Silver Crash Car Works
Joe,
Being an individual who attempts to learn so I can avail myself of the resources, I have been on a steep learning curve with the arrival of MRH Issue ten. I have been able to view all of the video logs from the NMRA Convention that you have posted and they are great, plus I was able to learn a lot that was only covered in those logs you and the MRH team produced. Thank you for moving all of that data out of Convention Hall and on to the screens of the model railroaders of the (our) world. I especially appreicated the RSS Feed video for slow, old guys. The more of that type of training will allow me, at least, to be able to find more information faster and increase my model railroad saturation level by not wasting so much time in searching for the information.
Reference the Silver Crash Car Works Company resin kits for TOC models. This operation has been in development for the past two years and after a steep learning curves, the two owners, Art and Adrian Hundhausen have developed the working knowledge in preparing excellent Masters for their casting team to produce cars in quantity and quality that is outstanding. I assist the development by research of the cars that we can confirm rode the rails of the Colorado Midland Railway at the Turn of the Century (TOC) 1900, with most of the cars built by the AC&F predecessor companies (St. Charles, Ensign, Ohio Falls, Peninsular, Michigan, etc.) and the Pullman Company. When this process started in 2008 the thought was these cars were unique to the Colorado Midland, we quickly found out from the research that in fact most of the railroads of the era purchased their cars from the major commercial car builders with minor specification changes such as having the purchasing railroads initials or logo cast into all of the metal parts and different locations for grab irons, door type, (sliding, Wagner (plug door), Moore door, and the number of lumber doors in the ends (A & B, A only, B only) roofwalks (single board, triple board) etc.
Railroads using these cars produced by SCCW include: CM, SP Atl & Pac Sys, AT&SF, UP, Rock Island, MP, NYC, LS&MS, CH&D, B&O, NO&NE, MKT, SLSF, NP, GN, CB&Q, B&MR, DT&NO, UPD&G, D&RG, RGW, CP, NY,C&StL,
The quality of the castings themselves have improved over time to the point that they are easily sanded to the correct thickness using medium sandpaper glued to a flat surface The quality allows construction of fleet at a rate of 2 to 3 hours per car when building the cars in numbers.
The results of the research on the use of various railroads and private owner versions of the kits are covered in the instructions. If a purchaser has a specific question, contact SCCW and in most cases the photos used in the research effort URL's can be provided so the modeler can take advantage of the data found to develop the accurate kit being worked. All of the decal truck sources have been worked and provided by the research teams with the model descriptions on the SCCW website. All of the instruction sheets are reviewed by at least one "outsider" who has not been involved in the kit development to ensure that the instruction step and detail actually can be understood by an "average" modeler.
I do a lot of the research effort to ensure the released car traversed the CM rails and then provide the "outside eyes" on the instruction sheet.
If you are a TOC modeler, I would recommend the products of the SCCW for your perusal
