PRR 382320 Close-Up
 
52-foot gondola, Pennsylvania (PRR 382320).  This TrainCat etched brass kit was for the most part assembled as designed, with some minor modifications.  The end yokes were fabricated from styrene and designed to accept Micro-Trains 1015 couplers, while the bolsters and first cross beams also were modified to accept Micro-Trains Andrews trucks.  A steel wire brake shaft with Gold Medal brakewheel was used in place of the kit components for added strength, and BLMA stainless steel grab irons were used in place of the etched brass ones.  The car was decorated as part of class G22, with custom decals created with CorelDraw and output to an Alps printer.  The Andrews trucks, stand-ins for the PRR Crown trucks on which the G22 gondolas ran, were molded in freight car red rather than black and fitted with Fox Valley wheelsets.  The coupler boxes were attached to the underfloor with Walthers Goo due to the thin floor being inadequate to hold a screw.  If necessary, I'll devise another way to hold the coupler boxes in place.