Model Railroading > 1/87 40' Gondolas

Hello folks. What manufacture has decent forty feet gondola cars in HO ? No need to be super detailed but nice none the less. Any suggestions? Thanks for any answers.

SantaFeRuss

Have you seen these?

Kit Classics HO Scale CB&Q Havelock Shops 52’ 6” Gondola – ScaleTrains.com Inc.

oops, sorry, these are 52 footers



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/21 12:31 by TomG.

Accurail makes a 41' model.  http://www.accurail.com/accurail/3700.htm

Quite a few::

• Intermountain 40' drop bottom GS gondola, both steel side and composite.
• Intermountain 40' USRA gondola (If you want to go nuts: https://speedwitchmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/LM-Gondola.pdf)
• Bowser PRR GS class 40' gondola.https://www.bowser-trains.com/history/gondola.html
• Athearn? http://athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=40%27+Gondola&CatID=THRF (Anyone comment on quality of these? I haven't seen one).
• Accurail (41'):http://www.accurail.com/accurail/3700.htm
• Lifelike Proto 1000 had a 50 Ton Drop-Bottom Composite Gondola, rerun and now discontinued by Walthers. Might be available on used market. (For reference - says sold out and 1 available)
• Tyco/Mantua, Bachmann, and Varney made a 40' gondola that is toy train quality, but the die work is good enough that it can be upgraded with body mount couplers, trucks and wheelsets, and grab irons for a nice model. https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/2019/12/evolution-of-humble-varney-40-gondola.html

I hope this helps!

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/21 15:49 by Arved.

Except for a the PRR, USRA and very few others, most RTR and kit, HO 40-42 ft. gons are foobies. As for accurate gons, model manufacturers insist on producing 50+ ft. and mill gons. Resin kits are the best answer if you want prototypical 40-42 ft. cars. This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time. 

But this may be good enough for you. The steam/transition era cries out for these cars as they were third in quantity to box cars and hoppers. Yes, many were RR specific, but there were large batches of them produced by the car manufacturers for various RRs that were alike or with slight variations.

I'm not sure why mill gons are considered and not 40-42 ft. gons. Perhaps it is because they overlapped into the post steam/transition era more than the 40-42 ft. gons?

(I just know the word "foobie" is going to get some folks into a hissy.)

And if you want to talk 40 ft. flat cars in HO, the situation is even worse.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/21 18:23 by wabash2800.

Tyco and mantua put out  hundreds  those gondolas for years. They are good looking cars.  go to https://groups.io/g/HOswap and tell them your are looking to buy some and you will get replys.

Although only accurate for SP and SSW, the Exactrail 40' gon is a nice model for the 70's and later.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

---

The Athearn one is the old MDC one assembled
Michael t Kerner
Collinsville, IL

Posted from Android

funnelfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Although only accurate for SP and SSW, the
> Exactrail 40' gon is a nice model for the 70's and
> later.

Those are one of the first I thought of too.  They haven't been produced in quite a long time so it will be ebay or train shows to find them.

 

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Except for a the PRR, USRA and very few others,
> most RTR and kit, HO 40-42 ft. gons are foobies.
> As for accurate gons, model manufacturers insist
> on producing 50+ ft. and mill gons. Resin kits are
> the best answer if you want prototypical 40-42 ft.
> cars. This has been a pet peeve of mine for some
> time. 
>


Transition era + RR-specific details + current models are foobies + modelers are frustrated. Hmmm... This sounds like *exactly* the sort of situation in the freight car model market that would lead Rapido to fire up the mold factory...  

MB Klein just got a fresh batch of the Bowser 40' PRR prototype cars in:

Search Results (modeltrainstuff.com)

Rich

Arved Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Quite a few::
>
>

• Intermountain 40' drop bottom GS gondola, both
  > steel side and composite.
  >
• Intermountain 40' USRA gondola (If you want to
  > go nuts:
  > https://speedwitchmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/201
  > 7/04/LM-Gondola.pdf)
  >
• Bowser PRR GS class 40'
  > gondola.https://www.bowser-trains.com/history/gond
  > ola.html
  >
• Athearn?
  > http://athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=
  > 40%27+Gondola&CatID=THRF (Anyone comment on
  > quality of these? I haven't seen one).
  >
• Accurail
  > (41'):http://www.accurail.com/accurail/3700.htm
  >
• Lifelike Proto 1000 had a 50 Ton Drop-Bottom
  > Composite Gondola, rerun and now discontinued by
  > Walthers. Might be available on used market. (For
  > reference - says sold out and 1 available)
  >
• Tyco/Mantua, Bachmann, and Varney made a 40'
  > gondola that is toy train quality, but the die
  > work is good enough that it can be upgraded with
  > body mount couplers, trucks and wheelsets, and
  > grab irons for a nice model.
  > https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/2019/12
  > /evolution-of-humble-varney-40-gondola.html
  >
  >
  > I hope this helps!

Thanks folks for all the good info. I had forgotten about the Exact Rail cars. Those are really nice but I bet next to imposible to find.

SantaFeRuss