On any Chessie Trailer Train (TOFC), only about 5% of the trailers
would be Chessie marked. That means you will need dozens and
dozens of other roads trailers. In 1982 the 45' trailer had just
been released. Most trains had a mix of 40 and 45 footers, with
40 footers still dominating. There were no 48 or 53 foot trailers
(the standard today) in 1982. There were a few 20' containers on
chassis too.
There is very little information out there on trailer companies that
shipped on railroads in the early 1980's. After watching videos
and searching through dozens of photos I've focused my trailer modeling
on trailers I know existed. Common other railroad trailers that
showed up on the East End were MILW, AT&SF, BN, Conrail and
SP. However, railroad owned trailers accounted for only about 25%
of the total trailers. The other 75% were owned by shipping
companies. APL is one of the biggest and most easily
recognizable.
Below is the American President Lines (APL) trailers I have done.
It was a very common company to see on Chessie TOFC trains. All
were decaled by me using Microscale Decals.
Also, very common was the Transamerica company. Con-Cor offers
the 40' trailer on top. It is a bit toyish, but can be painted
silver where appropriate, weathered and made into a reasonable
model. The trailer below is a Front Range 45' trailer I stripped
and custom decaled. Microscale offers the decals, but the version
shown is the full length blue and red stripe. Many, many trailers
from Transamerica had this shortened blue and red stripe paint scheme.
Below are some railroad owned trailers in 1982 paint schemes. I
bought the BN and MILW ones assembled and decorated and only weathered
them. They are 45 ' trailers. The L&N and
PC trailers were painted and decaled by me. The two WM trailers
did make it to the Chessie Era, though they were on their last
legs. They too are painted and decaled by me.
Below is a very common railroad owned trailer, but for a railroad few
of us know. The NAC was quite common on early Chessie
trains. I did two 45' trailers with Microscale decals.
