Model Railroading > Beet Rack 358973

Staying home and modeling is a good idea this weekend. finished up one of the Precision Scale brass  beet racks I've had for a long time. The brake wheel position was correct for the preserved Beet Gondola in SLO seen here:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4742599,4742599#4742599 
Beet rack 358973 is seen before weathering and after. Kato trucks were installed to replace the terrible original brass trucks the car came with.. (with an axle off to prevent rolling)
Also seen is 358345 a plastic Red Caboose car with the last custom built "double" extension style almost completed. Found a mid 70's photo of this car on-line with the car number and data freshly repainted and tried to duplicate it.

Stay healthy, keep modeling
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/20 21:57 by dmaffei.

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Very nice work.  well done.

Good job, Dave. A few cars had broken top boards. I think Betsy captured that in her modeling of these cars

Fantastic.

Posted from Android

Very nice. Thanks for posting. I plan on scratch building a couple of those on S scale pretty soon.
Bill Pyper
(x-slo)
Lacey, WA
 

Is it really possible to "over weather" an SP Beet Rack? Especially the last 10 - 15 years they were in service.

First rate Dave.Weathering is amazing.
Regards,dK

Your extension looks better than the brass one.  I like how you did the built-up grease on the wheels also.  Fantastic work.

Rob Smith
Hamilton, ON

Great work Dave, how do I place my order? :)

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

DundasMP23 Wrote:
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> Your extension looks better than the brass one. 
> I like how you did the built-up grease on the
> wheels also.  Fantastic work.

I agree, superb work! Makes me want to get to finishing up my back log of rolling stock that I haven’t weathered! 😂

Excellent work Dave!

Tim Dickinson

Thanks for the kind words, Glad I can fan the Beet enthusiasm. Attached is the Ron Hawkins photo of 358345 at West Colton in 1976 with the model pic. Thanks for being there to shot the photo Ron!
Yeah, I need to beak one the boards on the extension, just haven't had the heart. They did break and get repaired
Photo 3 was a Beet Rack I photographed at the SP convention a few years back. Looks like a Detail Associates Wood Kit someone put a great deal of work into. Exquisite model.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/20 13:42 by dmaffei.

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Very nice- I hope you’re pulling them with SD9’s!
When I was younger I’d sometimes drive down to The Rincon and wait for The WB Beets to Pass late at night. The surf was the ideal background soundtrack.
SR

By 1980, SP couldn't have care less whether boards were broken. Cars were loaded way past the top, and boards were so dried out, that the weight of the beets pushing against the boards just busted them

Dave, I think you meant to say "Detail Associates Wood Kit" instead of Details West. Details West never made any beet rack kits. Regardless, all excellent looking models with terrific weathering!

Tim Dickinson

Thanks Tim.
Have room for a 60 car beet train on your layout? I'll drop by next time we're in the southland!
Edit: Wow has it been 10 years?
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,2143546,2143547#2143547
We can say it was an interchange beet train with the BN???

alcoc636 Wrote:
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> Dave, I think you meant to say "Detail Associates
> Wood Kit" instead of Details West. Details West
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/20 12:57 by dmaffei.

Exactly right. I'm keeping close to a mid 70's train.
So with that said, all cars had the ACI bar label installed in 1967. The yellow dot in a black square, U-1 stencil for wheel inspection came out in 1978, so none of my cars have that marking. The COT&S lube plate marking (Black square with white border) were supposed to be installed by 1974, but photos show many beet racks missing this marking past the July 1974 date. SP was repairing cars in the 70's as well. Car 358558 seen with rebuilt extension attached. Also the 1978 Sac re-build photographed by Charles Lange in Santa Barbra. I like these variations in a train. Gives a variation instead of all the cars looking the same. More prototypical?
I'm I obsessed? Maybe, but having fun !

WAF Wrote:
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> By 1980, SP couldn't have care less whether boards
> were broken. Cars were loaded way past the top,
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/20 11:57 by dmaffei.

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In Charles's photo, I think they simply repainted the car. Too many warped boards for rebuilding from new

I thought so too originally. Photo is a bit dark and when you lighten the image and blow it up, the outside bracing (4X4 angle iron) on top extension is new and is a one off outside braced top extension car. From what I see, the steel is new on top extension, not sure about wood

WAF Wrote:
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> In Charles's photo, I think they simply repainted
> the car. Too many warped boards for rebuilding
> from new

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> Very nice- I hope you’re pulling them with
> SD9’s!
> When I was younger I’d sometimes drive down to
> The Rincon and wait for The WB Beets to Pass late
> at night. The surf was the ideal background
> soundtrack.
> SR

No man, SD45 and U33C locos. Thats what pulled them through Alhambra, CA when I would see them in the late 1980's. Did any of these cars ever get roller-bearing trucks? I dont remember seeing any. Nice work on these model beet racks!

SantaFeRuss