Lumber traffic to Florida was common given the growth of the state during the 1960s, so it would be a certainty to have at least one or two cars in this service type on my roster.
As a young modeler, I was aware of the Athearn Genesis release of the PC&F 50' models beginning in 2005, and while I certainly wanted a smattering of them, I never bought any because there wasn't a lot of coverage of the prototypes and their range. Recently, I acquired two models of the Athearn Genesis G4300 PC&F smooth side boxcars and this became an interesting foray into learning about why I need these cars.
Lee Gautreaux aka the Railgoat hosts an amazing amount of information on all things SP, SSW, and other railroads of interest (http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/bytype/box/evergreen.htm). Lee covers four of the Evergreen classes which included the B70-38, B70-44, B70-51, and B70-65. The two models I purchased were intended to be used a Western Fruit Express cars, but the details eliminated those cars as options due to prototype variations (welded panels vs. riveted panels).
With that in mind, EFCX 2269 was selected as the basis for the model. It is a member of the B70-38 class (EFCX 1000-2900) of insulated boxcars constructed by Pacific Car and Foundry in 1966-1967. These cars were equipped with Hydracushion underframes and were rated at 70-tons. The B70-38 series were 4961 cubic feet and equipped with a 10'6" plug door.
So here came another, "Look Squirrel" moment, and in the process I quickly ordered the needed parts to get an Evergreen Freight Car Corporation example on the roster. In short order, the Genesis model best represents a GN prototype due to the inset sill, lack of visible bolts at the bolsters and along the sill edge, but otherwise it's close. The decals were available via Microscale's Minical set (87-4310) and the trucks were identified as Barber S-2-A 70 ton trucks equipped with roller bearings. An order of Athearn Genesis 70-ton trucks (ATHG 4596) was sent to replace the included trucks which were not correct for the EFCX 1000-2900 series. The model built quickly, but as with an older kit, some upgrades were made along the way. I replaced the included "Modern" brake wheel with a Kadee 2025 equivalent, and completed construction with some Evergreen styrene .020" rod to replace a cross over grab iron that was damaged. The next task was to identify the car color and after examining several "clean" examples, I began the process of getting it close. The availability of a correct color makes this a modeling project, and while I'd love to have a bottle of EFCX Green available, there wasn't an option other than to begin mixing colors to get in the range. The horseshoes and hand grenades approach was used until I got it close and ultimately the masses will let me know if I didn't get it correct, but looking at the images and adjusting for film degradation, ambient light, and time, I determined a 1:1 mixture of Tamiya XF26 and XF71 was close enough for me to represent a freshly painted car.
The paint matching process from left to right. Taken under incandescent lighting with an iPhone camera. The center color was selected for use on this model.
The underframe was painted with Tamiya XF63 German Gray and the roof was painted with a mixture of XF63 and XF20 to lighten it. The gray galvanized steel roofs certainly contrast with the green sides of these models. Once dry, the roof was sanded lightly with 3500 grit sand paper to remove any inclusions and a dark oil wash was applied. The underframe will be installed once decaling has been completed, and then finally the roof applied.
The model was washed with warm soapy water, dried, and a light coat of Alclad 302 Primer was applied to give uniform color to the model. The primer was allowed to dry and airbrushed with the mixture of XF26 Deep Green and XF71 Cockpit Green. The mixture can be adjusted for lighter cars by adding more XF71 as necessary.
