In need of scale trailers for use with late '40s and early '50s semi-trucks. The 35' trailers that Weaver produces look to be excellent, but I am wondering if they are too modern for the time period of my railroad, which is set in late summer 1955. Does anyone know when that highway trailer was introduced? The short trailers that Lionel used with their last NYC scale piggyback cars would be very appropriate, but they are difficult to find by themselves. Thanks for any information.
Paul
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I'm pretty sure these were trailers from the 60's. The trailers from the forties and fifties had a more rounded end. Then again, I could be wrong!
Don
Paul,
It appears to me that the Weaver trailers are very 60ish. However I think that they have some good late 40s-50s features or can be modified to look appropriate. The rounded corners of the headboard seem right for the 50s as well as the older style
landing gear with wheels (we called them dolly wheels back then. They look similar to Trialmobile trailers of the era. I believe that the rear safety bar (there is name for the federally mandated appliance that prevents folks from driving under the rear of the trailer..can't remember) came about in the 50s sometime and could be removed to look the part of a 40s-50s trailer. I would check out some photos to confirm this.
I have designs on these for kitbashing into several configuations such as open canvas top, flat bed in low and high headboards and single axle (very common in the 40s and 50s) trailers.
I believe that with a little weathering these trailers can be made to look the part you need them to play in your scenario. I would love to see what you eventually find and use on your railroad. I am sure there are some old time truckers in our ranks who can give you more advice. Good luck.
Conductor Earl
(there is name for the federally mandated appliance that prevents folks from driving under the rear of the trailer..can't remember).....ICC Bumper
Paul,
The Weaver trailers would have been "the latest and greatest" in 1955. 35' was the maximum length until around 1960, when 40' became legal. (Brian Solomon's "Intermodal Railroading" book will have the exact date.) The round-front trailers would still be common in 1955, but new ones being built then would be squared off.
The "CF" logo is a little too new for '55, I believe. The Carolina or Yale trailers would be perfect.
Hope this helps,
Alan
If you have a minute, a quick search will reveal some cool pictures of vintage trucks. This page has some pre-1955 shots of trailers with the square-ish fronts like the Weaver models:
I do 1955, too, and use the Weaver trailer. They sure look like trailers I remember form that time.
Alan P is correct.
The Weaver highway trailer is appropriate for about 1955 to early 60s. 40 ft trailers were legalized around 1958 but it took some time before trucking companies and RR's purchased them and added them to their fleet.
Just prior to that 32' and 35' were most common.
The website "Hank's Trucks" has plenty of period photos of trucks and trailers.
The CF logo is OK for about 1959 and on until they closed shop in 2002. Although, CF used doubles (24' and 26') about just as much as longer trailers. If you aren't fussy about correct trailer length, the Weaver trailers are good for late 50s to today.
I worked at CF's (Corn Flakes) York PA terminal during summers while in college so I saw these trailers everyday.
One thing about 1950s semi-trailers. Like every emerging industry, there were alot more trailer manufacturers then with each having their own look. Noteworthy distintions were the trailer sides in terms of number of ribs and whether vertical or horizontal or no external ribs at all. Most trailers had squared off noses by the mid-1950s.
RRs that still had plenty of the shorter trailers by the mid 1950s that still had plenty of life in them we used for local deliveries and not TOFC duty. So they were seen at local freight terminals for local pickup and delivery.
One thing everyone should be mindful of is that before deregulation, trucking companies had to buy rights to serve certain parts of the US. So if you want to be absolutely correct for the 1950s and 60s one would need to know where trucking companies were allowed to operate. For instance, CF operated between Chicago and the West coast by the late 1950s. They did start to operate in the East coast by then but under different names such as Motor Cargo through acquisition of other companies; hence the name "consolidated" freightways.
Also again with an emerging industry, there was constant change in company buyouts and mergers with changing logos, etc. So a topic that requires a little investigation to model correctly.
The Weaver Trailers can be entirely appropriate for the mid 50's. And as PRR #1 said, Hanks Trucks are a very good source of pictures. As are Fred Gruin's pages, listed alphabetically by trucking company:
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/gruin.htm
I have taken the standard Weaver trailer, modified the sides, and made custom decals to make all the trailers that were depicted in the 1955 PRR calendar:
Those look fantastic, John, along with the rest of your scenes. How did you make the smooth sides? I've used the New Ray smooth models but cut down the wheel mounts so they don't look so off-road capable. 
I also made styrene hitches for 40' flatcars...as you can see, I've got a long way to go with both the models and the layout.
Great models and images, Erik. What is the source of the trailer shown on the C&O flatcar? And how did you make that good-looking concrete overpass?
Thanks!
Alan P
Any suggestions on where I can find wheel chocks and fifth wheel stands to make my own flatcars?
Early trailers typically had:
>Round fronts with decorative trim;
>Corrugated or flat side panels;
>Spoked split-rim wheels.
(there is name for the federally mandated appliance that prevents folks from driving under the rear of the trailer..can't remember).....ICC Bumper
Those were unofficially called "Mansfield Bars" due to Jayne Mansfield being killed in Biloxi Mississippi after rear ending one of the trucks. In addition her daughter, Mariska Hargitay who is a modern day famous acress from the show CSI I think, was in the car with her that night.
(there is name for the federally mandated appliance that prevents folks from driving under the rear of the trailer..can't remember).....ICC Bumper
Those were unofficially called "Mansfield Bars" due to Jayne Mansfield being killed in Biloxi Mississippi after rear ending one of the trucks. In addition her daughter, Mariska Hargitay who is a modern day famous acress from the show Law & Order-SVU I think, was in the car with her that night.
Correction made. Richie
Corgi made a nice 1/50th bullnose trailer - take a look at some rigs on eBay like Carolina, Schaefer's beer, etc.
John H, I don't think anyone makes affordable fifth wheel hitches for O scale. If you look at the second pic in my older post above, you can see the one I made from styrene sheets/tubes. It works well enough for me. It helps that the final product is painted black and mostly hidden by the trailer.
Eric,
HO decals for diesel engines and some box cars may be used on O scale highway trailers. Not detailed but against a dock or in the background they fill the slot.
John
I agree. Often a trailer is about the size of an HO locomotive, so decals made for those fit well. That is a nice looking Santa Fe truck, by the way . . .
Eric,
HO decals for diesel engines and some box cars may be used on O scale highway trailers. Not detailed but against a dock or in the background they fill the slot.
John
The RR I model actually was one of the first RRs in America to use TOFCs, and in 3-footers. Circa 1935:
The sad thing is that hardly anyone makes a pre-war trailer like this in O scale.
The RR I model actually was one of the first RRs in America to use TOFCs, and in 3-footers. Circa 1935:
The sad thing is that hardly anyone makes a pre-war trailer like this in O scale.
B & O
Ralpstrains I believe might have extra trailers because he uses the flat cars for his custom loads.
(757) 871-0200
rdigges@cox.net
ralphstrains.com
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