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Modeling a PRR camp car A car spanning three decades/Chip Syme


PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR B


eing born in 1949 let me see a lot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and for some reason their yellow


camp cars always caught my eye. After I got a little older, I knew where to watch for them. They were usually sur- rounded by automobiles and Pennsy trucks. I would later find out they be- longed to the work gangs that replaced the ties and leveled up the track. After I hired out on the Penn Central


in 1969 as a fireman, I still got to see the old PRR heavyweight passenger cars that had been converted into bunk cars for the track gangs, and 30 years later they were still around. Although some got lettered for the Penn Central, most were still lettered for the Penn- sylvania or just the PRR. During the early Conrail era, I al-


ways liked being called as an engineer for a maintenance-of-way special to pick up these cars and advance them to another location. The job was more involved than the average modeler would think. The yel- low X29 boxcars had to be spotted so the track gang’s trucks could get to the tools inside them. The sleepers and kitchen car had to be spotted next to an electric pole to provide electricity for the cars. The flat cars carrying the heavy equipment had to be spotted on the end of the track or adjacent tracks for unloading unless the gang worked toward the next location, where the machines were tied up and would start the next week. Any time a crew was put in the clear near a camp car gang, you always went over for something to eat and the cook always had something good for you. It was a good feed, maybe a little greasy but free. I model the Penn Central and Con-


rail era, so I started looking for slides of these cars. I had to find pictures of the same car showing both sides. Some- times you get lucky. I did.


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


PRR 4929000 B&B GANG


PRR 492900; AMSTERDAM, OHIO


Railroads recycled old passenger cars for work train service, including kitchen and dor- mitory use. Former PRR sleepers like this 12-1 Pullman were found into the Conrail era. It is not hard to take a kit or r-t-r car and convert it for maintenance-of-way use (top).


For my model, I started out with an undecorated Branchline Blueprint Se- ries 12-1 Pullman sleeper kit, number 5300. When I first opened up the box, I thought I would never get this car to- gether, but this kit goes together very well and the parts fit very nicely. I scrubbed the roof, sides and frame with hot soapy water, then let them air dry to remove any mold release still on the


parts. The roof ends were the only thing that took a little time to fit down onto the car sides when finished. The sides snap into the main frame with pegs and is a great fit. A suggestion if you build this kit or


do this conversion: after you get the sprues laid out, and before you start cutting parts off of it, mark each end of the roof with a “1” and “2.” On the body


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