Stick a pickle in it and call it Bob

[up1950s]

So we have a FUD pickle tank car http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/WildMarker/N%20Scale%20Model%20Railroading/b8c1acab.jpg

You know with all these FUD models coming out maybe there should be a separate section dedicated to FUD of any scale . This way anybody uninterested in FUD can avoid much of the topic , and those interested have a one stop location on releases , painting , etc .

[absnut]

That particular kit makes up into a nice looking car.  I built two, modifying them slightly with wire braces (per prototype photos) and name boards to go along with my scratch-built pickle cars.

[up1950s]

Hey , those came out great , nice job .

[JMaurer1]

From my research on pickle cars (and there ain't much out there), the cars should NOT have stake pockets on the sides (since stakes would never be needed on a pickle car). I'm trying to find as much as I can on the cars now that American Model Builders came out with a wooden pickle conversion kit for 40' flat cars (might be a future article if I can ever find enough information and decals). Just a small thing and other than that your cars look great.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

They have stake pockets because Mark W (who's here on Railwire) uses the same flatcar as his singles and for the steam donkey load.
As soon as he reads this he'll probably be excited to know how to tweak the kit to be better

There's another pickle car kit out there (can't remember the manf. ) but it's just the tanks and top: no flatcar.

[eja]

...with all these FUD models ...... a separate section dedicated to FUD of any scale . This way anybody uninterested in FUD .......

Great idea, eh ?  Oh wait a minute.  That's Fud not Pud

Never mind   

[Bob Bufkin]

Is this a pickle car or a vinigar car?  Found alongside the road between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, PA.

[Philip H]

Bob,
I think that's what's left of a vinegar tank car.

[C855B]

OK, the obvious question... when did pickle and/or vinegar cars fall off the rosters?

[DKS]

Some proto pickle car pics:

http://hawkinsrails.net/mainlines/stock/stock.htm (scroll down)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/henrywagner/2428561566/

Vinegar cars:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53192745@N05/6403959629/

http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/craftsmans-bench/9389-richter-vinegar-car.html

http://www.petroleumhistory.org/OilHistory/pages/TankCars/Special.html

[Roger Holmes]

Here's the AMB kit.  The tanks are a bit tedious.  There is a top and bottom disc with vertical studs between them.  Then you glue a wooden wrapper around that core. Finally thin adhesive backed paper for the tension bands.  After the first one I learned to soak the wrapper longer in water and to secure it with rubber bands while the glue set up.

The ladders are all laser cut cardboard-like material and were a pain.  Other than that I did enjoy building the kit especially after learning from building the first tank.





Photos are with and without flash.. I never claimed to be a photographer

[absnut]

There is a nice article about the pickle industry in Railroad Model Craftsman,  December 2011 issue.  It  has a lot of info and pictures about the industry as well as the pickle cars.  after reading it, I had to build the AMB Pickle salting facility to go along with a scratch built pickle car.  I ended up scratching two more (different) before building two of Mark's cars.  The Sauer Pickle Company is now a prominent feature on my layout.