03-08-2012, 04:41 PM
Ted Culotta did a series of articles in Railroad Model Craftsman called Essential Freight Cars. He usually started with craftsman-type kits, such as Westerfield or Sunshine, then modified and detailed them to represent specific cars as seen in prototype photographs. His modelling era is, I believe, 1947. The premise of the series is that certain railroads had signature cars or even ones which may have been widely used by many railroads, and that they would have been seen in almost any part of North America: in other words, cars that could fit into any late steam-era layout.
He's also done a couple of books on freight cars: Steam Era Freight Cars Reference Manual - Volume One: Box & Automobile Cars and another on tank cars. Both books contain b&w photos of prototype cars, with some background information on built dates, builders, etc. I used photos from the first book as inspiration for many of the models in my Challenge thread - some of those cars were dealt with in the magazine series, but since I'm using cheaper (and often inaccurate) cars, I used the information only as a reference.
He also runs Speedwitch Media, an outfit that offers books, decals, and kits, although the kit section seems to be not currently working. It offers both conversion kits, which include a kit from another manufacturer (Westerfield, Southern Foundry, etc.), along with parts and decals to convert it into a very particular car. I believe they also have a couple of their own resin kits.
Wayne
He's also done a couple of books on freight cars: Steam Era Freight Cars Reference Manual - Volume One: Box & Automobile Cars and another on tank cars. Both books contain b&w photos of prototype cars, with some background information on built dates, builders, etc. I used photos from the first book as inspiration for many of the models in my Challenge thread - some of those cars were dealt with in the magazine series, but since I'm using cheaper (and often inaccurate) cars, I used the information only as a reference.
He also runs Speedwitch Media, an outfit that offers books, decals, and kits, although the kit section seems to be not currently working. It offers both conversion kits, which include a kit from another manufacturer (Westerfield, Southern Foundry, etc.), along with parts and decals to convert it into a very particular car. I believe they also have a couple of their own resin kits.
Wayne