accurate ready to run rolling stock

please list ready to run plastic rolling stock that are accurate (or very close to prototype).

Such a list would number in the hundreds.

How about narrowing it down with specifics like for

what car types,

in

what road names

in

what era?

Fellas, lets just focus on boxcars for the steam/transition era.   I would appreciate knowing which cars are accurate for a particular road as I don't know the answers...   Perhaps a database could be developed and shared? 

Thanks

Perhaps a database could be developed and shared? 

A guide to O scale freight cars consisting of a series of articles by car type?  I think we have something like that in progress.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...le-freight-car-guide

As for transition era box cars my personal recommendations for well detailed and accurate models of box cars would include:

MTH USRA double sheathed box cars.

Atlas or MTH USRA single sheathed box cars.

Atlas Trainman single sheathed 50 foot automobile box cars are accurate for the WP.

Atlas PRR X29s

Lionel PRR X31s (see a thread on the 2 rail forum about details and paint colors to date)

Weaver B&O round roof box cars.

Weaver Milwaukee Road rib side box cars. (Three of the offerings to date are precisely prototypical.)

MTH 1937 AAR box cars for the Van Sweringen lines (C&O, Erie, NKP).

Atlas single and double door 1937 AAR box cars for most other lines.  (But beware.  The GN never had a 1937 AAR box car despite the many GN cars made by Atlas.)

The Atlas Trainman 40 foot box cars are based on the a very common car built by multiple firms and sometimes referred to as post war AAR box cars.  The PRR classified theirs as X43s.

Lionel, MTH and Weaver all make 40 foot PS-1s.  The Lionel cars have the highest level of detail and offer 6 and 8 foot doors in two types each.  However, Lionel will use the PS-1 as a stand in for other types of box cars since they do not have an AAR box car model.

The Atlas and MTH 50 foot PS-1s are beautifully detailed.  Atlas often uses them as stand ins for cars built by others.

That is a start but is by no means a complete review of the available car types let alone individual road names, paint schemes or car numbers.  If you ask detailed questions you will be able to receive detailed answers.

Brad,

This is a very subjective request. Are you asking for just plastic cars? or also Brass cars?

Different people have different views of what is an accurate car.

Some people believe in the three foot rule and some believe in a three scale foot rule.

If you are asking for Ready to Run right out of the box place it on the layout my list of plastic boxcars is:

Intermountain 1937 ARA Boxcar

(But I still like the kits better)

If you want cars that are great starting points for good models:

Weaver B&O Round Roof Boxcars

Weaver Milwaukee Road Boxcars

Lionel 40 ft. PS-1
Atlas X29
Atlas 50 ft. PS-1

Old Atlas 40 ft sliding door boxcar (PRR X43c)

Beyond that to me (YMMV) most of them need too much work or there are better brass models or resin kits that build up into nicer models.

George Losse

I think I'm somewhat in the same boat as the original poster of this thread. I like the series that Ted has been putting together and the information is interesting. But generally I don't find it useful because it doesn't weed out the fantasy cars or nail down dates for specific cars. I think the Hooker cars article is getting more specific and closer. Years of operation attached to the models themselves would have put the Hooker article over the top for usefulness for me.

I think threads dedicated to INDIVIDUAL RAILROADS with a list of reasonably accurate 0 SCALE MODELS for that railroad and YEARS they operated on the prototype would be very useful. The most knowledgeable people for individual railroads would contribute to each thread, and would be most suited to details and accuracy. I'd say it would be a huge undertaking and is probably pie in the sky, but at least the work would be spread out among many different people with specific interest and expertise. 

I know specific info about the railroad I model, but little about the other railroads. 

Go ahead and kick that off, Chris!

Right now I'm having a senior moment but I believe within Yahoo Groups, database files will allow shared updates for members.   Somewhere I recall we started doing this.  Where it was I can't remember right now but I seem to think it had something to do with Anthracite roads car equipment.  I just remember plugging in data and opinions...

 How to rate them honestly and quantifying what criteria to use is another subject.

I would be more than willing to give it a try though.

There is a helpful Yahoo discussion group with lots of interesting files that are ready to be downloaded. I haven't looked but I bet there are other discussion groups that cover other time frames. I sent a few files out to the DC/Baltimore group that I think originally came from that discussion group.

Steam Era Freight Car Discussion Group - 1900-1960

Yes, the Steam Era group is handy; however they don't seem to segue into O scale too much.    I do find the group handy to belong to.

Their knowledge of O scale models may be limited, they may not be able to answer questions about which O scale model best represents which prototype but information about the prototype equipment knows no scale.

If something is true about the prototype like all of a class of cars were rebuilt into something else by a certain date, than that is true for every scale.

George

BradA,

Any follow up on the PRR boxcar that you mention in the opening post ?

Another source for road specific cars would be the various modeling and historical societies  such as the Santa Fe Historical and Modeling Society and the like.

Allan

Or you could remain ignorant like me, and just run whatever suits you.  I am very happy not knowing whether my Athearn or All- Nation box cars are accurate.  I have this vague feeling that they are generic. I have hundreds of freight cars, and am willing to bet that the only one that comes close to real accuracy is the Lionel PS-1.

What road/roads do you model?

Simon

Simon,

I mainly roster NYC, PRR and ATSF rolling stock.    I would like clarification on Atlas Single Sheathed Outside braced cars (are they correct for any prototype?); I know the x-29 is right for PRR.   

Thx

The AtlasO single sheathed and double sheathed USRA box cars are modeled on  designs delivered to dozens of railroads during WWI (and shortly after) when the United States Railway Administration controlled US railroads.  Over the years several articles have been published on which railroads had the various USRA designs.  

 Generally speaking AtlasO is pretty careful in applying prototype based lettering to their models - and this is especially so for their USRA cars.  Now the prototype research challenge.  If one is modeling a specific era you probably will want to run only cars lettered appropriate to it.    USRA design cars spanned many decades in operation during which ARA/AAR lettering standards/rules  went through major changes.  Some AtlasO USRA cars are lettered for prototypes as delivered, while others are representative of later service (like the PRR X26). I've found the Railway Prototype Cyclopedias series and railway historical society pubs to be useful references to guide rolling stock modeling.