Modeling a B&O P-31a TOFC flat car
30-32. In that article, I did a pretty quick and dirty conversion of Athearn 50-foot flat cars, basically adding a piece of code 100 rail along the edge of the deck to simulate the piping, along with four uprights per side and bridge plates. Given my modeling skills back then, it was the best I could do. The cars always bothered me, however, both for not being closer representa- tions of the actual P-31a, and not being the correct length. I finally decided the time had come to correct those cars’ problems.
THREE PHOTOS: COLLECTION OF SCOTT SEDERS
In 1954 the B&O began offering Tofcee service with converted 53′-6″ flat cars and newly pur- chased 24-foot vans painted with a colorful blue body, orange lettering and silver roofs (above). In 1954 and 1955, the B&O purchased Fruehauf model FD-524-SSP 24-foot refriger- ated trailers. They came painted white with blue lettering (below). This scheme was later adopted for the entire Tofcee trailer fleet. Brand new and waiting for Tofcee service to begin, this equipment (bottom) was photographed in June 1954, one month before service started.
II” service was offered, wherein the railroad provided a complete service to the shipper and consignee using only B&O trailers. By 1959, this had ex- panded to both Plan II and Plan III, the latter consisting of trailers being provided by the shipper, and the rail- road also handled 75′-8″ and 85′-0″ flat cars (from Trailer Train, which the B&O joined in 1958) under ICC Plan IV, in addition to its own 53′-6″ flats. By this time, the initial 35 flat cars in class P-31a had been converted to class P-31d (Nos. 7050-7084) at the compa- ny’s shops at Washington, Indiana, by the removal of the Tofcee equipment, and the addition of a cushion cradle so that they could handle demountable trailer bodies, or containers as we call them today.
Initial steps This is my second go-around model-
ing these cars: see “Super Details: At- hearn Piggyback Flat Cars & Trailers”, Railmodel Journal, October 1989, pp.
BALTIMORE, MD; JUNE 1954 BALTIMORE, MD; FEB. 10, 1957
There are a couple of ways to con- struct this car. Once again, I chose to use Athearn 50-foot flat cars as my starting point, using pieces from two cars to make one correct length car. Although these cars are no longer in production, they are still available on e-Bay, and at train shows. Bachmann Silver Series or Walthers Trainline
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