Over time, the plywood choice proved a poor one, as water got
inside the sheathing and caused it to delaminate, warp, and
curl. Within a few years, shops were directed to re-sheath any
-24 car with such symptoms with tried-and-true tongue-and-
groove (T&G) sheathing, and photos show that many cars were
in fact so reworked. But the plywood did survive on some cars
into the middle and even late 1950s. So 1950s modelers can
choose to have both plywood and T&G versions of this class if
they wish.
I have modeled the -24 cars both ways. The plywood version
can be modeled, at least as a stand-in car, by simply sanding
off the rivets on an Athearn steel reefer or other car with Im-
proved Dreadnaught ends, and replacing the door hinges with
the long-strap type used on wood car sheathing.
The model I show (28) is of that kind, and is otherwise pretty
much the Athearn body with appropriate re-detailing. The At-
hearn underframe, however, has essentially no relation to an
actual R-40-24 underbody. A much more accurate version is
quite possible, because there has also been a Sunshine resin kit
for the plywood cars.
The T&G version is also easily created, at least as a stand-in,
with the Athearn wood-side reefer. It has the correct door hing-
es, and needs only to have the sheathing retainer strip along
“The Athearn wood-side reefer ... has the cor-
rect door hinges, and needs only to have the
sheathing retainer strip along the bottom of
the car side removed ...”
