SP F-50-11,-13,-14 (Part 1) Flatcar Kitbashing

It's been a busy year 2022.  I'm sorry I've not really had much chance to write new blogs on what I've been doing.  The following post is one that I last worked on from October 2021.  Most of the content actually comes from about 2018.  I recently did a little decal applications to the F-50-11 class cars with new CAPY, LD LMT, LT WT stenciling, and tare station codes.  I'll probably put the new upgrades into F-50-11.-13.-14 Flatcars (Part 2) in the near future.

SP 50+ Foot Flatcars

This post starts a new series of posts on SP Flatcars of the Late Steam Era (approximately 1940-1955).  I've started with an overview index of the various classes of cars the SP had during that time in regular service and in large numbers, large enough to justify when building a fleet of say, 100 flatcars. 

SP 49592, kitbashed F-50-14 with scratch built heavy bridge timber load.

I've posted a blog page with the Index info for Freight Cars - SP Flatcars (Part 1) Overview of what the SP prototype fleet had, and what models we could use to model them, with and without kitbashing.

Fleet Breakdown

First, let's look at these 50ft & 52ft cars compared to the overall fleet numbers of general service cars in say, 1950.

SP Fleet Total = 5825 in 1950.

F-50-11 = 95 SP
F-50-13 = 295 SP
Totaling: 390 SP (6.7%), obviously about 1:3 ratio of -11s to -13s)

F-50-14 = 50 T&NO, 344 SP
Totaling: 50 T&NO (~0.8%), 344 SP (5.9%)

If we're assuming a 100 car fleet, then this will be:
2 SP F-50-11
5 SP F-50-13
1 T&NO F-50-14
6 SP F-50-14
Total: 14 cars

I'm rounding down the extra fractional SP F-50-13 so we can get the T&NO F-50-14.

F-50-11/13 Kitbashes - Tichy Parts

About 20 years ago I made the first conversions of these 50ft flatcars.  Originally, these two kitbashes were designed to be SPMW 1140 and 2057, both A-50-series automobiles cars that were cut down to be flatcars.

My SPMW 2057 model as it appeared in 2011. Notice the stake pockets are starting to shed.

  I built them originally using MDC 50ft single sheet boxcars as the guide.  However, over the years after I built them, the fact that both these prototype cars were rebuilt for maintenance-of-way (MW) service in 1954 has started to bother me, as I want cars in service during the 1949-1952 time frame where possible.

OwlMtModels 40ft 10in, SPMW 3605, a 1944 retired F-50-5 class car.

With OwlMtModels releasing proper models for F-50-5/8/9 and -10/12, I can now model some of the older cars which did go to SPMW service before 1952 and better fit my era.  This shifting of available prototypically correct models will allow me to move these cars back into a major hole in the revenue fleet.

First F-50-11 - SP 43131 (Ex-SPMW 2057 Model)

In 2017, I shopped the SPMW 2057 and started working on replacing the damaged stake pockets.  Funny what years of operations and knocking around in public parts of the La Mesa Club will do to a car's details.  Sadly, the separately applied stake pockets, especially with wooden stakes in them, didn't last very long.

Left side of the repatched SP 43131. 2018

Most of this rebuilding will simply consist of getting the new stake pockets welded to the body without any old paint between them.  Retouching the paint, which before was basically only reporting marks for SPMW service.  Now that OwlMtModels has the #1210 SP and Era D decal set for their F-50-series flatcars, while it's not for the F-50-11/13/14, but at least it's close to the right capacity weights, etc. it's a better starting point than anything else I know of at this point.  I'll probably cut up the "F-50-10" and some fragments of "F-50-4" or "F-50-12" to make up the "F-50-11" and "F-50-14" lettering that I need.  The length lettering might be a bit harder to scavenge, but I'll think of something.

Right side of the redecalled SP 43131. 2018

Unfortunately, one problem in using the Tichy sides is, it's not going to be easy to move the stake pockets over the trucks out to the correct spacing.  So these will at best be stand-in models for the F-50-11 and -13 class cars.

Second F-50-11 - SP 43114 (Ex-SPMW 1140 Model)

The second F-50-11, is the near twin of the SPMW 2057, the SPMW 1140 - ex-A-50-series auto-car, which underwent the same process of being built for SPMW, but then in 2017 being returned to be upgraded as a revenue car again and put back into service as an F-50-11 flatcar.

SPMW 1140 working as a boom tender for SPMW 4049 25-ton crane in 2011.

Left side of SP 43114 being redecaled and rebuilt in 2018.

As with the SP 43131, the 43114 has had a number of its stake pockets knocked off over the last 15 years of service.  Replacement Tichy parts will be applied after I scrape away the old glue and paint.

Right side of SP 43114 being patched, rebuilt, and redecaled in 2018.

New decals from OwlMtModels 1210 & Era-D decals set are going to be used to replace the patched reporting marks and capacity data to more closely match the prototype photos.

F-50-14 Tichy Kitbashes

First SP F-50-14 Kitbash

One car that I built specifically to be a revenue service flatcar is the SP 49592, which started life as SP 80247, which is actually an F-70-5 number, which is best modeled with an SP Models (SPHTS F-70-6/7, with thinner endsills).  The kitbashed F-50-14 was corrected in 2015 by renumbering the car SP 49592, as seen in the patched decal below, which has not been re-weathered yet.  The car still needs length and class stencils, but those are not offered commercially as of 2022 in any set I know of.

SP 49592, F-50-14 kitbashed from Tichy 40ft parts.

Proto 2000 trucks were used on this model.  The load of treated bridge timbers is hand made for this car, and has the car number listed on the bottom of the load.  The load is removable.

SP 49592 with a heavy bridge timber load

As you can see below, the car is packed with weight, so it can operate in large trains without the load and not have any problems derailing.

Underside of Tichy kitbashed F-50-14, originally SP 80247, which was not the correct number for this class.

The car uses kitbashed AB brake parts and uses Tichy parts for the four cross stringers.

Second F-50-14 - SP 49488

In 2017 I stared building another proper 52ft long F-50-14 from Tichy parts.

SP 49488, an F-50-14 also being built from Tichy parts.

The SP 49488 has no more than maybe two 2-3 hour days of light kitbashing assembly work into it in the above photo.  A new fabricated underframe will have to be designed and built up for this model along with a couple of NP 52ft flatcar kitbashes I'm working on as well.

Additional Honorable Kitbash Mentions

SPMW 5879 - Ex-F-50-14

The SPMW 5879 and Burro Crane SPO-257 was kitbashed to match a photo in Bruce Petty's Southern Pacific Maintenance of Way book.  I believe this exact configuration was from about 1957, but it's such a cool car I decided in about 1998 to kitbash one.

The SPMW 5879 was kitbashed to match a photo in Bruce Petty's SP Maintenance of Way book

The flatcar was again kitbashed from about 1.2 Tichy flatcar kits and the Burro's a Custom Finishing kit with a cheap toy crane boom replacing the finely etched, but incorrect (for the SPO-257) boom.

The rails on the deck are from the Walthers car float model, with wheel stops hand cut from sheet styrene, and the two large I-beam bulkheads added at the end of the car are Evergreen structural shapes.  I believe the tool box is from the Tichy Boom Tender kit.

Well, that wraps it up for F-50-11, -13, -14 Flatcars (Part 1).  We'll be coming back next time with more flatcar blog-posts soon!

Jason Hill

Related Articles:

Freight Cars - SP Flatcars Index Overview Page

Modeling SPMW Supply Train (Part 1) - Overview

Modleing SPMW Supply Train (Part 2) - Caboose