Reworking a PFE car kit, Part 2

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have had occasional suggestions about this blog, that I write about PFE car models more often. I’ve now begun one such description, making changes to a Red Caboose kit. I gave the background, and a prototype photo, in the first post. That previous post is here: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2026/05/reworking-pfe-car-kit.html .

The kit is generally well designed, and I like to build it in sub-assemblies, as I think the manufacturer intended. First is the roof, a moderately complicated assembly, being a reefer. It has 20 parts in all. I show the completed roof below. 

Next, I chose to complete the underframe. I always find the placement of the cross-bearers in these kits a little tedious, and the center sills never seem to fit without some fiddling. I drilled out the coupler box lids so that the entire coupler assembly can be tapped for 2-56 screws. The kit includes K brakes, appropriate for these cars after their 1937–1940 reconditioning, but in 1949–1951, all were reconditioned again, this time getting AB brakes, so I dipped into the parts stash and added those brake parts.  

One can note in the prototype photo of PFE 98444 in the previous post, even with the low angle from which the photo was taken, that brake piping and rodding is invisible, due to the center sill. I chose accordingly not to add any of those details. This is, in practical terms, a layout model.  Even so, if one counts the coupler box screws, the underframe assembly contains 29 parts (before adding the six sill steps).

Below is the completed underbody, with the car body in the background, with its interior now painted to eliminate translucence (Tamiya “German Grey,” TS-4).  

I wasn’t sure the color of the car ends matched the roof (though Red Caboose colors were generally pretty accurate), so oversprayed them with Star “SP/UP Freight Car Red” (STR-30), then applied decals from the excellent Microscale set 87-501, containing Dick Harley’s fine artwork. As you see below, detail parts had not yet been installed on these ends. At the time of the 1950 paint scheme, wood-sheathed ends still received the 7-inch lettering you see here.

The car number was chosen as part of the 97,000 series, as I didn’t have a model in that series. Long ago, I conceived the idea of having about one PFE model car for each thousand prototype PFE cars, a fleet of nearly 40,000 cars at the time I model. I haven’t been rigid about this, but use it as a guideline.

With the amount of detail on the sides quite minimal on this kit (just add grab irons and a ladder to each side), I decided to start applying decals to the sides. I used the Microscale set mentioned above. Many modelers wait until all detail parts are applied and the car completed before lettering, but I often letter at an intermediate state if it suits the model. 

The car is now well along, and I will describe its completion and weathering in a following post.

Tony Thompson