@Lionel13 posted:JOE DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO MAKES GATE CARS LIKE THE ONES THAT TRAVELED THE MYRTLE AVE EL IN BROOKLYN AND QUEENS (O GAUGE) RODE THOSE TRAINS MANY TIMES AS A YOUNG BOY JOE THANKS FOR YOUR TIME LIONEL113 TONY U.
Hello Tony (U) ----
The ONLY one who made production model IRT and BMT EL gate Cars in O Scale - was Quentin Carnicelli via his Q Car Company operation. This was back in the 1970's thru 1990's.
For the IRT Lines he made a 6-4-6- window style IRT Gate Motor Car and matching IRT Gate trailer car; He also made them for use as exact identical replicas of 6-4-6 window Chicago EL Gate motor and trailer Cars.
Also for the BMT Lines, Quentin made a 6-4-6 Window Gate Motor Car (which none were made in prototype that way) - a 6-4-6 BMT Gate Trailer Car, and a 6-1- DOOR-1-6 Window Center Door Gate Motor Car, based on a converted 6-4-6 window carbody, as was done by the BMT in prototype.
These were master body part patterns ie: A Roof, a Side (as both sides of each car body were identical) - and carbody end face panel (as both ends were the same) , and a gate car "end platform" master section. He then made (cast from the hand made master parts) a rubber molds for EACH pilot master body part, and using steel grit filled epoxy resin liquid, he cast each body part separately in that hard resin, to produce essentially what would be a Gate car Body in "kit" form.
Quentin himself then carefully assembled EACH car to be sold, to become sold ONLY as a fully assembled completed body shell, and included end platform gate posts (4 on each platform) and his own metal castings of the IRT style and BMT style end platform "side and end gates". Motor cars had center headlight with a roof marker light on each side...trailers had plain roof. He also produced the scale metal and appropriate trucks, underbody and interior seating for these cars - in cast metal detail parts.
UNFORTUNATELY -- Quentin has a few decades ago now, stopped all carbody production (including trolley cars he created and etc.,) to focus more on building trucks and selling them as well as his metal car detailing parts. He is basically THE ONLY one doing so in O Scale 2 rail, since competitor ex-Wagner / later Current Line, closed up about 2008
I and a number of my small O-Scale TWO-RAIL group of fellow NY Transit based modelers, back then many decades ago, each bought a number of his IRT and BMT EL Gate car body shells. A few of us - like myself, also HAND BUILT from scratch, many more of our own IRT and BMT Wooden Elevated Cars representing various other body styles - classes of gate cars (and MUDC converted Closed end cars) - I have provided a few photos of only a small group of my many more various styles of hand built wooden EL cars and body styles I hand built. Our cars are all detail-finished up with Q Car company proper authentic interior metal seating, proper authentic metal underbody equipment, and proper scale styles of metal motor & trailing trucks - including "in the truck" MOTORIZED units using Q Car underfloor motor drive units
The cars you speak of on the BMT Myrtle Ave EL, which I rode and quite much photographed many times between 1955 and mid 1958 - were the BMT BU 1300 series all motor Gate "convertible" Cars and their mid 1958 later replacements, the Q Type MUDC enclosed ends ex-gate cars. These were dominant on the Myrtle El from 1950 thru their removal by May 1958. I have all the body and detail finishing parts and trucks to make ONE of those 1300 series cars in O Scale - sitting around for 20 years already. All I need to do is hand build the body 2 sides, and assemble it all to become a fully completed 1300 series BMT Gate Motor Car . Hopefully some day soon
BUT HERE IS A POSSIBLE SOLUTION --
I spoke to my good friend Joe Ogden of Island Model Works about a month ago. And spoke to some of my other 2-rail O-Scale EL Car modelers -- and we agreed that it may be a marketable plan for IMW to do a BMT EL Gate Motor 1300 Series Carbody in O Scale -- as either fully closed (all windows in the body sides for winter use), all open (as done in the teens and 1920's for summer use) - or partially open (as done in the 1940's-50's for summer use.)
Problem is -- it is not easy to make an open end platform car in resin with a rubber mold. The roof end-overhang ends and open platform floor "undercuts" at each end of the gate car body shell, make it a problem getting the shell OUT FROM the rubber mold without stretching, breaking, tearing, or ruining the mold. Like Q Car Co. did, the body would have to be cast in parts, and assembled. Assembled by either Joe Ogden (as Quentin did) to a completed full body shell, or sold as kits for the purchaser to assemble and finish up. Finishing parts (interior seats, underbody hardware, trucks, roof details, could be supplied by and purchased separately from Q Car Company. Unless I M W also produced those parts items in resin - as he has for other carbody projects he has done.
Contact (email) Joe Ogden at Island Body Works --re: your inquiry here -- via link: http://www.islandmodelworks.com/ ..... and tell Joe about me and this thread. I will send him a copy of this reply also. Perhaps a number of us including now, you, can convince him to start this as a new project. It is the ONLY way it will get done...I am sure. Look at his O SCALE page on his website - he has done a few NY subway cars already - as well a commuter cars.
NOTE: It has been nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find any of Q Car Co. Gate Car bodies for sale on ebay -- over the past 15 years !!! They just don't show up ! As I well know !
PS: HERE is link to my own layout photos-website ----------- https://www.flickr.com/photos/44268069@N00/page1
regards - Joe F
Here is LINK to video of my fully scratch-built with full interiors, 5 car IRT Manhattan Elevated System "MUDC" class (ex IRT Gate cars converted to Multiple Unit Door Controlled) EL Cars leaving a local station on my EL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/...m-72157643342514574/
