N scale vintage box cars are a blast from the past

[Albert in N]

Looking closely at these four, I now realize that they are at least 40 years old.  Since they were in a lot purchased from an estate, I only know that they are interesting.  I had to use a magnifying glass to read some of the markings.
The Atlantic & Pacific Union Refrigerator Transit reefer is marked Kadee USA on the metal bottom and has 4700 inside the roof of the plastic boxcar body. 
The Pacific Fruit Express reefer is stamped ConCor on the metal bottom. 
The Blatz Old Heidelberg Beer box car is marked Atlas Austria on the plastic bottom.  One truck has an Arnold Rapido coupler and the other is a Kadee (MTL) truck with magnetic knuckle coupler so it can link knuckle cars to Rapido cars or locomotive.
The National Cylinder Gas box car is marked Atlas USA on the plastic bottom.

[peteski]

Nice find!

[bbussey]

More like 50+ years ago.

The A&P reefer is the first Kadee/MTL 40’ wood reefer.

[videobruce]

What brand N scale rolling stock maker has been around the longest?

[learmoia]

What brand N scale rolling stock maker has been around the longest?

Arnold/Rapido?  I think..

http://davidksmith.com/birth-of-n/index.htm

With the interst in vintage N scale.. avoid the rabbit hole of 'variations'
There are at least 2 versions of both the Blatz (Red and Green Ends) and NCG Cars (Thick and Thin lettering) from Atlas..
Also, I believe the NCG print pad was used by on another body style released by (I think) Minitrix.

[Albert in N]

   My thought is that there are plenty of old N scale cars out there.  For the most part, the early N scale locomotives quit working and were trashed years ago.  Zinc pest, hot burned out motors, broken wires, loose U-joints, and cracked gears took out some of mine.  It was not until the early 1970s that I really became interested in N scale.  My wife encouraged my hobby and still does after 50+ years!  My early MiniTrix (German made) F-7 and Arnold Rapido (German made) GP-7 are my only old locomotives that still run.  Although I prefer my recent LED lighted Atlas and Kato locomotives with Atlas and Kato cars, I still fondly remember the old stuff.  Here is a photo showing my F-7 with caboose (both painted and decaled by me in 1970s for M-K-T) and a Bachman LV box car.  Also, the GP-7 with caboose are from my earliest days of N scale.  Unlike some folks, I converted to Kadee/MTL knuckle couplers almost immediately.

[thomasjmdavis]

Frankly, compared to what Bachmann thinks is worth $30-40 msrp nowadays, some of the early N scale models hold up very well even today.  Particularly some (note, I did not say all) of the 1970s Con-cor offerings.  I still run some of their 50' AAR  and 40' "war emergency" boxcars (I read somewhere the latter is based on a Milwaukee Road prototype, but it is a good stand in for the cars built in the 30s and 40s with 2 diagonals on each side of the door).  And some of the even earlier Rivarossi cars, once the roofwalks were replaced.

Lots of fun over the years trying to ID the prototypes.  And while there were plenty of "foobies" that utilized whatever roof, ends, doors, etc., a surprising number had actual prototypes in the real world- or something within a few details of prototype.

And those Rivarossi passenger cars that I bought in my first weeks in N scale (although it would be another 7 or 8 years before I had a dogbone layout to run them on) are still in service, some kitbashed, others detailed, all of them repainted, at an age where their prototypes were being retired.  And like the prototype, a couple of those 12-1s are destined for work train service.

Speaking of prototypes.... one car that looks like it probably does have a real life 1:1 version, but I have never been able to find, is the Con-cor 50' mill gondola. It has 13 panels on each side.  I can find a lot of similar 52-53' gondolas made postwar with 14 panels, and several prewar 50' or 50+' gondolas with 12 panels- but no 13 panel gondolas.  Anyone know of a prototype?
Edit: Oops, meant to add a link- http://www.spookshow.net/freight/cc50gondola.html

[learmoia]

The locomotives that have truly held up over the years (IMO)...
Kato built Con-Cor and Atlas locos from the 1970s and 1980s
This includes..
Con-Cor:
Hudson
PA-1/PB-1
DL109
(Might be missing 1 or 2)
EDIT... How could I forget the U-50 and Veranda Turbine..

Atlas:
RS1
RS3/RSD4
RS11/RSD12
GP7/GP9 (with the odd spaced trucks) - Not to be confused with the 1970s Roco or 1990s China version.
GP30/GP35
U25B

Also the Trix/Minitrix/Postage Stamp Locomotives..
U28C
U30CG
H-10-44
F7A/B

[peteski]

Our own @wm3798  has some early N scale locos running on his retro layout.
I should dig out some of my vintage rolling stock and post some photos here.

[nkalanaga]

The Arnold/Rapido FA is still a very good locomotive, operationally, although some I've seen have "zinc pest" on the body.  Replace the wheels and they'll run on code 40 track, and run very nicely.  I've used mine for switching, and it does better than some much newer units.

The oversized wheels and trucks look a little funny, but, surprisingly, the overall height and body shape compare very well with my Life-Like FAs.  The oversized wheels are tucked up into the body, so the excess doesn't show.

As for the "oldest brand", that would probably be Arnold, simply because they originally named "N scale", supposedly because the word for "9" started with "N" in most European languages.

[wm3798]

I started collecting vintage N Scale a few years ago.  I built a layout using DC control and mostly vintage snap track, and I've been enjoying the ride ever since.

I've dubbed my practice as N Scale Hi Rail, a nod to S-scale modelers' polite term for American Flyer enthusiasts.
Early N equipment, with its chunky details and giant flanges calls to mind the innocence of toy trains, and is a pleasant diversion from today's obsession with fancy electronics and $40 boxcar.
I dare say, with few exceptions, most "modelers" are more collectors, and the bulk of that expensive hardware sits in boxes or on shelves waiting for "someday" to come.
Hi Railing gives you the perspective that fat stirrups, truck mounted Rapidos and noisy brass gears are just fine as long as there's a circle of track on the kitchen table to run them.

My collection includes a good cross section of early manufactures, including Arnold, Atlas, ConCor  and Minitrix.  Despite the need for a stockpile of spare parts, my favorites mong them are my Atlas Roco GPs, FAs and E units.


I paint em, I tune them up, I shoot contact cleaner into their bowels, occasionally pull one apart and put it back together.

But I just love the way they growl, the way they look, and the way they transport me back to my larval stage in the hobby.

Enjoy your 50 year old stuff.  There's still a ton of it out there to be had.
Lee

[Dwight in Toronto]

I’ve still got my first N scale trains, an Aurora Postage Stamp (Arnold Rapido) set that I asked for on my 16th birthday, and that was exactly 50 years ago.

The F7 motor mounts crapped out a couple of years ago. Just last month I chopped the cab section off of the shell, spliced in a small section from an old caboose, and fabricated a dummy ‘B’ unit to sit between my dual Rapido F9’s, pulling The Canadian.   As luck would have it, two weeks later I saw a slightly used Intermountain dcc/powered B unit at my local hobby shop, so I just had to pick it up … now I’ve got a full ABBA Canadian consist!

[Dwight in Toronto]

Sorry about the above photo - I clearly don’t know how to post/manipulate images.  Apologies.

[thomasjmdavis]

I’ve still got my first N scale trains, an Aurora Postage Stamp (Arnold Rapido) set that I asked for on my 16th birthday, and that was exactly 50 years ago.

The F7 motor mounts crapped out a couple of years ago. Just last month I chopped the cab section off of the shell, spliced in a small section from an old caboose, and fabricated a dummy ‘B’ unit to sit between my dual Rapido F9’s, pulling The Canadian.   As luck would have it, two weeks later I saw a slightly used Intermountain dcc/powered B unit at my local hobby shop, so I just had to pick it up … now I’ve got a full ABBA Canadian consist!

"that I asked for on my 16th birthday, and that was exactly 50 years ago"

Well, Happy 66th Birthday!

And Happy 50th to those F units.  Looks like you've done a lot of upgrading over the years. And this year, they are getting a B unit.

[Albert in N]

   Here are four more.  The caboose is an early ConCor metal frame plastic body.  The 3-dome tank cars are AHM (Yugoslavian made) oldies from probably 50 years ago.  All still have Arnold Rapido couplers.