I want to build a couple of these to throw in my Santa Fe grain train. I couldn't seem to find decals unless I'm missing them. Was wondering if anyone out there has built any??? Pics if you got em.
I used the standard Microscale '72 billboard set and some black numbers, etc. from misc. other Microscale sets. If you're looking for a 'CONDITIONAIRE' decal, it isn't made, but you can do it with individual black alphabets. It works. Also used some black striping to get the data decals done right. I've got some good pictures of mine, I'll reload them to the server and post them later. The real trick is modifying the car with the reefer equipment, fuel tank, etc. that really make it stand out. I also painted the surface of the car in latex paint and sprinkled on fine sand to get that Styrofoam look to it, and also to get a rougher surface that accumulated all the incredible crud these cars did. They looked good for a couple days, by the time they had made a few trips they were in the worst surface condition imaginable. They are a cool car to model but the prototypes were pretty much of a complete failure. They didn't make it for oranges - turned into a giant juicer. I think they were moved into potato service. Died an early and ugly death, but I still did one. The Morning Sun 'color guide to ATSF equipment' has some wonderful shots of the 'before and after' looks. I don't think the cars were ever put into the grain pool; they were scrapped early.
Waiting for pics. It will be a nice unique car to have and be a nice one to weather. Did they run unit trains of these?
Here you go: ATSF had 100 of these cars starting in 1972, not aware of any use in unit train service, but later in their careers the 'Color Guide' says they were used in general grain service. The 1980 photo is so badly weathered you're not entirely sure it is even still orange, it's sort of a dirty white with orange spots. That's an old Atlas because that's all that was available; there are better cars out there now for detail. Fuel tank, filler hole, refrigeration unit added, etc. Prototype shot about in the same condition: http://www.digitalfox.com/digitalfox/Conditionaire/ATSF/atsf101438.jpg
The fun will be to reproduce the exterior finish of the car. To insulate it, they simply sprayed foam insulation on the outside of a regular car, hence the rough appearance. I can't imagine that it would have been long lasting if they had adopted the cars. There were 100 cars in the GA-178 class, and all were removed by 1978, so they had a short life. The book the Santa FE Modelers published on mechanical refrigerator cars notes that the paint on the cars weathered to a dull pink over time.
I found a thread on the old Atlas board that had one of the members touring...Barstow? and there were pictures of two of the GA-178's at the reefer fuel rack in what he says was 1981 or something, which seems rather impossible, and the cars were still primarily orange rather than ugly, rusty, whitish-pink. That Styrofoam layer wasn't only soft and held paint poorly, but it appears to have done a wonderful job of soaking up water like a sponge and rusting the bejeesus out of the car sides, creating a structural flaw that shortened the car life greatly. My 'rolled in sand' approach is coarser than it probably should be, but the texture is what it is all about.
