Model Railroading > Santa Fe observation car trucks

What would the correct trucks be for a Santa Fe observation car from the 30s?

gdparson Wrote:
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> What would the correct trucks be for a Santa Fe
> observation car from the 30s?


If it is a Budd observation, you could use Athearn streamlined (Blue Box) passenger car trucks. Coach Yard makes a 41-GT which is correct for early streamlined cars and appropriate for car built in 1937 and early 1938. There were 3 basic styles on the Budd built cars starting with the 41-GT, there was a style called the improved Budd truck, which came out in 1938 with clasp brakes, then another improved version with disc brakes. The Athearn is very similar to the Improved Budd truck w/clasp brakes. Wheelsets should be changed on the Athearn truck, but they roll and track well once changed.
The primary visible difference between the early and improved version is in the slant of the lower support bar. On the early version it is thinner and slants at an angle as it connects with the journal box. The later version bar make a 90 degree bend as it slants up next to the journal, the takes another slant over the journal. A picture is worth a thousand words. Check out Passenger Car Photo Index for some views of these trucks and the cars that ride on them.
PS cars, by the way, first used trucks similar to what you see under SP and UP for the era.....for the most part. Santa Fe later standardized with the Budd style trucks under PS car orders during the prewar period. Pretty much the standard until the PS Pullmans of 1941-1942 which came with older commonwealth type trucks.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/13 10:07 by ATSF3751.

You mean like these?
http://m.flickr.com/photos/emd111/3924310687/lightbox/
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/13 06:30 by Finderskeepers.