Rolling Stock - CGW box car 92048

Chicago Great Western box car 92048

I have finished the 2017 RPM Chicagoland Chicago Great Western box car mini-kit.  I lettered the box car 92048 which was built for the CGW in September 1945, series 92000-92149, by Pullman-Standard.  The special feature of this box car was the proprietary Pullman-Standard "Carbuilder" corrugated round corner ends which consisted of a 4-5 arrangement of thick corrugations with sharp points at each end. Other features of the box car were 7 panel Superior doors, Murphy raised panel roof, Equipco hand brakes, wood running boards and steel plate brake steps.  Trucks were double truss 50 ton trucks, plankless springs, and a center leaf spring in the coil spring pack.  The features I have listed here were provided by Ed Hawkins and printed in the RPM Chicagoland booklet.

The kit consisted of a 1937 AAR box car body provided by Des Plaines Hobbies, resin castings of the"carbuilders" ends and other resin castings done by Aaron Gjermundson, from Frank Hodina's masters reworked from rapidprototype prints for which Jason Kiewer drafted the digital model. Decals were provided by Speedwitch Media.

I began the build with the car body by cutting the ends off the 1937 car body with an UMM saw and attaching the resin cast "carbuilder" ends.  The sill tab under door extended to bottom door stop per prototype photo using Evergreen #8206 2x6" strip styrene.  I now fitted the underframe to be detailed later and added weights to the interior floor to bring the car weight to 3.8 ounces.  Sill steps were cut off and replaced with A-Line #2900, style A, sill steps.   Kadee #2250 bracket grab irons and other grab irons fabricated from Tichy Train Group #1106 .0125" phosphor bronze wire were installed. The roof grab irons used Yarmouth Models, YMW 356 eye bolts, for corner brackets.  For the latitudinal running board braces I used Yarmouth Model Works, YMW #20, running board braces.  Other kit supplied parts completed the car body except for the "B" end.

On the "B" end a Kadee #2041 Equipco brake wheel, a steel brake step made from .005" sheet brass and retainer line and bracket fabricated from Tichy Train Group #1100 .008" phosphor bronze wire were installed.  

With the car body finished I began detailing the  under body.

On the underframe I cut off existing molded on mounting brackets and  plugged  all the holes with kit spruces.  I installed  the resin cast brake components followed by the brake levers  made from Evergreen 1x6" and 1x8" strip styrene.  Piping and rodding is Tichy Train Group phosphor bronze wire: air reservoir to control valve is Tichy #1101 .010" dia. and brake rodding is Tichy #1106 .0125" diameter.  Clevises on the brake roddding are Tichy #8021 turnbuckles.  Chain is A-Line #29291 40 links per inch.  Train line is made from .019" diameter floral wire. Kadee #262 coupler pockets with Kadee #148 "whisker" couplers and Tahoe Model Works coil-elliptic 50-ton trucks installed.  Finally, uncoupling levers fabricated from Tichy .0125" phosphor bronze wire installed. The car now moved to the paint shop.

The car body was sprayed Vallejo box car red #71.080 and underframe Vallejo Black Grey #70.862 (Tarnished black).  Once dry car body sprayed Model Master gloss clear Acryl for decal base.  Decals were applied.  After car sat overnight, car body sprayed with Model Master 4636 Flat Clear Acryl to protect decals.

The finished car is now in service on my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company to be enjoyed for years to come.