MTL heavyweight baggage car

[Dave V]

I still have MTL's Tuscan paint (thanks Joe!) so I might do the porthole-window door conversion on mine.  The doors still won't be symmetrical as they are on the PRR B70, but that conversion will still go a long way toward Pennsifying an Erie prototype.

EDIT:  Since the doors appear to be molded in place, probably the cleanest way to do this would be to add a very thing styrene veneer over the door.  I would remove the window material before doing so and reinforce the veneer from the backside in the vicinity of the porthole.

[Missaberoad]

I'd buy them, but Soo had a ton of Barney and Smith cars, more than the metal heavyweights, and a lot of in house shopped cars.

True, although a few Microtrains cars would give me something to run while I slowly build the courage to kitbash and scratchbuild more accurate models. 

[chicken45]

I still have MTL's Tuscan paint (thanks Joe!) so I might do the porthole-window door conversion on mine.  The doors still won't be symmetrical as they are on the PRR B70, but that conversion will still go a long way toward Pennsifying an Erie prototype.

EDIT:  Since the doors appear to be molded in place, probably the cleanest way to do this would be to add a very thing styrene veneer over the door.  I would remove the window material before doing so and reinforce the veneer from the backside in the vicinity of the porthole.

That's a solid idea, @Dave Vollmer. I was hoping to not have to carve out doors. I wonder if we could fake some symmetry by plating over the larger door to make it look like part of the car side and having both doors the same size. There's still the fact that the doors are taller than on a PRR car. At least, I think they are from how PENNSYLVANIA is displayed between the doors instead of more spaced out ABOVE the doors.

[Dave V]

That's a solid idea, @Dave Vollmer. I was hoping to not have to carve out doors. I wonder if we could fake some symmetry by plating over the larger door to make it look like part of the car side and having both doors the same size. There's still the fact that the doors are taller than on a PRR car. At least, I think they are from how PENNSYLVANIA is displayed between the doors instead of more spaced out ABOVE the doors.

That's all good but probably more involved than I'm willing to get.  I think if you really want a true B70, then all new sides would be necessary.

[eric220]

@chicken45, for me, these cars are so far removed from any cars actually rostered by the PRR, that I don't think its worth the effort to attempt to make them reflect a PRR prototype. I'm thinking justification along the lines of second-hand cars that were modernized and updated. With the porthole windows, they'll look fine in a speeding consist.

[chicken45]

That's all good but probably more involved than I'm willing to get.  I think if you really want a true B70, then all new sides would be necessary.

I'm wondering if old Chop & Mate with two cars would be worth it. Do you think I could get away with running an Erie car on the PRR Main? I have no idea how baggage cars work. I mean, it doesn't make sense for a baggage carrying suitcases to be on another road, but they also had REA stuff and mail, right?

[mcjaco]

True, although a few Microtrains cars would give me something to run while I slowly build the courage to kitbash and scratchbuild more accurate models. 

And welcome to my club....of probably one.  Not many Soo Line N scalers out there.....

[Dave V]

I'm wondering if old Chop & Mate with two cars would be worth it. Do you think I could get away with running an Erie car on the PRR Main? I have no idea how baggage cars work. I mean, it doesn't make sense for a baggage carrying suitcases to be on another road, but they also had REA stuff and mail, right?

Not sure about Erie...  New Haven, yes.  You could probably do Erie and be OK.

I'm not sure bashing two together gets you where you ant to go either, considering the door height, the rivet lines, the trucks, and any of the other disparities that quickly add up.  If you do it and get a real B70 on the backside, I smell an article.  My ambitions are considerably lower...just some portholes.

[Missaberoad]

And welcome to my club....of probably one.  Not many Soo Line N scalers out there.....

It does seem kinda lonely... Mind you I find that apealing

[jmlaboda - RIP]

All I need to do, to have the correct car in my 1957-era ATSF 'Fast Mail, is to remove the American Railway Express lettering, and replace it with Railway Express Agency...

Exactly!!!

[bbussey]

Jerry, is the all-green scheme on this class passable for the 1950s as long as the ARE is changed to REA?  Doesn't it depend on if the lettering is gold leaf or imitation gold?  All the pics I've seen of this class other than the builder's photo is of the two-tone scheme, whether in the 1950s or well into the 1960s after the EL merger.

The doors also are modified from the as-built design in every photo I've seen.  I think I'm looking at a kitbash/custom deco'd version of the model, rather than just picking up the RTR Erie unfortunately.

[arbomambo]

Bryan, IM me your email address...I have some articles on Foreign cars in interchange service on the ATSF,that show these, and lightweight baggage cars, in solid green...many of the 200 series lightweight baggage cars also wore solid green right up to and through the merger; and, you , more than most, know that many of the Milk express/baggage express boxes never received the two tone paint....
Bruce

[bbussey]

That is true.  But I have yet to find any examples from this specific subset (574-597) in solid green during the 1950s and beyond. And even if some of the 24 cars remained Pullman green throughout the 1950s, I think all of them had their doors modified.  The MTL model is accurate to the prototype, most definitely.  But it is the prototype as it appeared in 1928.

[arbomambo]

...I'll change the lettering to Railway Express Agency...and leave it as is...until...someone shows me pics of ALL 24 cars in this subset, in either two-tone or door windows modified (even if the doors were replaced, many were refit with wooden doors again). or both....
then...if someone has pics of every car, by the mid 50's modified from this MT car in some way (apart from the lettering), THEN I'll consider modifying itr in some way... (and then, maybe just having to cut through two window sashes)...plenty of evidence shows that many baggage cars, combines, milk express cars, etc...were not painted in the two tone by the merger...
so, again...i'll leave the one in this number...
the rest of my purchases of this car, of course, will be core car fodder...9i may paint one into two-tone if I can find a really good pic of it like this and good door mod pics
Bruce (pics or it didn't happen) Arbo....lol

[thomasjmdavis]

I would note that there is evidence that some of Erie's 6-6-4s were dark green sans stripes into the late 1950s.
http://railfan.net/lists/erielack-digest/200204/msg00414.html

So I am certainly willing to believe that baggage cars made it through much of the 50s without repainting into 2-tone.  I have a copy of "Trackside in Chicago 1957-1965 (photos of George Spier, text by Ed DeRouin) which has a photo of the Lake Cities taken in 1957, with what is clearly a dark green clerestory baggage car at the head end of the train (p67) and a converted milk car in dark green circa 1960 on the previous page.

That said, I will probably need to modify the doors, and perhaps repaint into the Erie "Pullman" green of the postwar era (I think I may try to get a close match to the IM/Centralia 6-6-4s I have, if only for the sake of consistency, and since I am probably going to re-do the lettering anyway.  Sounds like MT won't be doing any in 2-tone for the time being, so I may do one of each.