Spokane, Portland & Seattle Box Car 11422

Spokane, Portland & Seattle steel-sheathed box car numbered 11422  was built using Branchline Trains, Blueprint Series,  kit #1431, a steel-sheathed box car kit.   An excellent kit with correct Murphy rectangular panel roof, 4/4 improved dreadnaught ends, corrugated door for number series and original lettering scheme.  Since I model later spring 1955 I thought that I might have to change the original lettering to replace the “Spokane, Portland And Seattle” on the right side of the door with the “football” herald; however, after input from others, I learned that was not necessary.

The prototype Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S)  box cars built by Pullman-Standard in 1946 were assigned to series 11000-11499.  These steel cars had an inside height of 10’ 6”, five panels on each side of the 6 foot Superior seven- panel door on series 11000-11249 or Youngstown center-lift corrugated doors on series 11250-11499, 4/4 improved dreadnaught ends, eight (8) rung ladders and  Murphy rectangular panel roof with metal running boards.  The metal running boards depending on car number series were different.   Running board types used were Apex on series 11000-11124,  Blaw-Knox on series 11125-11249, Morton on series 11250-11374 and U.S. Gypsum on series 11375-11499.  Trucks for these cars were ASF Ride Control A-3.

Black and white photos of SP&S 11038 and 11375 can be viewed in Railway Prototype Cyclopedia RP CYC 36, (Silverlake Images, LLC, 2023).  Color photos of SP&S 11263 and 11091 can be viewed in  to Spokane, Portland & Seattle Color Guide Freight and Passenger Equipment (Morning Sun Books, Inc., 1998).

Spokane, Portland & Seattle 11274
Tim O'Conner Collection
(Click on this or any image to enlarge)

I began the build of SP&S box car 11422 with the basic underbody work.   On the underbody, bolster center plate and coupler pads were drilled and tapped for 2-56 screws.  Kadee #262 narrow coupler gear boxes (not in kit) with Kadee #148 couplers inserted (not in kit) were installed with Fastenal 1/4” screws.  The car was placed on a scale along with the roof parts to weight the car to 3.8 ounces with kit bolt nuts and electric metal box punch outs for weights.  I continued installing other detail parts as follows:

• Air reservoir and brake cylinder, kit
• Control valve, resin cast in M&N Shops
• Brake levers and hangers, kit
• Slack adjuster, kit
• Piping from air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101 .010” PBW
• Piping from brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW
• Brake rods, Tichy #1106 .0125” PBW
• Brake rod clevises, MEK Goop (plastic melted in MEK)
• Chain, A-Line, #29219,  black 40 links per inch
• Train line, Tichy #1114, .020” diameter PBW
• Dirt collector, InterMountain, reworked

Once detail part install was finished, Accurail trucks (replaced later) with 33” InterMountain wheel sets were installed with Fastenal 1/4” screws.

Underbody brake components installed.

Underbody with train line and dirt collector 
installed.  And, painted.

With the underbody done, on the roof I installed a U.S. Gypsum running board, Kadee #2016.

Kadee U.S. Gypsum running boards installed.

Next the ladders on the sides and ends were installed.   I used the kit ladders; however, I removed the top and bottom ladder rungs and replaced them with wire ones bent using Tichy Train Group #1101, .010 diameter phosphor bronze wire (PBW).   The reason for using the bent PBW rungs top and bottom was to have a secure ladder mount.  A secure ladder mount was created by having the wire ladder rungs pass through the number 80 drilled ladder stiles holes into holes in the car body.

Ladders installed.

Upper and lowest ladders rungs used to 
obtain a secure ladder mount.

With ladders installed, the work on the B end was done installing parts as follows:

• Brake step, kit
• Brake step brackets, kit
• Brake housing, kit (hole enlarged with #56 drill for Kadee brake wheel)
• Bell crank, Tichy Train Group (Tichy), AB brake set #3013
• Chain, brake housing to brake rod, kit
• Brake rod, Tichy #1102, .015 diameter phosphor bronze wire (PBW)
• Brake rod clevis, to attach brake rod to bell crank, Tichy turnbuckle #8021
• Retainer valve, Tichy AB brake set #3013
• Retainer line and brackets, Tichy #1100, .008 diameter PBW
• Placard boards, kit
• Grab irons (handhold, end)bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW

B end detail parts installed.

Once the above B end parts had been installed I hand painted the black ends and airbrushed the black roof and underbody as painted by Branchline Trains a matching red to the sides, in this case Vallejo Model Color Burnt Red 70.814.   I based the painting of the roof, ends and underbody the same color as the sides as the photos I looked at all appeared to be the same color.  On the ends, I did tape over the end numbers leaving them with a black background. 

Roof, ends, and underbody painted.

And, before the B end was painted additional parts added were the bracket grab iron provided in the kit, a Kadee Ajax brake wheel, and uncoupling levers, bent from Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW.  The uncoupling lever mounting brackets were molded on end corner; however, without an eye bolt which was bent from Tichy, #1101 .010 diameter PBW and installed.

Note uncoupling lever bracket without eye bolt.

Uncoupling lever installed.

Now I went back to the sides to install the following parts:

• Doors, kit
• Placard boards on doors, kit
• Replace molded door handle with wire one, Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW
• Bracket grab irons (handhold, side), Kadee #2250
• Sill steps, A-LIne #29000

Side details installed.

Side details installed.

One more step before putting SP&S 11422 in service was to add chalk marks and weather the car with Pan Pastels.  Chalk marks were made with Prismacolor Pencil Premier White PC938.  Pan Pastels Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1  was applied with a makeup brush on the roof and lightly over safety appliances on car body.

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

Spokane, Portland & Seattle Box Car 11422 was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.”  A car card was made for SP&S 11422, the final step to put the a car in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad.  The photos of SP&S 11422 at the Commander Elevator were taken before the reweigh date was changed.

SP&S 11422 spotted at Commander Elevator
in Randolph, Minnesota

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

Chalk marks and weathering applied.

 I want to say, “Thank You”, to Tim O’Conner for providing photo of SP&S Box Car 11274.  A “Thank You”, to Paul Hobbs for directing me to the SP&S Historical Society to become a member and to review their archives.  And, a “Thank You”, to Ed Hawkins for data regarding features of steel cars in various number series. 

Thank You for taking time to read my blog.  You can share a comment in the section below if you choose to do so.  Please sign your comment with your name if you choose to leave one.  All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear.  Please share the blog link with other model railroaders.

Lester Breuer

.

Great Northern Stock Car 55009

In my effort to reduce the plastic freight cars in the to-build cabinet, I chose another Photo 2000, Life-Like Products Great Northern (GN) Mather 40 ft. Single Deck Stock car kit.   A Mather stock car numbered 55009.  Like the single deck Great Northern Mather Stock Cars numbered 55034 and 55102, in my November 7, 2024 post (see sidebar) , this GN stock car should have been a fairly easy build since it was a gifted built car; however, a needed rework due to missing and broken parts made made it more difficult than anticipated. 

The prototype Mather stock single deck GN stock cars assigned to series 55000 to 55199 were leased from The Mather Stock Car Company.  The Mather Stock Car Company, a U.S. Corporation, headquartered in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, was a leasing company that built and leased  railroad freight cars.  Mather specialized in stock cars; however, built other types of cars as well, including boxcars, refrigerator, gondolas and tank cars over a 75 year period.  Ray Breyer in his presentation “The Mather Freight Car Fleet” states, “Mather bought almost all of their cars from several well-known car builders between 1880 and 1922, with most cars coming from Indiana Car & Foundry, South Baltimore Car Works, St. Charles Car Co., and Haskell & Barker.

The company did build up to 200 of their own stock cars at their plant near the Chicago Union Stockyards before 1921.  In 1922 Mather moved to a new facility in Chicago Ridge, Illinois,  as they had been buying steel-framed cars since 1913.  The Chicago Ridge plant built over 4,000 cars for the company, and continued as a NACC repair and rebuild facility after 1956, not closing until the 1970s.”

Great Northern Stock Car 55171
Internet Image
(Click on this or any image to enlarge)

GN Mather stock 55009 is accurate for a GN Mather stock car with accurate lettering as you can see if you compare it to the prototype in the photo above.

Great Northern Stock Car 55009

When comparing the Proto 2000 GN models with the prototype one significant  problem can be seen.  The problem is the openings between the side boards on the side of the car next to the reporting marks and number are molded closed rather open.  My gifted GN Mather stock car did not have the molded material between these boards removed as was the case with GN stock car 55102 when it was built.

GN Stock Car 55102

Therefore, I began my rework of GN Mather stock car 55009 with the removal of this material.  I chose to use a saw blade mounted in a Dremel Motor Tool to remove a majority of the material rather than only use a single edge razor blade, scalpel, broach, dental pick to create openings between boards to match the prototype as I had done on the build of GN stock cars 55034 and 55102.   The use of the motorized saw did not produce the clean results obtained on GN stock cars 55034 and 55102.  Lesson learned.

GN Mather Stock Car 55009

GN Mather Stock Car 55102

Next, after removal of all installed good and broken grab irons and ladder rungs, I turned to the rework on the B end.   Parts on the B end installed were as follows:

• Retainer valve, kit
• Retainer line, Tichy Train Group (Tichy) #1100, .008 diameter PBW
• Retainer line brackets, Tichy #1100, .008 diameter PBW
• Brake wheel housing, Tichy #3010 AB brake set
• Brake rod, unknown .015 brass wire
• Brake rod clevis to attach to bell crank, Tichy turnbuckle, #8021
• Brake wheel, Miner, Kadee #2032
• Brake step (platform), Plano Model Products set  #11322 Morton Pattern
• Brake step brackets, Evergreen #8202, 1 x 2 strip styrene
• Grab irons, Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW
• Ladder rungs, Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW

B end detail parts installed.

After install of the grab irons and ladder rungs on the ends I did the same on the sides.  I replaced the plastic kit lower door chain rod with one bent from Tichy #1102, .015 diameter PBW.  A chain from door to door chain rod, Precision Scale #48553, 34 links per inch, was added.  In addition, sill steps, A-Line #29000, were installed.

Door to door chain rod, chain,
and sill steps instlled.

And to finish the install of grab irons, the roof grab irons were installed.  The roof grab irons were bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW with Yarmouth Model Work etched eye bolts without shoulder used for corner leg.   And, the wavy installed running board was straightened.

Roof grab irons installed.

Now back to the ends where uncoupling levers were installed.  Uncoupling levers were bent from Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW with eye bolt brackets bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW. 

Uncoupling levers installed.

Finally the rework of the underbody was done as follows:  

• air reservoir, kit
• AB valve, kit
• Brake cylinder and piston, Tichy #3010 AB brake set
• Brake levers, kit
• Brake lever hangers, kit
• Brake cylinder chain, Presision Sclae #48553, 34 links per inch
• Bell crank with chain, kit

Underbody details install begun.

• Piping air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101 .010 diameter PBW 
• Pipe back of brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125 PBW
• Dirt Collector, resin cast in M&N Shops

Piping installed.

• Brake rods, Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW
• Brake rod clevises, made with MEK Goop

Brake rods installed.

Mather GN stock car 55009 was now ready for installed parts to be painted.  All installed parts were hand painted with Vallejo Model Color Cavalry Brown 70.982.  

Underbody painted.

After hand painted parts dried, the stock car was airbrushed with Model Master Acryl  Flat Cear #4636 to provide a good base for weathering.  The weathering of the GN stock car 55009 was done with Pan Pastels applied with makeup brushes as follows: Pan Pastel, Raw Umber Tint 780.5, over entire car body and Pan Pastel, Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1, over entire car body.

GN 55009 weathered.

GN 55009 weathered.

Great Northern Mather stock car 55009 was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.”  A car card was made for GN 55009 and put in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad.

GN 55009 at stock pen in Little Chicago, Minn.

GN 55009 at stock pen in Little Chicago, Minn.

GN 55009 at stock pen in Little Chicago, Minn.

GN 55009 at stock pen in Little Chicago, Minn.

Thank You for taking time to read my blog.  You can share a comment in the section below if you choose to do so.  Please sign your comment with your name if you choose to leave one.  All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear.  Please share the blog link with other model railroaders.

Lester Breuer

.