Fox Valley Models Silverside Coal Gondola Fox Valley Models just released a new paint scheme (gray) and a new road name (Norfolk Southern) for its silverside coal gondola (which it initially released in June 2015). Since model train manufacturers do this type of thing on a regular basis, a re-release is in no way groundbreaking. It is, however, a perfect example of the lengths model trains makers will go to truly copy all aspects of prototypes. Here is a list of all items in this latest release. If you look closely at the product, the gray color has a kind of speckled look to it. Fox Valley calls this a "layered" paint finish and made a point of recreating this look based on prototype photos (taken by the company in 1991 in Dalton, Georgia). In 1990, Norfolk & Western Railway and Southern Railway merged and became Norfolk Southern Railway. When Norfolk Southern Corp painted its cars to carry the new NS logo, many of the gray cars had this layered paint look and could be seen hauling both domestic and export coal along the more than 36,000 route miles in 22 eastern states. We don't know why the cars looked like this (paint shortage? poor weather conditions?) but Fox Valley did an impressive job recreating the look of the actual prototype.
Below please find a revised version of our Fox Valley Models blog originally posted on March 6, 2017. We edited the post to reflect information received from FVM's Matt Gaudynski. Thank you for responding to my e-mail Matt. Fox Valley Releases NS Silverside Coal Gondola: Prototype Precision Silverside Coal Gondola from Fox Valley Models When railways merge, cars acquired because of the merger are branded with the new railway's identifying color(s) and logo. The condition and age of inherited cars impact these re-branding efforts. A good example of this: in 1982, Norfolk Southern inherited weathered, aluminum coal gondolas that had been in service for 20+ years under Southern Railway. When NS re-lettered these cars, it resulted in a speckled gray finish, something the Illinois-based model train manufacturer Fox Valley Models worked very hard to duplicate in its most recent release. Earlier this month, Fox Valley Models released a new paint scheme (gray) and a new road name (Norfolk Southern) for its silverside coal gondola (which it initially released in June 2015). These cars were called "silversides" on the Southern because they were the first large-scale order for an aluminum car. On its Facebook page, Fox Valley calls this a "layered" paint finish and made a point of recreating this look based on photos of the prototypes (taken by the company in 1991 in Dalton, Georgia). "These are aluminum cars that stayed silver for only part of their lives. Even before NS came along, Southern had to use white lettering on these cars as the aluminum started to turn more gray and the red or green lettering did not show up as well anymore," says Matt Gaudynski of Fox Valley Models. Among other commodities and products, NS transports domestic and export coal along more than 36,000 route miles in 22 eastern states. Here is a list of all items in this latest release.
