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40999. In 1953, 25 of the Bx-3 class were assigned to hide loading and placed in the series 40450-40474. In 1953-1954, 35 cars (mixed from both classes) received reefer doors and insu- lation and were assigned to ice service and placed in


class IE-X, car Nos.


115300-115324 and 115326-115335. Finally, in 1958 the remaining 42 salt cars were reassigned to ice service and placed in the same class, IE-X, Nos. 115361-115402. In the late 1920’s, the Santa Fe began to modify the forty-foot furniture cars by increasing the door openings to 12′- 0″ or 12′-6″. New corrugated doors simi- lar to those of the boxcars were added. Over time, these cars could be seen with numerous combinations of original plate and corrugated doors across the four total doors on each car. In 1933, ten cars had Evans auto loading racks in- stalled and were assigned to class FE-T. In 1935, the remaining cars had auto racks installed, as well. These cars were assigned to number series 60920-61500 and 63751-64161. As other, more suit- able cars were added for auto loading, the members of the FE-T class had their racks removed and were reas- signed to class FE-P. In 1941-1942, 200 of the FE-T’s were converted to double-deck stock cars and assigned to SK-Z. In 1948, 200 more cars were similarly modified and placed in SK-4. In 1949, 300 of the re- maining cars were converted to single- door cars by securing the auxiliary doors shut and adding secondhand ra- dial roofs. They were assigned to class Bx-56, car Nos. 32000-32299. Also in 1949, 200 cars had their auxiliary doors removed, becoming single-door cars and were assigned to class Bx-58, car Nos. 32300-32499.


The fifty-foot cars were more dra- matically rebuilt. The cars in class FE- R were resheathed with steel sides in the early 1940’s and assigned to class Bx-40. In 1942-1943, the cars from class FE-Q were also steel sheathed and assigned to class FE-25.


Modeling Amazingly, there are kits available


to model almost every variant of these cars in HO scale. The list by manufac- turer follows. Westerfield: 3600- and 3700-series catalog numbers for Bx-3 and Bx-6 boxcars, IE-X ice and salt cars, and Bx- 6 zinc cars; 7600-series catalog num- bers for SK-2 and SK-3 stock cars. Sunshine Models: 69-series catalog numbers for FE-P, FE-T, Bx-56, Bx-58, SK- 4, and SK-Z classes; 100-series cata- log numbers for Bx-40 and FE-25 classes I opted to model the most numerous car type and went with Westerfield’s


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 51


offering for the boxcar. It was a “flat” resin kit with separate sides, ends, floor and underframe, and roof cast- ings. As always, I cleaned the flash from the sides and ends, then tacked the sides together back-to-back with a few (very few) drops of cyanoacrylate cement. I used a NorthWest Short Line True Sander to remove material until the sides were the same length, then popped them apart and prepared to as- semble the basic box from the sides and ends. (Resin kit parts can have slight differences in size, the result of the temperature and humidity when the castings are made.)


The most important part of assem- bling the “box” is to be sure the corners are as close to ninety degrees as possi- ble and, most important, that the tops of the sides and ends are level. With the box built, I added the cross “trusses” used to support the roof cast-


ing. When adding these, it is important to ensure that their length matches the width of the interior of the carbody. Trim them evenly on both ends if nec- essary. If they are too short, glue small pieces of styrene to them (these must of equal length) to extend them while keeping the peak of the trusses cen- tered along the middle of the car. With these trusses in place, add the spar that runs lengthwise in the slot of the trusses. Before attaching the roof casting,


check its length versus the carbody. I had to remove a small amount from each end to create a match. Before adding the roof casting, I scored it along its centerline with a hobby knife, then ran a strip of mending tape along that line on the underside of the cast- ing except at the ends. This allowed the roof halves to be snapped into place without them separating. I carefully


TWO PHOTOS: CHARLES WINTERS


Santa Fe boxcar No. 32434 (above) represents the further evolution of the FE-P class. It was one of the 200 cars to have its auxiliary doors removed and assigned to the class Bx-58. The cars placed in zinc concentrate service had a different appearance following the re- building process (below). Their outer sheathing was removed and angle irons added where the side sheathing met the side sills, as illustrated in this photograph of Bx-6 No. 40941.


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