John Hall_2
Image information
John's rendition of a Reading class GMk gondola in S scale. Reading 6974 was made by splicing two American Flyer gondolas together to get a 46’ car. A new center sill was made of Evergreen styrene and additional underbody details were added, as well as grab irons and stirrup steps. Andrews scale trucks are from Trains Stuff and #5 couplers are from Kadee. Kappler scale lumber was used for the floor.
Prototype Information: The Reading was allocated 500 class GMk gondolas by the USRA in 1919-1920, becoming number series 6950 – 7449. These were built by Standard Steel Car Company in Butler, PA at a cost of $3105.31 each. Although rated for 70 ton capacity when built, of the 89 still in service in 1958, seven were reduced to 50 ton capacity due to deteriorating center
sills. Between June 1953 and May 1955, 150 class GMk gondolas were transferred to non revenue service, painted freight car red and renumbered to 96300 – 96449, class GMkx, for use as Tie Cars. One hundred class GMk gondolas were converted to class GMkx Roadway Gondolas in 1953-1954, becoming number series 96500-96599. The last 9 class GMk were retired in May 1961.
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Downloads
A variety of Reading Company operations related documents, etc. that may be of use in your modeling efforts.
A variety of Reading Company operations paperwork, such as train orders, clearance forms, etc. that will help you operate your Reading layout in a prototypical manner.
Public Timetables, Employe Timetables, and Rulebooks that provide much useful operational information.
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