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Date: Thu, 8 May 2003 14:11:14 -0400
From: Jim Eager <jeager@XXXX>
Subject: RE: Athearn RTR 50' Combo Door Boxcars
>Sounds the transition is right in the 66-67 time frame.
That's what I thought, but the 86-footer with a NEW 1-69 date puts the kibash to that theory.
Hold on, I just rechecked my BC-70-5 slides, and I am now pretty sure all three are repaints, so they are no help after all. A quick check of the Color Guide shows the BF-50-4 40ft highcube appliance cars (Athearn's plug-door model) were built in 1967 with the RAILROAD shield. A slide of a BF-50-5 was rebuilt 11-68 with RAILROAD. So does a BF-90-6 built by SIECO in 6-69 (MDC's high-roof dbl plug model), while an identical BF-70-8 blt SIECO 9-71 has the UNION PACIFIC shield. In the Color Guide a BF-70-7 rebuilt in 7-70 has space for RAILROAD but it is not there and it does not look like it has been painted over. Finally, A B-70-7 blt 1-70 has the UNION PACIFIC shield, so it now looks like RAILROAD was dropped sometime in late 1969.
>But while one may argue for the herald, if that's there, then the red dot is missing. Do you know what that means?
I have heard that it meant that the cars had a new brake system that was being tested. Several other classes built or rebuilt in 1966 also had it, including the BF-50-2 40ft dbl plug rebuilds (mineral red car, red dot on the yellow door, Athearn's model), and the BI-70-8 (PS) & BI-70-9 (Evans) RBLs. Microscale set 87-7 will give you the dot, so that's easy enough to correct.
>And... for the number... a 2 min search on the net would have given Athearn the same answer I got...
The number is from the 167600-168099 series, which were at least combo door cars, but PS-1s blt in 1967, class BC-70-6. Sounds like Athearn mixed and matched numbers, heralds and classes.
>I have not had a chance to look at the color guide myself, but I bet the info is there as well...
Not in Vol.2 and I don't have Vol.1 to check, but there is a BC-70-4 in the 1970 Cyc, complete with RAILRAOD and the red dot. I now think it's a safe bet that the BC-70-5s were the same, except perhaps for the red dot.
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Jim Eager jeager@XXXX
Toronto, Canada
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