Pullman-Standard began building 50-foot versions of the PS-1 in 1948. The increased capacity and large door opening of the longer car helped it grow in popularity in the early 1950s. The Kadee model has the fishbelly side sill found on cars built starting in 1956. Cars of this style were built into the early 1960s.
The 50-foot PS-1s were built with a number of door options. The most common, reflected on the model, is a nine-foot door opening. Our sample has PS-1 doors, which match the 1957-built Kansas City Southern prototype. Youngstown doors were also common on these cars, as were Superior six-panel doors. Kadee is including the appropriate door for the prototype of each of its models. The December 1995 issue of RailModel Journal includes a roster of 50-foot PS-1s with nine-foot single doors.
The shell, including the roof, is a single-piece plastic casting with most details added separately. Separate parts include the brake wheel, staff, chain, and retaining valve; running board; running board supports; tack boards; ladders and grab irons; doors; stirrup steps; uncoupling lever; and underbody brake gear, including the control valve, cylinder, reservoir, piping, and hoses.
The cast metal floor includes plank detail on top and bottom. A separate plastic center sill and bolster piece includes all of the crossbearers. The underbody brake gear and piping are sharply molded in engineering plastic. The moldwork is all very well done, with fine cross sections on the grab irons and great detail on the brake wheel and see-through running board and brake stand.
Kadee’s model is well proportioned, and the model’s dimensions match drawings in the June 1992 issue of Mainline Modeler.
The car rides on Kadee 50-ton ASF Ride Control sprung trucks with metal sideframes and bolster and plastic brake shoes and brake beams. The smooth-back scale 33″ metal wheels are mounted on nonmagnetic axles. The car rolls well, and all of the wheelsets on our sample matched a National Model Railroad Association standards gauge.
Kadee’s own metal automatic knuckle couplers are body mounted on each end. Their height matched a Kadee height gauge.
The car weighs in at 4.5 ounces, matching NMRA Recommended Practice 20.1.
The lettering on our KCS car was opaque, sharp, and legible. A nice touch is the scale 2″-tall stencil-style lettering below the dimensional data as well as the scale 1″ builder’s information in the lower-left corner, both of which are clearly legible.
This is a sharp-looking boxcar that is truly ready to place on a layout.
Price: See road name list
Manufacturer:
Kadee Quality Products Co.
673 Avenue C
White City, OR 97503
www.kadee.com
Description:
Ready-to-run plastic and metal car
Road names:
6001 Kansas City Southern, $28.45
6003 Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (PS-1 door), $28.95
6004 Chesapeake & Ohio (Youngstown door), $29.95
