignored by O-gauge manufacturers entirely? It doesn't have to be something you would be interested in owning for your layout, but something you noticed is or was very relevant to railroads, but Lionel, MTH, etc never took a stab at producing?
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I think that stock cars have been,by and large, ignored. Then plain flatcars.
Norm
The combo door cars are a good idea. Atlas made a kit version many years ago. I have one, but I've never gotten around to building it.
The cars I would like to see in 0 scale are the small, multi-dome steam era tank cars. They were used for small loads of chemicals where a full 8000-gallon car was not needed. Lionel, MTH, and K-Line have all made one or more traditional size versions, but I've never seen a Premier or Standard 0 car of this type. They have been made in brass 2-rail. Actually, the prototypes are small enough that the traditional versions are probably pretty close to scale size, but I'd like to see detailed scale cars in 3-rail.
I agree, Hiawatha.
Cars not seen modeled very often might include TTJX flush deck flat car, 86 foot auto parts box car, mechanically refrigerated covered hopper car, flat car loads including frame flats and floating lumber loads, and 89 foot TOFC flats set up for circus loading. You do not see vary many welded rail trains either.
There's a hopper that looks like a tank car in the current issue of Railroad Model Craftsman that I'd never seen done before.
Wagon-top box cars still aren't all that common either.
Southwest Hiawatha:
As heavy as the rivet detail is on those prototypes, I'll bet some good postwar-type examples would make a very nice start on replicating some of the tanks pictured.
Some sandpaper to clean up the scratches/etc on the model, gloss black paint (if reflecting a newly repainted car) and lettering and you're good to go!
The pictures do show how nice a well done short tank car could be.
Road specific cabooses from the steam era would be at the top of my list followed by
ventilated boxcars
Multi dome tank cars are so specialized...the only ones I have industries they'd support would be a creosote plant. What I would like to see is a variety of 8000 gallon ones for the dozens of now vanished oil companies that used to refine and sell gasoline in the steam era. Nowadays, the most neglected is small steam engines....the trend has gone to Triplexes. I could type out a list of them, but don't think it would do any good....
every thing from the C&IM 4-4-0 to to the D&SL Mikado with the coffin water heater.
A variety of cabooses is lacking, but cabooses are so RR specific, it is just impossible
to get built up ones, for that reason, that they are so one RR specific, and what you
get is a few roads or generic.
I guess the one car I'd like to see is a "coaler". Not sure what it is but it is mentioned in the book "On The Blue Comet" as part of a consist
"two cattle cars, a coaler, a caboose, and a refrigerator car"
How about the 100-ton Ortner aggregate hoppers? And has anyone ever made center-beam flat cars?
Southwest Hiawatha:
As heavy as the rivet detail is on those prototypes, I'll bet some good postwar-type examples would make a very nice start on replicating some of the tanks pictured.
Some sandpaper to clean up the scratches/etc on the model, gloss black paint (if reflecting a newly repainted car) and lettering and you're good to go!
Agreed Laming, there are quite a few different versions of the 1, 2 and triple dome tankers...unless folks are wanting scale versions!
I wouldn't mind seeing some scale auto rack cars that are maybe a little oversized so I could put my own 1/43rd scale cars on them.
WW2 composite ( steel and wood ) cars
Camp crew cars ( wood cars)
Affordable Stillwell passenger cars
Steeplecabs
Catenary
Shortlines
New operating accessories instead of repeats ( ie operating interlocking gates)
Whitcombs
Garretts
Monon
Illinois Terminal road switchers
0-4-0 Fireless Cookers for plant duty
Composite flangers
Pole mounted Nachod signals for trolleys
It'll be a reach as to which railroad Im refering to, and they all aren't as mainstream as the thread might want, but....
{-King and Queen set of the Zephyr, diecast bodied Aeolus for the masses, Gerneral Pershing Zephyr...a reach, I know- back on mainstream track...}
-troop cars converted to express service cars...there were alot of those back when
-Passenger business cars
-bilevel MU cars...and "more" bilevel Budd commuter cars with cab control cars!
-"pre-merger" cascade green Burlington cars..if your in this area of the country
-pressure slide cement cars- 2800 cu ft
-Havelock caboose{not just CB&Q?}
-ballast cars
-rail detector cars- jacob press & co type
-Dynamometer car
-lil C&S type flanger{used by alot of smaller RRs}
The old style milk car. I think American Flyer made them at one time. Don
SCL silver lines, one of the most dominant NY to Fla. passenger lines in history and no one has bothered to make models of it.
Yes, I would buy a set of those in heartbeat. I watched those being hauled to NYC by a GG1 all the time. I love mixing cars behind my G's.very realistic.
One other car. A real aquarium car. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago once owned two aquarium cars. One was named the Nautilus. They transported fish and sea water to the aquarium. don
Yeah John, everyone buys sets, not me.
I traveled from NY to Tampa/ St.Pete / Clearwater on those SCL's and also to Ft. Lauderdale in the 60's.
Never seen a perfect matched set of passenger cars ever.
Starting to collect a few MTH now. Never really liked the Lionel Aluminum cars much.
How about the 100-ton Ortner aggregate hoppers? And has anyone ever made center-beam flat cars?
MTH has made a few of the center-beam flat cars.
Larry
Without a doubt, the 5-car 40' articulated TTX intermodal sets. Hands down!!
Without a doubt, the 5-car 40' articulated TTX intermodal sets. Hands down!!
SCL silver lines, one of the most dominant NY to Fla. passenger lines in history and no one has bothered to make models of it.
And, wouldn't ya know...
We (LHS) just received yesterday Athearn's latest releases, among which are this very paint scheme on their Genesis F-units...multiple units, sound/DCC, or ready! Of course, Walthers has produced some fine models of the SCL cars, too.
But, it's all in HO.
Sorry.
KD
Lionel actually has made these, but only in traditional/027 size. Link to Lionel website.
Originally Posted by scale rail:
The old style milk car. I think American Flyer made them at one time. Don
Surf this sight and weep......
http://www.athearn.com/Products/HO/
http://www.accurail.com/accurail/
When I see the diversity in HO and then I see the fantasy schemes MTH makes I want to weep.
Go on...look at the websites...
I think that one would have to be the rotary snow blower, even if there is no snow. Also I think that the gas powered motor cars are somewhat forgotten. Also the pre-1850 steam trains have be mainly forgotten. The only one I know of made by Lionel was the Stourbridge Lion and the DeWitt Clinton. I wouldn't mind seeing a Rocket. The reason I think Lionel has not done that is because of the size, it would take luck to get all of the stuff in there with the motor.
What is in a great number of Grand Trunk Western/CN freight trains are these long box cars.
86' Auto Parts Box Cars
TBOX 60' Double Plugged Door Box Cars
Image taken in Vicksburg, Michigan.
Andrew
ACF Center Flow Pressureaide 4-Bay Covered Hopper
It has been made by Atlas Model RR Company in HO Scale and N Scale.
Andrew
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