NEB&W Guide to Bowser Rolling Stock Models

Last Update: 2008-11-16

• Preface
  • Read Me First!
• Box Cars
  
• Stock Cars
  
• Flats
  
• Gons
  
• Hoppers
  
• Covered Hoppers
  
• Cabooses

Hoppers

• GLa Twin Hopper Cars
  
• Fishbelly Side Ribbed Twin Hoppers

• Triple Offset Hoppers
• 100 Ton Modern Triple Hoppers

• H21 Quad Hopper Cars With Clamshell Hoppers
  
• H21 Quad Hopper Cars With Modernized Hoppers
  
• H22 Hoppers
  
• 100 Ton Modern Triple Hoppers

Covered Hoppers

• ACF-Type Two Bay Covered Hoppers With Triangular Cutout Sides
  
• ACF-Type Two Bay Covered Hoppers With Closed Sides
  

Bowser specializes in PRR equipment, and since the PRR was the largest road in terms of rolling stock c. 1950 (more than one out of every 10 cars in the country were Pennsy), this covers a lot of ground. A number of roads followed PRR designs, but many more got them second hand Pennsy cars in the '50's or later, so you have to be careful about this in regards to era.

More recently Bowser purchased the entire Stewart line which feature prototypes outside the Pennsy world. And Bowser's twin bay covered hoppers are based on a de facto industry standard.

By the way, according to Ken McCorry (Central Region Northern Division PRR), the PRR's shadow keystone logo was adopted in April 4, 1954. (The circle keystone dates back to 1930, and almost all of the lettering for PRR's subsidiaries was changed to just "Pennsylvania" c. 1920.)

Ben Hom questioned the steam-era box car red. He pointed that: "Early runs of these kits (as well as the Class H21/H22 quads and Class GS gons) were painted in a very brown shade of freight car color. This one is subjective due to the fact that the top two questions guaranteed to start a fist fight among Pennsy modelers are a) 'What color is freight car color?' and b) 'What color is Dark Green Locomotive Enamel, aka Brunswick Green?'. All opinions aside, a look at Pennsy color pictures taken in the 1940's and 50's (my favorite source - Don Ball's book) show freight car color tends towards orange. To give Bowser some credit, later runs of the X31 and X32 kits, as well as the current run of the X33 and X31f kits are painted in a freight car color closer to the historical record."

Hom also pointed that the lettering "is just flat out wrong. The 'Pennsylvania' reporting marks on all runs of Circle Keystone (CK) scheme Class X31 kits, including the new run of X31f's, are in the incorrect font and size. This particular mistake is inexcusable because a) the manufacturer consistently makes this mistake; b) the CK reporting marks are correct on the 50 ft X32 and X33 kits, and c) Bowser is located in Pennsylvania, for God's sake!"

Andy Harman said that oven cleaner is the ticket for stripping paint from the Bowser kits. Alcohol might work, but oven cleaner will work better and faster. This only applies to Bowser, because they use Scalecoat II formula type paint. Or at least they did, when he successfully stripped them with oven cleaner.