Walthers Difco Dump Cars

I see that these are now announced.
Can anybody please advise:-
- when these were first introduced?
- if the UP Green scheme is legit?
- if the DRGW ever used them as I can't find any evidence of them doing so in my books
Thanks in advance.

 

Yep! In fact, in a WP DVD I have at home, there is a scene of a string of Diffco cars dumping rock (rip-rap) to reinforce an area in the Feather River Canyon. Some D&RGW, some other roads. That means that they lasted well into the UP era in their original paint.

 

Where did you see that they were announced? The only ones I know of are last years run.

 

www.walthers.com -->New Announcements-->Announced April 2007

Also BN and others....woohoo!

Well, the UP green is their standard MOW paint. I admit I've never seen a UP Difco but I'm about 99% sure they exist...if nothing else as former Rio Grande or SP or the like.

 

I have seen MOW green side dumps before. I will look and see if I have a picture when I get home. If i remember correctly some have CNW reporting marks, but I may be mistaken.

 

Sorry this isn't the greatest shot but here is a Rio Grande difco shot at Yarmony last summer.


Here is the train. You might be able to make out the UP cars just above the radiators on the engines. You can see they are light green.

 

Last years run? I didnt know any had hit the shops yet. I know they were due last year.
Jeff

 

They haven't arrived yet unless in the past day or so. Walthers had a sample on display at WGH Fort Worth and they looked pretty nice. Typical Walthers quality...not super great but OK.

 

Including ARR!
.. and since they were so late delivering the 1st run, I can still cancel the undecs I had on order destined for ARR paint.

 

Nelson, you and I were thinking along the same lines! I ordered a bunch of undecs for the same reason.

 

I was hoping for Mopac in the MOW green scheme, but the UPs will be easy enough to change.

 

?

Do you guys know what year these cars started to appear on RR's? 1950's- 60's?
Thanks,
Tom

 

Question: "Do you guys know what year these cars started to appear on RR's? 1950's- 60's?"

I looked in my Santa Fe book, Work Equipment Cars by W. W. Childers, Santa Fe Modelers Organization Inc (1993). It shows air-operated side dump cars built as early as 1903. The general working of the early cars looks the same as the Walthers model, however the ribs are different.
P.179 shows a car that looks identical to the Walthers model, GA-209 #186259MW, built 1981.

I remember my Lionel O gauge sets in 1953 or 1954 had an operating dump car with lines similar to the Walthers model, through not identical. So I guess these cars have been around a long time...

 

It seems to me that these models are some of the later versions of the Difco cars... after 1960's. The paint schemes also appear to be more modern... they have that rectangular black reporting stencil.

 

Looked at 2 CPR air dumps, they have a built date of 10/29!

 

Hemi??? Any pictures?

Thanks.