Weaver freight cars.

@Arthur posted:

I really liked that they made loads available for their cars also. There was a business called St. Charles Model Works who made various loads for different manufactures cars, they are no more; been trying to find coal loads for Atlas hoppers.

I’ve been trying to find some too for various hoppers I have. However, I purchased a used hopper a while back where the original owner made his own, and it was a pretty ingenious design. He used foam that you see in couch cushions, cut to fit snuggly.  Then, after coating with glue, he just rolled the top of it in scenic coal material, and then looks as if he hit it with a few sprays of black from a rattle can.  

I plan on doing the same when I get some time. I’m not sure what glue he used, but from previous experience working with foam products, I know 3M makes a spray adhesive for foam based products.  I found it at Lowe’s for about $5.

Let’s keep this going!

ncdave,

I can understand why those two cars are two of your favorites. Both of them are great cars. Your round roof baggage car would look great in any of the Pennsy passenger trains. Your Pennsy flat with trailer would look great in a string of them behind a set of pennsy diesels.

rpstl8,

Leave your name and phone number with Beth Marshall. Tell her to call you if she comes across any. The name of her business is Public Delivery Track. She is a sponsor of this forum. She may have that baggage car. Look at her website under passenger cars.

rail,

You are correct. Weaver did a fine job on making those wood-sided gondolas.

coach joe,

Me dropping Weaver from our store back sometime around 2000, was the dumbest thing I ever done.  I was just one small dealer who had them make custom runs. They had several other stores and companies using them to make custom runs. The reason for that was because they did beautiful work.

ctr,

Your five Weaver cars are all Home Runs. The only one that I ever saw was the Monarch Foods.

ctr,

Thanks for posting those cars. Very nice selection! You reminded me of another rather famous Weaver reefer...

Here it is in one of its more infamous incidents: The Traveling "BoxCar".

Chris

LVHR

lehighline,

Your Lehigh Valley reefer is a wonderful addition to this post. Thanks for sharing it.

Here are three Weaver cars that no one has mentioned. I always thought they were three of are best.

Here are a few of mine. Buffalo Creek Graphics did its namesake.

Pete

Norton,

Thank you for adding four of your favorite Weaver cars to this thread. All four are great. The Iroquois beer is really sharp. Thanks again posting. Should you have more , please post them.

I should have added the Iroquois Beer car was done for dealer Aurora Rails in Western New York.

Pete

I have the IH , Wayne Feeds and Carborundum cars, found them last night

You know folks it was a very sad day when Weaver closed. A lot of fine people lost their jobs. I was lucky enough to meet them once. My work with them was done on the phone and the computer. I don't know were all their tooling and dies went. I think Lionel got some and maybe Atlas got some. However, how many custom run cars have either of these companies made for individuals like myself. Weaver, was a special company. I doubt if we will ever see someone like them.

Yes. I got there on OGR trip. Nice people. Bought the special hopper car its stored.

Jim I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this topic. The range of cars and special runs that Weaver did is outstanding in every way. And it's obvious that quite a few others feel the same way.

Thinking out loud here a little, and just throwing this out there to gauge level of interest. Do you think we have enough information and interest here to start a kind of reference collection of all the Weaver stuff, complete with pictures, numbers made, year of release, etc? If it gained traction and there is enough interest, perhaps the forum moderators would allow a sticky topic that others can make contributions to from their collections. I am thinking perhaps along the lines of the repository of 3d print projects that Dennis LaRock started here back a few months ago.  It seems to be working quite well, and it's a great reference source.

It would take someone with a deep knowledge and background of Weaver products, someone like yourself perhaps, to get it kick started and up and running. Some Weaver history would also be benificial, like years of operation, owners(s), numbers of employees, location(s), etc. Maybe we could get a former key Weaver employee or two to jump in and share their knowledge and experiences. I for one would be more than happy to contribute pictures of each specific car and paint scheme from my collection, but there's a lot more about Weaver and it's history that I have no clue about.

What do you think?

Rod

@rplst8 posted:

I’ve been trying to find some too for various hoppers I have. However, I purchased a used hopper a while back where the original owner made his own, and it was a pretty ingenious design. He used foam that you see in couch cushions, cut to fit snuggly.  Then, after coating with glue, he just rolled the top of it in scenic coal material, and then looks as if he hit it with a few sprays of black from a rattle can.  

I plan on doing the same when I get some time. I’m not sure what glue he used, but from previous experience working with foam products, I know 3M makes a spray adhesive for foam based products.  I found it at Lowe’s for about $5.

Most guys using foam, use the rigid foam. It is more durable then the soft foam. The company that made loads for Weaver was Blue Mountain, he was from Lehighton, or somewhere near there. He died either late 2010 or early 2011, not sure. A forum group I was a member of did an annual club car using Weaver rolling stock, and in 2011 we did a 2 bay composite hopper. Weaver was in the process of locating another supplier for coal loads, and I think Joe found St Charles Model Works. I made loads for our hoppers, but didn't like the foam, so I used 1/4" luan plywood, and Black beauty fine sand blast grit. It scales to Chestnut sized coal, and is around $10.00 for a 50 lb bag. Most guys use white glue as the binder. I use water base urethane floor finish and a spray bottle. I have a short video on Youtube under Don Kane Jr, Making A Coal Load if you are intested.

Rod Stewart,

Joe Hayter, would be the best person to talk to about getting that type of information. He probably has a notebook with all that information. What cars were made, who they were made for, the numbers on the cars and color of paint they used. I don't even know the numbers on our cars let alone everyone else. Two other good people to talk to about this information would be Beth Marshall and Andy Petersen. Both of them know far more than I do and both of them are still in business.

Here's a picture of the only 50' box car that we did.

When I was a boy my parents purchased American Flyer Trains for me. Two of my favorite cars were a orange New Haven box car and blue Boston and Maine box car. Since I liked them, we did a set of New Haven and Boston and Maine PS-2 covered hoppers.

@rplst8 posted:

I’ve been trying to find some too for various hoppers I have. However, I purchased a used hopper a while back where the original owner made his own, and it was a pretty ingenious design. He used foam that you see in couch cushions, cut to fit snuggly.  Then, after coating with glue, he just rolled the top of it in scenic coal material, and then looks as if he hit it with a few sprays of black from a rattle can.  

I plan on doing the same when I get some time. I’m not sure what glue he used, but from previous experience working with foam products, I know 3M makes a spray adhesive for foam based products.  I found it at Lowe’s for about $5.

That is a very interesting story, curious, does the car look anything like this?

or maybe this?

Greg M,

Both of your Pennsylvania hoppers look great. I would be more than proud to have either one of them running on our old layout. Why they would look fantastic sitting at the mine or under one of my Flyer coal loaders.

@jim sutter posted:

lehighline,

Your Lehigh Valley reefer is a wonderful addition to this post. Thanks for sharing it.

A custom paint job by our own Jeff Sohn

This is a great thread!  I never knew Weaver did so many different cars.  I was just telling my wife yesterday how going to Homer City to visit Jim’s Train shop was one of my favorite things to do in the early 2000s.  I bought my first PS2 MTH engine, aReading SW1500, there, but money was tight back then and most of my purchases were sale items.  I always thought Jim was the best hobby shop owner/manager of all time .  His personality, phone manner was outstanding.  He could have taught a class on interpersonal relations with customers!!

Back to Weavers!  I visited them shortly before they closed and bought the Pennsy TOFC car, I love it.  Wish I had a lot more of their cars now!  Only having a 6x11,carpet central doesnt give you much room for rolling stock.

Again, great informative topic and I miss my trips to Homer City!  Thank you Jim!!!  And thanks to Weaver for great products.

@GregM posted:

That is a very interesting story, curious, does the car look anything like this?

or maybe this?

Close but no cigar...

@rplst8

The reason I asked was I sold those cars a while ago but don’t remember who bought them.  I made the coal loads using a very similar technique as you described above.  I posted a “how-to” thread here on the forum several years back documenting the process but it has been lost to time.  I do have the original post information and pictures on my computer for reference if I ever have a reason to make more.

@jim sutter

Thank you for the compliment.

Weaver TOFCs are a favorite. I have a friend that has collected most all of them but I try to stick to just those lettered for New York Central.

This was Weaver's standard catalog car done in at least 5 maybe 6 road numbers.

This done for the TCA for the 2015 National in New York City.

These were done by METCA for the same event since it was held in their backyard.

Great choices Stu!

Pete

I bought all your PRR Weaver offerings Jim.  I have that 50 ft box car. I usually bought all the different nos.

These are two of a six car custom run from 2011 from another forum. Reading 2 bay composite hopper with some tongue in cheek humor. Weaver was very easy to work with, and I enjoyed my many trips there as a club car committee member representative who was fortunate to live about an hour away. A lot of great memories.

I loved buying the Weaver railroad cars, mostly because many were built in the USA. They did so many obscure railroad lines.   Customer service was superb. Sometimes I would call them up with some problem and they would send me a new part free of charge. They are also super easy to convert to 2 rail.

Not sure where crown model productions comes into the picture, but the reefer shown in the last picture looks essentially the same as the weaver reefers.

Lehigh Valley Railroad,

Jeff Sohn is a great custom painter. Should you have other custom painted cars by him, please post them. I'm sure everyone would enjoy seeing his work.

pennsydave,

Glad to know you're enjoying this thread on Weaver custom run cars. Weavers work was the best. Thank you for your kind words. As much as you enjoyed coming to the store, I enjoy seeing you and having you as a customer. I miss those good old days. If we could only stop time.

Norton,

Your New York Central flats with trailers are beautiful. I appreciate you sharing them with us.

SDBOB1,

Thank you, for purchasing all those Weaver cars from me. I sure hope you still have them and enjoying them. Thanks again for all your business.

rail,

Thank you for posting pictures of your Weaver Reading hoppers. I can only image the fun and enjoyment you had going to Weavers. The people that worked there were wonderful. They all had a way of making you fill welcome and at home. Luckily, I was able to go once. I would of loved to gone more but it just wasn't possible.

swrr,

You have several great looking Weaver freight cars. Thank you for sharing them. I also see you have some of the older style boxes they used over the years. I love all of your cars especially your Boraxo PS-2 covered hopper and your Milwaukee Road reefer.

I have not seen this one in this thread.  There is a caboose too from the Rolling Rock Brewery before MTH started to make the cars.

elmadalejake,

That's one sharp looking car. I don't believe I ever saw it. Thanks for posting it.  I'll bet there will be some people looking for it. Thanks again and have a wonderful and safe day.

Here are a few more. It would be nice to have a history of what Weaver made over the years but I doubt there would still be information floating around. Maybe a employee would have some information. I doubt very much after all this time whether Joe would of kept any records. I think the late eighties and nineties were the best time to get custom runs of car because there were a lot of hobby shops doing them. The majority of my Weaver came from those shops. Pics..................Paul 2

Paul2,

Thank you for posting all those different Weaver freight cars. I would bet those wood chip cars are hard to fine. Hopefully you will fine so more cars to post.

Paul2 posted some photos of the wood chip hoppers. They started as kits in their first offering. A standard 2 bay rib side car came with the add on side extensions that the buyer would assemble. Weaver did the work in house for the last run. Before the plant closed, I was down for one last visit, and Joe gave me the sides to convert a hopper at some point. I just have to get a rib side.

I was lucky enough to find a brother in arms that was ready to part with (all three?) road numbers.  Square hatches fantastic detail. Snuck in Jim's PRR 50' special run.  I never knew any background to this car, purchased it with no box.  Someone on the thread mentioned it and share a great picture.

Being from Latrobe and growing up a block from  the brewery I've never seen that Rolling Rock car. I grew up with one the owners sons.

@DETROIT posted:

I was lucky enough to find a brother in arms that was ready to part with (all three?) road numbers.  Square hatches fantastic detail. Snuck in Jim's PRR 50' special run.  I never knew any background to this car, purchased it with no box.  Someone on the thread mentioned it and share a great picture.

The DT&I covered hoppers are from a custom run club car program from the TCA_MG Yahoo Groups forum. This was the first car produced when the group started the program in 2006. The car was available in 2007. As soon as I saw the car, I knew what is was. I was a member of the group, and became a selection committee member, and made several trips to Weaver Models over the next several years working on details for club cars up until shortly before the closing. We were working on a NKP double door box car which never came to fruition. The group logo is in the upper right corner.

Another favorite of mine were the Wayne Feeds cars -- PS2 and ACF Centerflow covered hoppers. I don't know the story behind these, but I amassed quite a collection of them. Then Atlas did some and I added those to the collection. As I recall, there were six of each in the PS2 and four in the ACF.

Rock Island Line 40 foot flat car with specialty wood crates was another club car offering.

Detroit,

I just love your three orange D. T. and I hoppers. I'm glad you were able to get all three numbers.

Matt,

There were four Wayne feeds. The two you pictured and these two. Sorry, I do not know what year we did them.

rail

Your flat cars with loads and your gondolas with loads would look great on any ones layout.

This one has a yellow body with a black underframe.

Except for the caboose I think this is an all Weaver train. MTH built the SD40's, I think the mold came from Weaver.