weathering and name change on kit

[doctorwayne]

Hi Eric. I was hunting for the thread concerning the cars which I did (a very generous gift from a friend) because I couldn't remember how I'd removed the lettering.

You can check it out HERE

These cars were a pre-war design, but the majority of them (I think) were built during WWII, as a measure to save steel for the war effort. Many were rebuilt afterwards with steel sides replacing the wood (similar to some pre-war versions of the car, which were built new with the outside bracing, but steel sides). Here's an example:



The outside of wood cars seemed to last fairly well if they were regularly maintained, but coal hoppers, steel or wood, took a beating internally, both from the abrasive action of the coal and from its acidic nature, too.

If you model the cars with stone loads, about half-full would be appropriate - crushed stone is much denser than coal.
From trackside, they appear to be empty:



...but you can't fool Barney Secord
:



Wayne