The Great Northern built 198 stockcars numbered 56050 to 56248 in 1957 from wooden boxcars constructed in 1919. Like many rebuilt stockcars, these cars retained their wooden running boards. The roofs also were painted aluminum to reflect the sun’s rays during the summer and early fall.
The prototypes had six sets of vertical bracing, Murphy 6/7 or 5/5/5 rib ends (the model is based on a 5/5/5 version), a six-foot-wide door, and rode on solid-bearing trucks.
The GN continued to haul stock until the Burlington Northern merger in March 1970. However, by the mid-1960s, decentralization in the meat-packing industry and the incursion of trucks meant that the days of profitably hauling stock by rail were practically over. By the mid-1970s, BN suspended most former GN livestock movements.
The red paint on our sample is a little darker than the red-colored plastic used for the underframe and brake components. You may want to airbrush the underframe with Polly Scale Caboose Red before assembly.
While you’ve got the airbrush out, the trucks on most GN stockcars were mineral red, while the model’s are cast in black plastic. The running board is removable, and you may want to spray the roof a weathered aluminum color.
This is a one-evening kit, and assembly in general went smoothly. A barebones exploded-view drawing labeled for an Accurail 40-foot boxcar provided a fair idea of where to put the handful of parts. In addition to plastic sprue cutters, I used a flat needle file, fine sandpaper, a sharp no. 11 hobby knife blade, and liquid plastic cement applied with a fine brush to assemble the kit.
First I attached the brake system components, added center sills, couplers, and coupler box lids, then installed the trucks, which mount to the body with pins. I glued the weight to the car floor interior with Walthers Goo.
The doors fit well into their openings and can be secured with liquid cement applied sparingly. The doors are not designed to be opened, so the unpainted weight is not readily seen.
A small and somewhat fuzzy line drawing of the prototype shows where to install the road name and car number boards. The last step was installing the brake wheel and brakewheel staff; I substituted .020″ flexible plastic rod for the brass wire for easier painting.
Our sample measured 40′-11″ long and 9′-5″ wide, with the top of the running board 14′-0″ above the railhead. According to the January 1961 Official Railway Equipment Register, the prototypes were 40′-9″ long, 9′-5″ wide, and the running boards were 13′-7″ high.
The Accurail wheels matched our National Model Railroad Association standards gauge, as did the coupler height. The completed car weighs 3.4 ounces, short of the 3.8 ounces called for in the NMRA Recommended Practice for a 40-foot car of one ounce plus .5 ounces for each inch of length.
The data lettering on our model was crisp, though the lettering on the GN road name signboard was applied a bit heavily, making it look splotchy.
Although the cast-on stirrups and ladders look a little thick, the car’s overall appearance is fine. A nice touch is that the stirrups angle slightly outward from the body, just like the prototype.
Accurail offers a separate decal set so GN modelers can apply different car numbers on a group of these cars.
Despite the sparse instructions, most modelers won’t have a problem assembling this kit, and the reasonable price means a small fleet is attainable.
Price: $9.98
Manufacturer:
Accurail
P.O. Box 278
Elburn IL 60119
630-365-6400
www.accurail.com
Description:
Injection-molded plastic kit
Road names:
4700 undecorated
4701 Santa Fe
4702 Great Northern
4703 Norfolk & Western
4704 Milwaukee Road
4705 Missouri-Kansas-Texas
4706 Wabash
4707 Missouri Pacific
4708 Grand Trunk Western
4798 data only mineral red
4799 data only oxide red
