The Hendrickson USRA box car, Conclusion

This project is essentially the completion of a freight car build begun by Richard Hendrickson and inherited by me. Doubtless I would have taken up the project long since, but the box in which the partly completed model was stored was located among a group of parts boxes. When I happened onto it, it went right to the workbench.

The prototype is one of the USRA (United States Railroad Administration) box cars acquired by the Georgia Railroad and upgraded around 1940 with new steel side sheathing to replace the deteriorated original wood sheathing. More of the background, and prototype photos are in the first post on this topic (the post is here: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/07/another-hendrickson-project.html ).

Richard’s model is essentially a Tichy kit, and he had assembled the body, reworked the roof, and begun underbody work. I completed the underbody and managed the installation of numerous other details, some of them, such as the brass grab irons, which he had selected for the model. That work was described earlier (see: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-hendrickson-usra-box-car-part-2.html ).

One detail installation that may be worth describing is the corner grab irons on the lateral running boards. The kit supplied the Tichy wire grab for this location, but nothing for the support at the included corner, where on the prototype an attachment is present. Modelers often model this with a wire lift ring, actually intended for diesel locomotives. But such rings are badly oversize for house cars. Just for comparison, here is a prototype view (SP Class B-50-18, AC&F photo, used with permission):

This really looks far different than those diesel lift rings. What I have done instead is to glue an over-long piece of wire of the same diameter into the corner hole of the lateral running board, as you see below. Then I can trim it to length to match up with the corner grab when I install it. Note that the end supports underneath the end of the running board are not yet installed.

Detail part installation was completed with a Kadee Ajax brake wheel instead of the Tichy one, and I made the diagonal braces under brake step and running board end from scale 1 x 2-inch styrene. Then I could paint the model. I used Tamiya “Fine Surface Primer (Oxide Red)” because I know it gives an excellent finish, semi-gloss and very suitable for decals. And the color to my eye is a mid-range boxcar red.

The Tichy decals for this car were in the kit box, so I merely had to apply them. The lettering scheme does require a bunch of individual decal pieces between the diagonal braces and the posts, but this is merely tedious. I will show the as-lettered car below. For a prototype comparison, see the car photo in the first post in this series, link provided in second paragraph from top of the present post.

Next I needed to apply trucks (to replace the Tichy “work supports” shown above). In the kit box were Richard’s choice for the USRA trucks retained by Georgia on these cars, Accurail. I added Reboxx wheelsets. Finally, Kadee #158 couplers were installed. Here is the car at this point.

Finally, in line with my usual practice, the car needed to be be finished by adding weathering, using my technique with washes made from acrylic tube paint (see “Reference pages” at top right of this post). To the wash effects, I added a bit extra with  Pan Pastels, then oversprayed with a coat of flat. A few chalk marks and some route cards came last.

That these were durable cars is shown by the 1953 Official Railway Equipment Register, showing 293 cars, all in the rebuilt number series, 34 years after they were built. I am pleased to have one in my fleet, and pleased to have completed another of Richard’s last projects.

Tony Thompson