Wheels of Time - March 2022 - New 53'6" Flat and Bulkhead Run

[James Costello]

Wheels of Time news for March 2022 - rerun of the 53'6" welded fish belly flats and bulkheads:

Boston & Maine
BN
CN
Conrail
SP
SP MoW
UP
WP
Western Maryland

https://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/639344/28514100/1649279188827/WOT+N+Real+FlatcarsALL.pdf?token=wgKAClhn254LqjQyZ3p8zS90HNE%3D

[Englewood]

Yes! This makes me very happy. I was able to get 1 from the previous run some years back. Just one. Now I can order all their SP bulkhead flat numbers and have a proper train.
Glad to see Wheels of Time making rolling stock again. It's been too long, and I was getting worried. They make very nice stuff, especially if you model the Southern Pacific. I'm hoping they rerun the SP commuter coaches again, it's probably been 20 years. I got very lucky last year and found 3 at a train show for $10 each. I felt like I'd won the lottery. 😁

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I feel like I have a bunch of flat cars already, but these are really nice looking.

I feel like I need some SP ones with lumber stacked on em.

[nkalanaga]

Since they seem to be back in business, maybe there's hope for a log-loading version of their PiggyPacker yet!

[Philip H]

I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.

[basementcalling]

I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.

You can never have enough flatcars.

What era are these appropriate for?

[ai5629]

I feel like I have a bunch of flat cars already, but these are really nice looking.

I feel like I need some SP ones with lumber stacked on em.

Yes you need some of the CR cars.  There are very few good models of Conrail flatcars in N scale.  The most accurate being the BLMA 60’ GSC car (spot on PRR F47) followed by IMRC 53’ 6” flatcar (spot on NYC 712F / 721F / 793F and EL 53’ 6” flat cars) and finally the Athearn 53’ 6” GSC car (95% accurate PRR F41).  This is a good representation of an ex NYC 888F flatcar.  And I can tell you all six road numbers are from actual cars painted like this.  How do I know this you ask?  I provided them to Matt from actual photographs.  I will be getting all six CR cars for westbound loads of steel plates out of Lukens and steel pipe out of the Bethlehem Steelton plant and two SP bulkhead cars for lumber loads on some eastbound Conrail manifest trains.  Glad to see these finally get announced.  Don’t forget to get some ESMC wood decks for these to really dress them up.  Thanks.

Jeff

[Mark5]

I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.

Amen! Yet, I am contemplating WM and SP ... I have until sometime next year to sort this out. 

[wazzou]

What era are these appropriate for?

The descriptions have all of the reweigh dates listed showing the era that the paint schemes are good for.

[thomasjmdavis]

I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.

I do need another flatcar.  But with reporting marks of 1956 or earlier.  I guess I will check to see if they are taking orders on undecs. In the years between now and delivery, I can figure out who besides SP had a welded 53' flatcar prior to 1956.

[bbussey]

I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.
I do not need another flatcar.

I do, especially with Jeff insuring that the CR cars will be accurate to prototype.  I had passed on the NYC cars not realizing that the bulk of the fleet survived intact well into CR, but I won't miss out on these.

[garethashenden]

Sweet!! The B&M cars have been on my to-model list for a while. Now they can come off that list and go on the to-buy list. Much easier!

[sirenwerks]

Since they seem to be back in business, maybe there's hope for a log-loading version of their PiggyPacker yet!

I recently hit them up for that and it seemed promising.  Send them a note, the more  inquiries they get the better the chances.

[sirenwerks]

Hopefully they will do the original GN scheme and the TOFC version eventually.  I'll be in for SP and BN cars though.

[nkalanaga]

Sirenwerks:  I think I will.  I don't know how many I can afford, but I could use at least two, and maybe a third.  Even one would be nice, but two would be better.

The BN flatcars are probably too modern for me.  I could change the service date with little effort, but I suspect that, in 1975=4, they were still in GN paint.  For those interested, here's a picture of BN 636000 in 1981, with a very oddly painted deck.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3401154