The new Tangent SP box cars: using undecs

A short while ago, I posted a review of the new Southern Pacific postwar 40-foot box cars produced by Tangent Scale Models, SP classes B-50-28 through B-50-33, except for the 50-foot cars of Class B-50-30. Several interesting combinations of car specialties (doors, running boards, hand brakes) are offered in ready-to-run form, fully lettered. (Here’s a link to my post: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-new-tangent-sp-box-cars.html .) But there are also undecorated cars offered, one in each of the three door styles, but otherwise complete. I chose to buy two of them. 

One motivation for deciding to do some lettering of  my choice is an excellent set of decals for these cars, specially produced exactly for these car classes. They are produced by Daniel Kohlberg, whose line can be seen at: http://www.icgdecals.com ; and Dan can be reached, if need be, via dan@icgdecals.com . This enables you to either add to the choices of road numbers for a particular class, or choose to letter for a class not offered by Tangent.

Here is one of the undecorated models, the Youngstown door version. It has an Apex running board and Miner brake gear. As such, it matches some of the SP Class B-50-29 and -31 cars. My plan was to choose combinations of door and running board that are suitable for particular classes, and replace brake gear if necessary.

The car has a fairly glossy finish, perfect for me to just go ahead and add the nice decals. And they really are nice, obviously laid out by a modeler who knows what’s involved in decal lettering placement. Essentially everything needed is correctly arranged.

For my first car, I chose the car number SP 103984, which is on the decal sheet. This matches with SP Class B-50-29, and as is readily discovered in my book about SP box cars, Volume 4 in the series, Southern Pacific Freight Cars (Signature Press, revised edition, 2014), specifically Table 12-3 on page 312, we know all the specialties. 

This car, SP 103984, was one of 500 cars assembled from commercial parts by the SP Equipment Company at Sacramento General Shops, had Ajax handbrakes, Apex steel running boards, ASF A-3 trucks, and Youngstown corrugated doors. The model matches, except for having a Miner brake wheel. I replaced it with one of the fine Kadee Ajax brake wheels. Here it is, lettered with the fine Kohlberg decals.

The second car reflects my desire to include one of the cars with a panel door. SP did build some cars in this 9500-car group with Superior panel doors, both 7-panel doors for Pacific Lines and 5-panel doors for T&NO. Tangent has modeled both of these panel doors. My choice, of course, was a 7-panel door to letter as a Pacific Lines car.

Here the choices were to do a different car class from the B-50-28 and -29 cars I already had, including a resin B-50-29 from Sunshine Models, or to make sure I had a different number series from what was already in my fleet. I chose the latter approach, and decided to letter one of the B-50-29 cars built by Pullman-Standard with a 105000-series number. 

Here’s the result. Note that I included the Pullman-Standard builder emblem, as this car was built there. The car also carries the wide-spaced car number applied by Pullman-Standard, not SP practice but not replaced until cars were repainted. The Kohlberg decals provide this. Lastly, I’ll mention the repacking stencil, taken from the Sunshine “Western Reweigh and Repack Data” decal sheet.

Next came weathering. Since these are cars that were built in the few years prior to my modeling year of 1953, I really only wanted a “haze” of dirt, and only added a few chalk marks (and dirtied up the rather red truck frames). Route cards, of course, would have been applied throughout the life of the car, so would certainly be present.

I am glad to have these fine Tangent models, reproducing the most recent boxcars on the SP at the time I model, and am delighted with the ease of lettering the Tangent undecorated cars with the decals from Dan Kohlberg. The cars are on the layout already.

Tony Thompson