02-08-2012, 02:20 AM
Matt. I found the discussion on that MDC single sheathed boxcar. Evidently it's a quite accurate model of the 1923 ARA "Recommended Design" (the Train Miniature car, which I've been using, is a good stand-in for the 1923 "Alternate Recommended Design"). The TM car's height is also accurate, while the MDC car's sides are too high. Supposedly, MDC used the same roof and ends as they did for their steel car and made the car's sides higher to match the ends. Fortunately, if you want a model of the 1923 Recommended Design, all you need to do is remove the strips above and below the bracing on the car's sides, yielding a side of the correct height. Of course, the sides need to be separated from the roof in order to perform the surgery, which will also result in the ends being too high. 
Here's the "Alternate" version, the main difference being the direction of the angled bracing, a Howe truss on the L&N car and a Pratt truss on yours.
![[Image: NewYearsChallengePhotos100.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Freight%20Cars%20-%20Part%20II/NewYearsChallengePhotos100.jpg)
The bracing on your car is also more correct than that on the TM car, as the design used the hat-section shown, while TM modelled it as angle iron. I added a strip to that to make it into "Z" bracing, another type in common useage. Incidentally, my L&N car, to be more prototypical, should have been done with an MDC car, as they purchased the Recommended Design, not the Alternate. I have no intention of re-doing mine, but I am going to keep my eyes open for the MDC cars, as they can be made into good representations of Seaboard, Bangor & Aroostook, Boston & Maine, Chicago Great Western, M&StL, Rock Island and Southern Pacific cars.
The Santa Fe cars were somewhat modified from the Recommended Design, mostly roofs, ends, and other details. They were in three classes: Bx-11, -12, and -13, with 2,000 Bx-11s, 3,500 -12s, and 1,000 -13s. All of the -11s and most of the -12s were rebuilt during WWII, with their roofs raised 6" or 12". The prototype car in the photos is a Bx-12
Wayne
Here's the "Alternate" version, the main difference being the direction of the angled bracing, a Howe truss on the L&N car and a Pratt truss on yours.
The bracing on your car is also more correct than that on the TM car, as the design used the hat-section shown, while TM modelled it as angle iron. I added a strip to that to make it into "Z" bracing, another type in common useage. Incidentally, my L&N car, to be more prototypical, should have been done with an MDC car, as they purchased the Recommended Design, not the Alternate. I have no intention of re-doing mine, but I am going to keep my eyes open for the MDC cars, as they can be made into good representations of Seaboard, Bangor & Aroostook, Boston & Maine, Chicago Great Western, M&StL, Rock Island and Southern Pacific cars.
The Santa Fe cars were somewhat modified from the Recommended Design, mostly roofs, ends, and other details. They were in three classes: Bx-11, -12, and -13, with 2,000 Bx-11s, 3,500 -12s, and 1,000 -13s. All of the -11s and most of the -12s were rebuilt during WWII, with their roofs raised 6" or 12". The prototype car in the photos is a Bx-12
Wayne