Help identify these reefers?

[beiland]

Are the bodies of these Walther''s reefers just difficult to get off their chassis,...OR are mine possibly glued on??

 

[beiland]

I discovered the problem. The Walthers cars do NOT separated down at floor level,...but rather their tops come off. That nixes them as candidates for a pusher loco project I have in mind.

 

[Iron Horseman]

I discovered the problem. The Walthers cars do NOT separated down at floor level,...but rather their tops come off. That nixes them as candidates for a pusher loco project I have in mind.

Interesting. I suppose I should have guessed that as all their passenger cars have the tops coming off.

A razor saw to cut the floor off?

 

[beiland]

Interesting. I suppose I should have guessed that as all their passenger cars have the tops coming off.

I do realize that about the passenger cars, but never suspected to about this freight car

A razor saw to cut the floor off?

I would want to ruin these cars by doing that. rather i have found that Athearn built very similar car with removable bottoms

 

[beiland]

In fact I went looking for what I might have hidden in my storage trailer and discovered a number of reefers cars,..

...and some 40 footers

 

[Iron Horseman]

I do realize that about the passenger cars, but never suspected to about this freight car

It isn't really classified as a freight car. It is an express reefer so called a "head end car" because it would normally be run at the head end of a passenger train. Notice it does not have standard freight trucks, but rather high speed passenger type trucks.

Here is a photo of some on the Santa Fe Grand Canyon Limited in San Bernadino. In this case strawberries headed east.

And another with three reefers immediately behind the locos, from a year later

 

[beiland]

Thanks for those photos.

I have definitely decided to use 3-4 of those reefer/express cars as bodies for my recently acquired Kato diesel chassis in building some 'powered freight cars' to help push my steam engines along. I'll likely use the Athearn bodies.

 

[beiland]

Here are a few photos of some plans I have to fit 2 different size Kato powered chassis into those athearn cars.

 

[Espeefan]

Turns out they are apparently just Athearn cars...who knew.

Not with those trucks and wheelsets. Walthers.

 

[beiland]

Alan, I did discover the difference in those 2 different reefer manufactures. I will NOT be using the Walthers ones for this project.

 

[Iron Horseman]

Here are a few photos of some plans I have to fit 2 different size Kato powered chassis into those athearn cars.

View attachment 139660

The short chassis will have coupler issues. A body mount at the end will not work as pictured because the end of the car will swing out really far on curves and the couplers will not be able to handle the difference. You would have to find some way to make a really long shank swinging arm coupler (on the order of Lionel) to reach from the x-switcher coupler pocket to the end of the car. OR if you could find a way to stretch the chassis, those Alco wheels look pretty good under that car.

 

[BigGRacing]

Kato powered chassis

Hey Beiland, I see ConCor on one of the chassis, is that a Kato brand by chance?

 

[beiland]

Hey Beiland, I see ConCor on one of the chassis, is that a Kato brand by chance?

Yes they are older ConCor models with the power system supplied by Kato

 

[beiland]

The short chassis will have coupler issues. A body mount at the end will not work as pictured because the end of the car will swing out really far on curves and the couplers will not be able to handle the difference. You would have to find some way to make a really long shank swinging arm coupler (on the order of Lionel) to reach from the x-switcher coupler pocket to the end of the car. OR if you could find a way to stretch the chassis, those Alco wheels look pretty good under that car.

Perhaps my posting was confusing here? I will be cutting that original chassis in half and lengthening it so those coupler mounts will now be at the end of the car. I'll likely use 2 stiff lengths of steel, on edge, along either side of the motor to regain the stiffness of the cut chassis, .....then attach some lead weights to increase it's traction power,...something like this..

 

[Iron Horseman]

Perhaps my posting was confusing here? I will be cutting that original chassis in half and lengthening it so those coupler mounts will now be at the end of the car.

Perfect.

 

[beiland]

Just a few re-thoughts on that 'frame stiffener'. Any frame stiffener would likely need to be 'permanently' adhered to those existing frame plates at either end. But they need to provide access to the motor, drive shafts, etc,so likely something like that steel rule on edge would NOT be appropriate. Have to come up with another idea?

 

[Rico]

Brian take a look at NWSL Stanton drives, could be just what you need?
A tad pricey but would eliminate much chopping hacking and cursing.

 

[beiland]

TOO PRICEY