Back a couple years ago I posted about how OOldtimers like Fred Schorr and Pierre Bourassa had rebuilt Ulrich HO “war emergency” gondolas into OO models. At the end of that article are seen a pair of sides for these cars, which I have now built into models as well.

As I started in I thought these would be quick, easy models to build in the pandemic times. LOL! They took me well over a year to finish, working off and on. Still, it was an interesting build.

For my take on these models I used a variety of parts on hand. The frames are HO castings of some sort, applied to floor stock that I had made back in college or maybe high school! The ends are cut from HO plastic boxcar ends. The trucks are the Mantua/Tyco conversion HO trucks described in another recent post.

Decals took me ages to figure out as well. I could have taken a more simplistic approach but I really wanted to approximate correct lettering. I also thought about lettering them for the ATSF, but with them having taking so much effort to finish I opted for my Orient. People in the future will know I built them.

The final photo shows the models in comparison with the one built by Fred Schorr. Schorr and Bourassa both built their examples with loads, and that might have simplified the build a bit too.

In any case they look sharp and run great, even if somewhat underscale for OO.