Erie #12649 by The-Anime-Railfan on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

A while ago I acquired three Accurail N&W 41' Gondolas for service on my freight trains. All seemed well...until they arrived. The mechanical operation and some cosmetic issues of the trio let me down significantly and I subsequently sold them. These cars, in Erie Markings, are their formal replacements. This is the Accurail #37554 Erie 41' Gondola 3-Pack. Well, Car #12649 of the three pack. The other two cars are unbuilt as of this post. In time they will be assembled.

After assembling my T&NO Gondola I wanted to try a different approach to this car's assembly. Boy howdy did I make the right choice. The included screws are 2-56 size. For the longest time I thought it was a specific or unique screw size. Having my 2-56 tap on hand really helped speed up the tapping process and now the screws go in a lot easier. The last one took me I think up to an hour to build, I think I had this one done in half the time.

This car also now features a new aftermarket part to enhance its appearance. It may not be visible from here but the gondola now has Cal-Scale #276 Air Hoses on both ends. A small part that I think greatly enhances the car's look, even though I ain't gonna be trimming the Kadee on the end. This is actually not the first car I assembled with the air hoses. The first car was actually the T&NO gondola, which were installed after my photo was taken.

The goal for this car in the future is light road weathering and a load.

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ADDITIONAL PARTS ADDED