The way we were: A-C Model Co.
by Keith Wills I n July, 1953, Model Railroader
wrote a glowing review of A-C Mod- el Company’s new HO Work-Train
line. It concluded, “All in all, A-C has marketed an excellent product in these kits.” They probably were for the time. The line consisted of a tool and engi- neering car, mess and kitchen cars, foreman’s car, supply car and bunk car. Carmen Webster’s 1953 HO Model Railroad Equipment Co. catalog de- scribed A-C Models’ kits as consisting of milled wood parts with scribed sides, and windows and door openings punched. Underframes had several cast parts and the details were made from formed and cast metal. Dummy couplers and four-wheel fully sprung arch bar trucks were included. A gon- dola in the review photo was priced at $2.85 and $3.10 for the others which the reviewer said took about an hour to complete using a small file, small No. 75 drill, needle nose pliers and screw- driver.
Reader Douglas Harding forwarded
some A-C promotional material which in part places MR’s uncritical review in a different light. This is not to cast as- persions at the reviewer, but to com- ment on how far we have come, what we expect and today’s superior knowl- edge to produce superbly manufac- tured models incorporating infinitely finer detail unthought of in 1953. Comparing the reviewer’s words with glossy black and white close-up photos, reveals coarseness we now find unacceptable. A 40-foot gondola body had cast metal sides with integral stakes, oversize rivets and pre-painted, lettered wood sides. The reviewer com- mented that holes for underbody brake equipment “were drilled in the floor but not deep enough to penetrate the topside of the gondola floor, thus pre- serving the finished appearance of the car.” If their lugs were too long, instruc- tions stated, they were to be cut or filed down. Bank pins were required to se- cure the couplers. The assembly drawing shows just how basic underbody details really were with bolsters, AB valve, brake cylinder and reservoir. That was it, no air or brake lines between them, the
88 JANUARY 2013
trucks or brake staff, very typical for the era, and a common fact accepted by MR’s reviewer as I’m sure one for this magazine would have to. We didn’t know better at the time. They were not the kinds of cars one lifted from the rails to show off “super detailing.” To- day’s modelers incorporate much au- thentic underbody detail because we
know so much more and have that in- formation at our fingertips. When we examined A-C’s promotion- al photos, we can appreciate just how coarse they were. Wood wasn’t as clean as modern laser-cut equivalents. The kitchen car photo reveals roof edge grain and thick roof walk. The reviewer said grab iron holes were pre-drilled to
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