Freight Cars on the LA&SFV RR
by Bruce Petty
Here's a few freight cars that run on my Los Angeles & San Fernando Valley Railroad. This picture list starts with three of the oldest cars that I've had for 40 years and down to the latest ones I've collected.
- AT&SF 40' Box Car. Athearn with cotton bales and weathered with wood stain 40 years ago.
- UP 40' Flat Car. Athearn with wooden deck added and wire grab irons, weathered with wood stain 40 years ago. It runs in train ahead of the camera car.
- SP 50' Gondola. Athearn car with added grab irons and stirrup steps, wood stain weathering 40 years ago. This is one of four gondolas used for scarp iron service.
- SP 50' Flat Car. Varney metal repainted. Lumber load is removable using thin refrigerator magnet material. This is one car of six Varney's flats I've painted and decaled.
- SP General Service Gondola. Made by Ulrich in 1950s. Weathered with a brown Latex paint wash. Loaded with sorted volcanic ant rock.
- SP 40' Box Car. Made by Accrurail Co. Weathered with a brown Latex paint wash.
- Tank Car. This old Athearn car was weathered with a gray wash. It hauls fuel oil to an orchard smug pot fuel destrubitor.
- Erie 40' Box Car. Athearn metal, made 1950s. Found at a train show in 2006. I've seen older box cars on the prototype looking new like this one, and I really don't want to weather it.
- 50' Standard Hopper Car This is one of the latest cars from Athearn with scale grab irons and thin metal roof walk. I weathered this car using a wash of white Latex indoor paint to look like it has been hauling potash. You may notice that I have sprung trucks on most of my rolling stock, this is because they seem to track better.
- NP 50' Box Car. This old AHM car is most likely from a train set. It's been detailed with metal stirrup steps and a new roof walk. Here's a free material to make HO freight car steel roof walks.
- Coca-Cola, 50' Box Car. This car has got to be the ugliest model train car ever. It came from our model railroad clubs junk box and as a challange, I'll try to do something to make it look better. Most likely heavy weathering and leaking cans of Coca Cola rusting through the car sides. Personally I don't drink the stuff!
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