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Modeling Atlantic Coast Line K-9, K-10 and K-17 gondolas


Detailing a trio of Accurail gondolas for the ACL/John Golden


MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR UNLESS NOTED


These are the three finished ACL gondola models built using Ac- curail kits. Since the author models the 1950 time period, the


T


he Accurail HO scale “41-foot AAR Steel Gondola” is a beauti- ful rendition of the prototype At- lantic Coast Line K-9 gondola. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the Accurail kit and model three prototype ACL K-class gondolas, each using dif- ferent detailing philosophies and su- perdetail upgrades.


The prototype


Atlantic Coast Line acquired its first all-steel, 40-foot gondolas in 1941. Bethlehem Steel built 200 cars, num- ber series 93200–93399, class K-9, to the 1940 AAR Recommended Practice design with an all-steel body and wood deck. The cars featured a 41′-6″ interi- or length and a 4′-8″ interior height, with ten evenly-spaced ribs and Dread- naught ends. The cars were equipped with AB brakes, an Ajax brake wheel, and Buckeye trucks with 33″ diameter wheels. They were painted in ACL’s spartan all-black scheme with report- ing marks and AAR-required data only. A further 200 cars, series 93400-–


93599, were delivered to Atlantic Coast Line later in 1941. These cars also fol- lowed the 1940 AAR Recommended Practice design and were dimensional- ly similar to the K-9 cars. The new cars, however, featured a steel deck in- stead of a wood deck and were classed K-10 by the railroad. Like the K-9’s, the K-10’s were constructed with Dreadnaught ends, AB brakes, and


68 MARCH 2012


models are weathered to appropriately reflect each car’s age. The K-17, being new, only received a light coat of weathering.


Ajax brake wheels, but were equipped with AAR trucks. They were similarly painted black with reporting marks and AAR-required data only. In 1943, Atlantic Coast Line modi- fied 130 of the 200 K-10 class cars with


home-built logging fixtures for cypress log train service for Lee-Tidewater Cy- press Company. Cars were selected randomly. Each car was outfitted with six additional steel ribs that extended from the bottom sill to 3′-4″ above the


TWO PHOTOS: COLLECTION OF BOB’S PHOTO ACL K-9 class car seen in 1956 with the addition of Prismo® high-visibility blocks (above).


The word “Prismo” was a brand-name of a reflective paint that used glass particles to in- crease reflectivity. K-9 No. 93316 (below) has a top chord added as a stiffener, and roping staples added to the sides in each panel. Also note in this photo from 1960 that the Prismo stripes have been dropped and the large post-1956 COAST LINE monogram has been added.


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