Product Announcement from Briggs Models

[BCR 570]

On behalf of Jeff Briggs I am pleased to announce his release of a new freight car kit in N Scale.  The prototype is the National Steel Car 70-Ton outside post double door boxcar produced for the British Columbia Railway and Northern Alberta Railways in 1979.  The BCR cars were series BCIT 841699-842099 (600 cars) received in March 1979 and leased for international lumber service between Canada and the United States.  They were transferred to CN custody in July 2004.  The NAR cars were series 050101-050170 (70 cars) received in May 1979 and also leased for international lumber service.  They were transferred to CN ownership in 1981.

The kit includes resin parts for the body, roof, end tack boards and end brake stand.  The etched metal fret includes the brake wheel and chain, underframe brake rig, end platforms, sill steps, end and side ladders.  Styrene pieces for interior braces, steel nuts for weight, and 2-56 screws for mounting the trucks are also included.  Not included are trucks, couplers, and side placards.  The kit is engineered for easy installation of Micro-Trains Barber roller bearing trucks and #1015 couplers.  Highball Graphics offers a decal set for the NAR cars and I am working with him to generate a BCIT set.

Here is what you get:




Assembly of the kit begins with minor cleanup of the resin parts and de-spruing of the etched metal parts.  Pre-drills for the etched parts are then drilled out with a #80 drill and the etched parts are installed with CA adhesive.  The side ladders mount onto brackets which must be bent at each end prior to installation.  Holes for the trucks and couplers are drilled out with #50 and #62 drills and tapped for 2-56 and 00-90 screws respectively.  Interior braces and weights are affixed inside the car.  Assembly goes quickly and several cars could be built during two or three evenings.

Here are photographs illustrating the interior and underside:







Here are photographs illustrating cars assembled for British Columbia Railways and Northern Alberta Railways:






This model will be an important home fleet addition for those modelling the British Columbia Railway or Northern Alberta Railways, and would make an interesting foreign car on any other Canadian or U.S. layout.  The kit retails for $30.00 CAD and will be available from Central Hobbies  ( www.central-hobbies.com ) and other distributors.  As those are confirmed I will announce them.  Production of the 100 kits is complete and shipping now.  They will be available at the P.G. E. 100 Convention in July.


Regards,

Tim

[bbussey]

Tim, what is the time frame for this prototype?

[Philip H]

He reports March and May 1979 build dates for the series, so my guess would be at least the 20 years after that . . . probably still in service somewhere in the Borg . . .

[GaryHinshaw]

Here's a shot of one from 2006:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=257310

That's close enough to the present for me to pick up a few.  Nice looking kit.

-Gary

Added: and a NAR car from 2008, still in original paint:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1425033

[Bsklarski]

We get them from time to time. Usually its paper rolls, wood pellets or plywood in them

[BCR 570]

Bryan:

As noted above, the cars were produced in 1979 and are listed in the ORERs as still in service.

Tim

[rogergperkins]

The use of nuts for weight in the car interest me.  I am wondering whether it might be possible to follow the same method in some Rivarrossi heavy weight passenger cars to replace current weight and thus allow room for installing Easy Peasy Lighting.   

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Looks good. Now only if they did a PCF box with 16' door.
Or a 19K gal corn syrup tank.
Or a PD3000.
Or a PD5125.
Or a Sou/NS TOFC flat.

[BCR 570]

The use of nuts for weight in the car interest me.

The advantage of the nuts for someone like Jeff who is assembling, packaging and shipping 100 kits is that they are inexpensive to source.  For the modeller, they offera suitable amount of weight and with the hole in the middle they can be glued directly above the trucks with little chance of getting adhesive down into the truck mounting hole.

Daniel:
The BCR had the PC&F double door cars (they preceded the NSC cars) and I have mentioned them to Jeff as a possibility for a future kit.  I believe that B.C. Hydro Railway had them too.


Tim

[FrankCampagna]

Might have seen one today on an NS haulage train going through Oneonta.

[pfs]

Some additional shots from 99 and 05


http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=733886
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=174814
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=211026



Will get at least one of these, nice looking kit!

[pfs]

Have any of these been sold to secondary owners?

TYIA

[Philip H]

Given CN's ownership of IC, I wonder if they ever made it to Baton Rouge . . . .

[lock4244]

CN has similar cars in the CNIS 413000-413199 series built by NSC in 1980. They have single sliding doors and as such have an extra vertical exterior rib before the angled rib to accommodate the smaller opening. Roof appears to match the model. I saw three on the weekend on train 369 westbound at Port Hope, ON., towards Toronto. A possible car for Jeff to consider at some point down the road given the similarity.

I'll be watching passing freights for the BCOL cars that Jeff has just announced and pass on any numbers. Not gonna hold by breath for any NAR cars to pop up.

[jcox3751]

Tim,

You mention using MT #1015 couplers, but your sample shows a MT #1023/5.

Will the #1015 work as well?

Joe Cox
Austin, TX