I'm looking at building some post-war ACL boxcars using the Branchline 40' car as a starting point, and have some questions and comments about the various classes that appear to be close to the model:

From Faulk's Color Guide the O-26's (incl. the ex-C&WC cars)with 6' doors, Improved Dreadnaught R-4/3 ends and a diagonal panel roof appear to be a nearly exact match to the Branchline car.

The O-27's also appear to be a good candidate but I don't have a clear picture of the ends or roof, and don't have equipment diagrams handy. What ends and roof are appropriate for this class? The WIF&S cars appear to be similar to this class, also.

The O-16f's seem to have possibilities, with a modified side sill and (probably) underframe. The door also appears to be 7'. What about the roof?

The rebuilt AB&C cars also look like they can be done, with the same modifications as the O-16f's.

Lastly, does anybody make decals for these cars as they were built (pre-1955)?

Thanks, Gary Bechdol Stone MOuntain, GA

-- Gary Bechdol (gbechdol@rwhitehead.com), October 17, 2002

Answers

Gary and John,

Which Branchline car are you guys referring to?

--Jim Smith

-- Jim Smith (wjsmith@vol.com), October 22, 2002.

Gary, Jim and All,

I've modeled ACL O-26 using the Branchline kit exactly as stated above. I used the beautiful Microscale ACL freight car set for most of the lettering but substituted the round herald from Champ's ACL road name set--it's perfect for as-delivered cars. I think a great match for the as-delivered paint is Scalecoat PRR Freight Car Red. See the color photo on the back cover of Faulk's "Guide" for a color reference. I can send you an e-photo of my model for your review-- drop me a line at Golden1014@yahoo.com to remind me and I'll get it to you asap. Hope this helps.

John Golden

-- John Golden (Golden1014@yahoo.com), October 18, 2002.

Gary--I'm working on this too. From what I can tell, the O-26 had improved Dreadnaught 4/3/1 ends, 12 panel welded sides, 6' Youngstown doors, diagonal panel roof, and Apex running boards. The 0-27 had "Dartnaught" 4/3/1 ends (dreadnaught 4/3/1 without the "darts"), 12 panel welded sides, 8' Youngstown doors, straight panel roof, and Apex Tri-Lok running boards. The Dartnaught ends can be modeled by removing the lower 5 small ribs-or "darts"-from Dreadnaught 4/3/1 ends. Info on these cars can be found in the Railmodel Journal book "Freight Car Models--Vol.II--Box Cars Book 1" and the ACL Freight Equipment Data Book, 1957, available from the ACL/SALHS (#RP-7). Good luck on finding matching models!--Jim

-- Jim Smith (wjsmith@vol.com), October 17, 2002.