The C&O ordered 24 heavyweight express cars, numbered 266 through 290, from the Pressed Steel Car Co. in 1923. Cars 271, 273, 280, and 283-286 were modernized with plymetal (plywood covered with metal) side doors and rounded square windows in 1952. The cars were repainted in C&O’s Federal Yellow, Enchantment Blue, and Dulux Gray (tri-color) paint scheme to match the road’s streamlined cars.
The model features a one-piece injection-molded plastic body with a separate underbody and clerestory roof. A pair of steel weights are screw-mounted to the frame over each truck. The portion of the floor where the doors open is black plastic. The full-size cars had a wood floor. The underbody features separate stirrup steps and a mix of molded and separate brake appliances.
Our sample is painted in C&O’s tri-color scheme. The car, no. 271, features Railway Express Agency lettering and a star. The latter indicated the full-size car had accommodations for a messenger, including a desk and letter case.
The lettering and color separation lines on the model are crisp. The Federal Yellow letterboard is too narrow, as the band should pass through the top quarter of the baggage door windows. The Chesapeake & Ohio lettering is the 1954-1967 style. It should be the 1951 style with a rounder “C”.
For the most part the paint was smooth and evenly applied. There were a few small voids in the gray around the molded grab irons above the stirrup steps, but these could easily be touched up with a paintbrush.
According to prototype car plans from the C&O Historical Society and information in Harry Stegmaier’s book Chesapeake & Ohio Passenger Cars in Color (TLC Publishing, 2001), the roof on modernized heavyweights was black (freight car cement). The roof is Enchantment Blue on our sample.
The car weighs 1.6 ounces, which is .3 ounce too heavy per National Model Railroad Association recommended practice 20.1. The truck-mounted Magne-Matic knuckle couplers are at the correct height. The model features pin-mounted injection-molded plastic type 2410 trucks. The metal wheelsets, mounted on metal axles, are correctly gauged. The free-rolling wheels are on scale 5′-6″ centers, which matches the prototype.
Though most manufacturers focus on coaches, diners, and observation cars, it’s refreshing to see Wheels of Time focus on head-end cars. This express car would look great with a solid train of heavyweights or mixed in a streamlined consist.
Price: Single car, $38.99 to $44.49 each; two-pack, $75.99 to $83.99
Manufacturer
Wheels of Time
P.O. Box 846
Mountain View, CA 94042-0846
wheelsotime.com
Era: 1952 to 1971 (as painted)
