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Getting Real Column - 8
becomes broader, and also more focused on exactly which
choices are most distinctive or attractive to model.
Another railroad that had one of the largest freight car fleets
was the Missouri Pacific Lines, seventh overall in my ranking of
non-hopper freight fleets. And in this case, as with the D&RGW,
I have chosen a gondola as well as a boxcar for a pair of signa-
ture cars. The gondola is a distinctive design for two reasons:
the inside length is 45 feet, and the sides have raised panels to
increase somewhat the cubic capacity (10).
During 1937 to 1942, Pressed Steel Car and Mt. Vernon deliv-
ered 2400 of these cars to Mopac and its subsidiaries. The
subsidiary lines included the International-Great Northern,
Missouri-Illinois, and St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico. But the
majority of the cars, 1775, went to Missouri Pacific itself, and
were numbered 22000–23774. In 1948, the railroad’s DeSoto,
Missouri shops built 1000 more of these 45-foot cars, though
this time with smooth side panels.
10: A model of the distinctive Missouri Pacific panel-
side gondolas, 45 feet long, of which 2400 were built
and nearly all of which remained in service in 1953.
The model is from a Sunshine resin kit. The machinery
crate load is scratchbuilt.
10
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MRH-Apr 2013