The MOW Horse Car…..part 1


DSC_0424It started just over a year ago, Joe D’Amato at Micro Trains asked me to go to the Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler to shoot a derelict old Maintenance of Way car with three doors on the sides and an end that opened the entire width of the car.

SPMW 5984 was built in 1937 by the St. Louis Car Company and was numbered 7241, and later 4300.

While the real car is an 80 foot car, MTL decided to model it as a 70 foot car. Even though it is ten feet shorter than it should be, the details are there. For me, having a small layout, the missing ten feet is actually a blessing, making it look better on a tighter radius.

I have a Bachmann crane and tender, so I decided that adding in the horse car in it’s beat up, 1980’s MOW look would be perfect for an emergency break down train. While the Bachmann tender is not right, the crane and the horse car tie in well together. The tender is going to be the challenge, but it should be worth it.

I just picked up my horse car, in NYC paint (I know).  The roof pops right off, there is a large weight and “glass” windows inside and the underside holds in the steps/stirrups. Disassembly is easy, getting the stirrups back in, well, I decided that it can wait for the car to be gray….more to come

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