Correct Era Rolling Stock


N

Nuttman

New Member
Pards,

I am modeling HO scale early 1900's-1940 Steam Era, Southern Railway line.
Is there a site where I can learn more about the rolling stock of that era.
I would like to put together a line of different freight cars and caboose for my
Santa Fe 2-10-2 and would like to be correct in the ones for that time period.
I would not want to have freight cars, hoppers, tank cars, caboose, etc. from the 60'-90's.
Also, if some of you could recommend, as there are so many out there.
What are some of the better manufacturer's of quality cars to purchase, and if any, which one's to stay away from. Many thanks.

Gene
 
The best reference site for Southern modelers is http://southern.railfan.net/. The 2-10-2 ran right up until 1951 so you can include a few more modern cars, like steel 50' box cars and steel refrigerator cars. The period before 1940 is not easy to model in terms of the amount of models out there. Here are a few general rules of what to look for in models:

1. If it's wood, it's probably right
2. If it has a vertical brake staff, it's probably right
3. If it's a steel car with a fishbelly underframe, it's probably right
4. If it's a single dome tank car, it's probably right.
5. If it's a hopper car 40' long or less, it's probably right
6. Any type of "war emergency" car would be right
7. 50' steel box cars might be right
8. 50' steel gondolas might be right.

As you can see, it not easy to give hard and fast answers. Peruse the archive photos at the SRR railfan site and use them as a guide for what type of cars were common. Any railroad running in the same period would be hauling the same type of cars so look for freight car and freight train pics from the 1920's through 1940's. As long as you're not hauling 89' foot auto racks, the transition period is pretty broad and very few modelers will be able to tell you exactly what car wouldn't have been running on the SRR for any given time.
 
Gene,
I model basically the same era, but a little narrower (1920-1930's), just not Southern. Jim gave you some good guidelines to go by. I also found these 2 sites helpful.
www.accurail.com/accurail/
www.westerfield.biz/
They give build dates for the types of cars they sell. Also, things listed as "USRA" would be from the WWI-1920's time and things listed as "AAR" would be from 1937-40's?
Remember, also, that most rolling stock was used for a long time.
 
Gene- If you are looking at used freight cars, most have a build date in the reporting marks. Usually shown as "BLT 1938".
Try not to buy anything with a build date later than 1950 or a date you pick that the car would be new on your railroad.

If your eyes are as good as mine, you need a magnifying glass for HO cars.
 
However, don't depend on a built date as being anywhere near accurate on a model freight car. Some companies, like Westerfield and Branchline, are very careful to get this right. Others, like AHM, the older Life-Like, and Tyco cars will have built dates slapped on that could be anything from right on to 50 years off. Always depend on a prototype photo if you want to make absolutely sure of the built date or any dimensional data for any car.
 
UP2CSX said:
However, don't depend on a built date as being anywhere near accurate on a model freight car. Some companies, like Westerfield and Branchline, are very careful to get this right. Others, like AHM, the older Life-Like, and Tyco cars will have built dates slapped on that could be anything from right on to 50 years off. Always depend on a prototype photo if you want to make absolutely sure of the built date or any dimensional data for any car.
Click to expand...

Especially when you consider the paint schemes. While a particular built date may be right for your roster the car may be in a paint scheme that's too new for your era. I would suggest joining a yahoo group devoted to your railroad or a historical society since those are usually loaded with information.
 
DirtyD79 said:
Especially when you consider the paint schemes. While a particular built date may be right for your roster the car may be in a paint scheme that's too new for your era. I would suggest joining a yahoo group devoted to your railroad or a historical society since those are usually loaded with information.
Click to expand...

DirtyD points out what has long been a serious problem with period rolling stock in the hobby. Virtually all the plastic car manufacturers, when offering cars with early built dates, have used much later paint schemes on them (assuming that their built dates were correct in the first place!). The only way to really be sure about a given car is to check it against a photo of the prototype. To my knowledge, there is no really broad, on-line, reference available.

There are railroad specific rolling stock books out there and one of the RIP Guide books did covered many of the older (pre-2000?) HO cars regarding correctness of built dates, type and paint scheme but a lot has been produced since. You might consider taking out a brief subscription to RIP's web source to examine what their on-line reference Guide currently has listed. Likewise, Westerfield has a downloadable catalog of the cars that they produce, illustrating the correct appearances for given years (possibly Sunshine and other craftsman kit producers do to?).

I understand your pain. I'm modeling specifically October of 1941.

NYW&B
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Carey on this forum can help out to he will be around soon I am sure. He is a bonafide Southern MRR with all them steamers he runs...:D
 
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