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Freight Cars - Gondolas Articles

A Dirt Cover For Your Gondolas

The author built a cover for a S Scale America/Des Plaines Hobbies' Thrall gondola.

A Tale of Two Gondolas

Converting two O-27 gondolas to 46-foot, close-enough, S-scale gondolas, one for the Pennsylvania Railroad and one for the B&O. Includes a couple of paragraphs on how the author built two different pipe loads (with photos).

Adding to a Spartan Kit Jacking up a Thrall 54' Mill Gondola

The author stumbled upon a rare Don Winter kit. This article shows how he built it. Includes construction photos, as well as several prototype photos of similar gondolas.

At the Throttle

Linn answers the question, "Why does a gondola car have low sides?"

Bench Clean Up Leads to Finished Project

Mounting trucks to a beat-up gondola finished this project.

Build a Steel Gondola Car

The author builds this generic 40-foot gondola starting with the parts of another commercial model.

Build an Early Steel Drop Bottom Gon

The model is based on a 1900, American Car and Foundry all-steel drop-bottom gondola for the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Includes diagrams, and model and prototype photos.

Building a Composite Gondola in S

The author takes an A.C. Gilbert American Flyer flat car, and shows how to add parts to it to make it be a composite (steel frame, wooden sides/ends) gondola. Includes construction photos. The model uses 3D-printed parts.

Building A Resin Gondola Kit

The author describes the process of building a Funaro & Carmerlengo O-scale NYC gondola kit.

Building A Resin Kit

The author describes building the Funaro & Camerlengo PRR GR gondola kit.

Building a Urethane PRR GRa-class Gondola Kit

Bill describes how to built this kit, but not necessarily using all the kit's parts. Includes discussion on how to paint the model and several construction and final photos.

Building the Berlyn Locomotive Works C&S Type II Coal Car

The author briefly covers the prototype car, then reviews what can be found in the Berlyn kit, and finally describes the actual building of the kit. Includes model and construction photos.

C&O Pipe Gondola

The C&O and B&O ordered 125 65.5' gondolas in 1969 from Bethlehem Steel. Article includes scale drawings and prototype photos.

Canadian Bathtub Gondolas

The article covers the history of CP Rail coal unit trains, shows a roster of the "bathtub" cars, includes prototype photos, and comes with full scale drawings of all sides. Suggestions as to how to model this car are briefly covered for HO and N scale.

Canadian National 141000-142749 Gondolas

This article documents the gondolas built starting in 1933 for the CN. It provides tips on how to model these in HO-scale. Includes several prototype photos.

Casting Your Own Freight Cars

This is a good article on how to make castings, and more specifically about how to make gondolas. The article covers making the master, constructing the casting frame, making the mold, removing the master, making the castings, and removing and cleaning the castings.

Chicago & North Western Pride Gondolas

PRIDE stood for "PRogress In Defending the Environment". In addition to prototype photos and a roster listing, the article also includes model photos.

Class GS Supplement

Follow-up article showing some of the model photos for the November, 2003 article.

Converting a Flyer Gondola to Scale

One of the two types of gondolas designed by the USRA during WWI was modeled by the author using two damaged A.F. gondolas. Includes several model photos.

Creating a Steel Slab Load

The author describes how he built modeled the steel slabs in a Westerfield G22 gondola.

Cuyahoga Valley 9004 Coil Gondola

This article describes how the author took a gondola and added the Mainstreeter Trains corrugated add-on panels to create a different-looking gondola. He super-details the model and describes how he added the coil steel loads. Includes construction and final-model photos.

D&H 41-foot Gondola

A brief prototype-only article about these 1941-built cars. Includes photos and scaled drawings.

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad 700-series Drop-bottom Gondola

Scale drawings of the car.

Denver & Rio Grande Western's Narrow-gauge Gondolas

Prototype information, lots of photos, and scale drawings.

Detailing a Milwaukee Road 65-foot Mill Gondola

The author describes how he detailed an Athearn gondola. Includes a prototype photo, and a description of how to adjust the bolsters to support the Micro-Trains or Fox Valley Models trucks.

Eastern Seaboard Models N-Scale PRR G26 Mill Gondola

This is a product review of the model. It includes a brief history and prototype photos.

Essential Freight Cars Part 25

This article covers the steam-era gondolas of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. Includes many model and prototype photos of both railroads.

Essential Freight Cars Part 26

This article covers loads for gondolas and shows prototype and model photos of various loads, such as crates, structural steel, tanks, and scrap.

Finishing the Don Winter's Railgon Kit

The author completes his Don Winter project gondola by painting it and applying decals to it. The remainder of the article is about the loads that are reasonable for this kind of a car.

Georgia RR 50-ton Gondola

After a brief history of the Georgia Railroad, the topic covered in this brief article is a West Shore S-scale gondola super-detailed to match a prototype car (photo included).

HO scale PRR G31L #372165

The author converted a Tangent Scale Models G31b into an "L" subclass model.

How I Built a New Haven Covered Gon

The author describes how he cut up a Lionel O-scale gondola to build this S-scale covered car. Includes photos and diagrams.

Imitating Life... With A Little Help From 3D Printing

Using CAD design and 3D-printing made it possible to more easily create the corrugations of the 52' Greenville gondola that is described in this article.

Kit Bashing an Unusual Gondola

Using a two-bay American Models hopper, the author describes how he modeled the L&M gondola/hopper car that appeared in the Spring 1983 issue of the North West Lines magazine (published by the Chicago and Northwestern Historical Society). Includes many detailed construction photos.

Kitbash a 65ft Gondola

The author took two A.F. gondolas and modified them to build this one car. Includes construction, prototype, and final photos.

Kitbashing a PRR G29D Gondola

The author converts a Sunshine G29A/B HO-scale kit#12.8 into a G29D. Includes prototype photos, and model construction photos.

Kitbashing Central of New Jersey Composite Gondolas

The author took four Mehano 50-foot gondolas (train-set quality) and rebuilt them to accurately match the CNJ prototype.

Kitbashing Scale Cars from Toy Bodies Part 2

Taking A.C. Gilbert American Flyer gondola bodies and converting them into credible "scale" models. Includes model photos and cut diagrams. Also covered is the 42-foot hydracushion box car.

Let's Build a Steel Braced Plywood Chip Car

The author provides step-by-step instructions on how to scratchbuild this car. It includes a materials list, prototype photos, and diagrams.

Lionel Gondola Conversion

The author converts a Lionel O-27 short gondola to one that is usable in S-scale. Includes detailed instructions to do the conversion, with several supplemental photos. Also includes prototype reference material.

Make a Container Car

Starting with an O-scale gondola, the author describes how he built one of these cars, accompanied by a handful of photos.

Modeling a 41-foot Nickel Plate Steel Gondola

Using an Accurail kit, the author super-detailed the model. Includes prototype and model photos, a materials list, and a prototype roster.

Modeling a Fruehauf Conrail Gondola

Covers modeling gondolas built by Fruehauf in 1971 and 1972 for Penn Central using Rail Yard Models kits. Article includes many model and prototype photos. Includes using the Coiled Wire load made by Chooch Enterprises.

Modeling a great car for loads: Pennsy's steam-era G31 gondola

The author makes a Con-Cor 52'6" mill gondola into a true representation of the PRR G31. Includes prototype and model photos.

Modeling a Lehigh Valley Mill Gondola

A large number of the Lehigh Valley's gondola fleet were these 50-foot 13-rib straight side gondolas. The author used two Accurail 41-foot USRA steel gondola models to kitbash one of these cars. He describes the process he went through. The article includes one prototype photo, several close-up model photos, prototype roster, scale drawings, and describes how to make a steel plate load for the car.

Modeling a Well Used Gondola

The author started with a Proto 2000 52' 6" drop-end gondola kit, stripped the sides, and replaced them with modified brass panels to represents the damage done to them over time. Includes many detailed photos, several prototype photos, and information about how super-detail, paint, and weather the model.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 1

This introductory installment of the in-depth series of articles covering the PRR's large fleet of gondola includes historical information, a break-down of all the gondola classes, and several photos of models.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 18

Prototype and research information, as well as information about how to build a model in HO-scale of the PRR's G28.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 18

This is a repeat of an earlier article.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 19

This installment covers updates regarding the G31A, G31B, G31D, and G35 classes. Includes several prototype photos, and model super-detailing close-ups.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 2

This installment covers the GR and three-foot longer GRa. These were created around the 1900s and most were retired by the 1950s. It was essentially a flat car with wooden side extensions. Includes model photos, original scale drawing, and complete description of the construction of the Funaro & Camerlengo resin kit. The GRa model is built from a Westerfield kit.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 2

This installment covers the PRR's GR and GRa classes of gondolas. Several HO-scale models are mentioned as possible models, but the Funaro & Camerlengo resin kit is the one used in this article. F&C also made an S-scale model of this kit. Includes many construction photos.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 3

This installment covers the class GS and GSh, which were built between 1902 and 1909 and retired into the 1940s and 1950s. They were short (40-ft) cars. The article describes how the author modeled these cars using HO-scale resin kits from several manufacturers.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 4

This installment covers the G22 class (including various sub-classes) of these 46-foot gondolas.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 5

This installment covers the G24 class, which includes prototype photos and drawings and model photos of the PSC HO-scale model.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 6

This installment covers the G25 class of gondolas. Includes prototype information, a diagram, and one photo. The rest of the article reviews the Westerfield and Walthers models and what the author did to improve them.

Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad's Gondola Fleet Part 7

This installment covers the G26 class gondolas, the first of the 65-foot long ones. After a good-sized historical account of this class of car, the author describes his building of the Eastern Car Works HO-scale kit.

Modern Gondolas

The author describes how he took an American Models 52-foot, AM 40-foot, and MTH's O-27 gondolas to kitbash his modern cars. Includes photos of his completed models.

Modernizing an Intermountain PRR G24 Gondola in HO scale

The Intermountain kit was for the as-built, composite, version of the car, so that author describes how he modified it to have steel sides, as that was done in the PRR during the 1930s. He shows how he modified the car, using brass for the new sides, adding Archer 3D rivets, and added weight to the model.

Modifying an International Model Gon

The author improves an undesirable brass gondola from the early-1960s. Includes how to make a gravel load.

N Scale class G41a

The author describes the Rail Yard Models' kit of this car. Includes one prototype photo and drawing.

NC&StL Container Car

Container service high-side gondolas. Includes scaled drawings and several prototype photos.

New Product Review

The author reviews the new Pre-Size Model Specialties' SP GS gondola kit.

Norfolk & Western Coal Battleship Gondolas

These cars were built by the N&W in 1920 and had a 100-ton capacity. The article includes scale drawings, and two model photos.

Notes on the TSM Hi-side Gondola Kit

The author built two of these older kits to show that they are still relevant, and they allow variations.

Ohio River & Western 3-foot Gauge Gondola #279

Scale drawings of this car.

One of a Kind - the G23 Story and Battleship Gondolas

There was only one G23, six-axle-trucks, gondola designed for 110 tons of coal load. Includes photos of the car, including the interior and a close-up of the truck. The article covers the detailed history of the car, and then evolves into a general discussion of USRA "battleship" gondolas, showing photos of N&W, Virginian, and C&O cars.

Pennsylvania GR-GRa Part 2

Changes that were made to these gondolas to conform to new regulation. Includes prototype photos and scale drawings.

Pennsylvania GS Class Gondola

The author finds a prototype GSh near his home. The article covers the historical details, provides a roster, and includes prototype photos and scaled drawings.

Pennsylvania Railroad G22B Container Gondola

This article describes the gondola, and its containers. Includes several prototype photos and scaled drawings.

Pennsylvania Railroad Gondolas - A Modeling Summary

A tabular listing of all the PRR classes and subclasses of gondola's and which kits or R-T-R cars are available to the modeler. Covers only HO and O-scales.

PRR G22 Gondola Subway Adaptor Cars

These were special cars for moving standard-gauge subway cars within regular freight trains. The shows how he built his, after introducing the prototype information and photos.

PRR G24 Gondola Modernization in N Scale

Much like the previous article, this one covers the conversion applied to an Intermountain N-scale version.

PRR G29 Gondolas in 1/32 Scale

A brief note and several photos of the author's scratchbuilt model.

Resin Kits

The author is building a gondola resin kit, while Jim Kindraka is building a two-bay covered hopper. The author has experience producing resin kits, so he shares the history of this type of product manufacturing, how he makes the parts, the downsides of casting resin, how to deal with parts that curl while still in kit form, and how to properly deal with flash on resin parts. He also shares a few tips on the gondola he is building.

Resin Kits Part 2

The author continues the topic of what it takes to build a resin freight car, in this case an NYC gondola. After some prototype information about the car, the discussion goes on to forming and attaching the grab irons, creating the interior bracing, installing the brake system parts, and painting the model.

Resin Kits Part 3

In this installment, the author describes how he applied the decals to his NYC gondola project car, and how to deal with hiding the decals' edges.

Scaling The A.F. Gondola

The author describes how he modified an A.C. Gilbert gondola (AAR type GB) into a "scale" version. Includes a photo, how-to drawings, and a materials list.

Scrap Iron Load for a Gondola

Cube 1/2" diameter aluminum foil for a convincing load.

Scratchbuild a Chesapeake & Ohio High Side Gondola

This article describes how the author built a 1953 50-ton gondola from brass, styrene, and paper (for the rivets). Includes cutting diagrams, step-by-step photos, and a parts list. There is also a sidebar on how to create the rivet lines.

Scratchbuilt D&RGW High-side Gondola

The author describes how he built this gondola, accompanied by several construction photos.

Tangent Scale Models G31B Gondola

This is a product review of the model. The article includes the history of the G31 class and subclasses, and prototype photos.

The Earlier Gondola Fleet

This brief article covers the two gondola's the PRR had before the GR class of gondola's.

The Pre-Size Chesapeake & Ohio High Side Steel Gondola

Several people were involved in the evolution of the C&O gondola project that was eventually made available to the public via Pre-Size Model Specialties. The article includes the history of the prototype car accompanied by photos. The model photos included in the article are of pre-production samples that the author built to test the designs.

Upgrading the Bowser class GS Model

The author describes how he modified the Bowser HO-scale kit to model this car.

USRA Composite Gondola

The author starts off with the good and bad of the USRA. Next, he describes the 5 body types the USRA commissioned. The rest of the article is about the USRA composite drop-bottom, 50-ton gondola. Includes two scaled diagrams (S-scale), and several prototype photos.

Weathering Open-Top Cars Part 1

Making our models look more realistic by using various techniques to show their age.

What's on Your Workbench Today?

The author describes his experience with building a Pre-Size Model Specialties Greenville gondola. Includes three photos of the finished model.

What's On Your Workbench?

The author shares how he built the 41.5 ft. Milwaukee Road composite gondola produced by the Regal kit company.

You Have To Have Guts to Model a Car of Offal

How to model a car that hauls butchered animal waste.