I am posting this in the General catagory in hopes that as many of you as possible will see it. My contact at Athearn has given me a reasonable level of assurance that upon receiving as much pertinent information as posible they will produce their excellent airslide hopper in Frisco livery in an upcoming run. Friscotony has already posted two photos on the forum under another thread but I still would like more. Also, the plans if possible. Thanks in advance!
I just received my copy of RP Cyc, volume 20, published by Pat Wider and Ed Hawkins here in StL. RP Cyc is one of my favorite prototype railroad publications. Highly recommended. The Frisco is well represented in this issue (as usual). Ed has done the second part of his article on 2600 cu ft Airslide hopper cars - part one was in RP Cyc, volume 17. Between these two articles, everything you ever wanted to know about Airslides is explained. As we have been talking about Airslide covered hoppers in the last few days, this is very timely. On page 94 of vol 20, there are two builders photographs of Frisco Airslide GACX 42253 (leased from General American), built 11/54. This car was part of the series GACX 42246-42253. Barber S-2 trucks - the ASF A-3 "Ride Control" salesman didn't win this order! On page 106 are two builders photos of Frisco Airslide GACX 42423, from the series GACX 42413-42424, built 12/55. Again Barber S-2's. All these cars had a 50-ton capacity. As a bonus, the SLSF is also represented in Pat Wider's article in volume 20 on flat car loads and loading practices. On page 43 is a photo of SLSF 95809, a 42'6" flat built 5/51 by ACF, part of the series SLSF 95800-95899. It is painted red oxide, and has a big steel storage tank load on it. ASF A-3's. On page 74 is a photo of SLSF 95547, a 42'6" flat with a US Army semi-trailer loaded on it. This car is part of the series SLSF 95300-95799, built 9/28 by General American. It is yellow, and is from the same car series as the models of the yellow Frisco flats Mike recently made available via the Texas Western RR Assn. Ken
