More crate and box loads, Part 2

In a recent post, I showed how I made use of some hardwood offcuts that were mostly but not entirely square, to make shipping box or crate loads suitable for gondolas or flat cars. I showed one of them loaded in a gondola. But more needed to be done on this project: the third of the three loads hadn’t been finished. To read that previous post, see this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/11/more-about-making-crate-and-box-loads.html .

The first additional task to describe is finishing the third and largest of the three loads. As was described for the the other two crates, in the previous post (link above), it was made to “sit square” by adding a styrene support underneath to level it. Then scale 1 x 10-inch styrene strip was glued to the bottom of the sides to conceal the angled cut on that part, and likewise around the top, using canopy glue. Finally, a piece of sheet styrene was glued to the top, since its end grain simply couldn’t be adequately concealed with modeler’s putty.

As a reminder, this box is 1.25 inches high and1.5 inches long. Some of the sanded areas of putty can be seen above as lighter areas. Then the crate was painted again, using the same Tamiya “Haze Grey” (TS-32) as before.

Another feature that needs to be present on such a load is a means of securing the crate to the freight car. In later years, steel banding was very widely used for this purpose, but at the time I model, 1953, only some photographs show banding used to secure this kind of a load. For crates like these, a common hold-down method was lengths of timber that could be spiked or lag-screwed down to the wood car deck of the flat car or gondola, and also bolted to the crate. In HO scale, I usually use scale 6 x 6-inch stripwood.

Lastly, labeling matters too. No doubt there were unmarked crates and boxes shipped like this, but marked ones are not only more interesting, but they add to the information in the accompanying waybill. I show two examples below. One is the familiar electrical equipment distributor, Graybar, at that time headquartered in Chicago. The other is a Naval Supply Depot, which would ship materials to other depots, or would move parts for repair or upgrade to contractors.

Finally, the larger crate was given timber hold-downs and a label for “Square D” circuit breakers, and operated on the layout, as a flat car load. This is shown below. Like all these new loads, this crate represents something well over the size that could be loaded through a box car door, at least in 1953, and is thus appropriate for open-top cars. (You can click on the image to enlarge it if you wish.)

Completing these three large crates or shipping boxes adds to the versatility of open-car loads that can be moved in layout operating sessions, and as such, are welcome additions to my load inventory.

Tony Thompson