KADEE DD 50' BOXCAR

Kadee has just announced that they are offering 3 of their boxcars in undecorated kit form. One of them is a 50' DD car. Would one of you that is far more knowledgable of these things please take a look at it and see if it matches the 50' DD one that everyone has been asking for and post back to the forum?

http://www.kadee.com/ca/kit/4110.htm

Thanks in advance:

Bob Hoover
FriscoFriend

 

Bob
While I am certainly no expert on such things, the photo on the Kadee site doesn't look to be an exact match for any of the 50' Frisco DD boxcars that I have. It looks close to the 7000 series car but the Kadee car doesn't appear to have rivited sides like the Frisco car. Hopefully someone with much more knowledge than I have will chime in.
BobW

 

Bob Wintle is right, according to Nicholas Molo's Frisco/Katy Color Guide to Freight Equipment the 7000-7099 boxcars had riveted side panels whereas the Kadee PS-1s model welded cars. Perhaps the 154300-154439 series would be a closer match as these had welded side panels. Maybe someone with a diagram book could nail down the type of brake equiipment used.

Rich

 

Bob & Bob,

This is from the top of my head. The 7000 series are riveted and probably will not be made by Kadee because not many roads had this design. The 154000 series (gypsum loading from Southard, OK, used all over the US for manufactrurers of bathroom products or other plaster products) and the 155000 series (copper loading for the Mississippi Rwy at Amory, MS (probably received from the Santa Fe from out west somewhere)) are good for the Kadee cars. Sometimes the doors were reversed, ie. the 8' to the left side instead of more typical right side. I think you can get away with the 154000 series having roofwalks otherwise the 155000 series were all roofwalks removed and ladders cut down on three sides.

The great thing about the Kadee kits for seventies era modelers it allows us to buy Kadee cars and do the modifications that the Springfield shops had done in the seventies. See the colour guide to see differences between as built and the various modifications.

Nick Molo

 

Thanks Nick:

Maybe I should have asked this as part of the first question, but does the color look right without having to paint the car as I believe Kadee cars weren't painted anyway? Also, Kadee is touting these cars as being snap together with no gluing. That would mean that it would be feasible to just fill in some of the holes with putty and cut down the ladders, etc. to modernize them. BTW, the other three kits are (1) 40' PS-1 6' door, (1) 50' PS-1 9' door, and (3) 50' PS-1 10' door with the cushion underframe.
I know #1 and #3 are out, but the 50' PS-1 with the 9' door might be a modernizing candidate?

http://www.kadee.com/ca/kit/4105.htm

Bob Hoover
FriscoFriend

 

Bob:
It has been my expeirience that even if the color is close enough one would need to paint the car with a gloss cote to get the surcafe to accept the decals. If this is not the done the decals are much more noticable. The car looks a little dark to me but I really wouldn't want to judge it unless I could see it first. I do not consider myself a very good judge of color.
EL Bobo

 

Bob,

To my eye for a new car it is not red enough. However, for a weathered colour it might be OK. The other thing to consider is will decals stick to the bare plastic, I'm not sure it would.

I think you could modernize the single door car, but why wouldn't you start with a decorated car, since this series of cars typically only had their ladders cut down and roofwalks removed, not many other upgrades other than that. Hardly ever repainted either. The roofwalk holes could still be filled, then paint the roof silver/galvanized with peeling paint, this will help hide the plugs. You could also use the MOLOCO RB-0802 roof bracket kit to help disguise the repair work on the roof. See the link to Walthers;

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/504-802

Note that some of these cars mentioned in the colour guide were given National 3C cushioned underframes. You could use some NEW moloco parts to get the cushioning unit, see the Walthers page for moloco parts.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=moloco

Nick

 

I wrote an email to Kadee about making a Frisco double door boxcar:

> Dear Sir/Madam:
>
> I would like to suggest an idea for a new product which might be easily adaptable from the molds that you already have on hand. I was wondering if you could make a 50' PS-1 double door boxcar in a St. Louis-San Fransisco or "Frisco" paint scheme? According to Nicholas John Molo's "Frisco/Katy Color Guide to Freight Equipment" 140 of these cars were ordered from Pullman-Standard in May 1957 and were numbered from 154300-154439. The uneven doors and and welded side panels seem to conform to your 6700 series boxcars. Seeing how you consistantly release 40' and 50' single door boxcars decorated for the Frisco, I think that such a model would be successful for you also. Thank you for your consideration.
>
> Rich Lawler
>

And here is the reply that I received:

Hello Mr. Lawler,

Thanks for your comments and suggestion, we do appreciate them. We have not done a FRISCO car in quite a while, I'll look into one from this series.

Sam Clarke
Kadee Quality Products

So it sounds to me like a definite maybe! Time will tell if it happens.

Rich

 

Rich and All:

Rich, your inquiry to Kadee was well done and another example of the recent efforts of members of this forum to contact manufacturers with ideas and requests. This is just my opinion, but to me we are doing what it takes in a professional manner to obtain more Frisco products.

Bob Hoover
FriscoFriend