First question, Who makes tractors, trailers and decals for the 50's and 60's? Second question, Is there a thread here about how to tie down the trailers. thanks Mophead
Here is some help for the first question: Classic Metal Works has the IH R-190 that was introduced in the early 1950s, and continued in production until the mid 1960s. The Athearn Mack Model B had a similar production history. GHQ has a 1953 Kenworth Bullnose semi-tractor available, and the GHQ Peterbilt 359 is OK back to 1967. Detail Associates has a Needlenose Kenworth conventional semi-tractor and a White-Freightliner cab over semi tractor, but these models are not up to today's standards. There are a few others as well. Classic Metal Works has semi-trailers good for the 1950s, and Athearn and Trainworx have semi-tractors from the 1960s. Again, there are other trailers available as well. Microscale has a good selection of trailer (and some truck cab) decals that go back to the 1950s and 1960s. Carter
Ultimate N Scale http://www.ultimatenscale.com/ Fine N Scale http://www.finenscale.com/carsnscale.html Both will have the vehicles you are after. The Sept/Oct 2014 issue of N scale Magazine has the tie down article.
One thing to note is that the ACF Model A hitch was introduced in 1955. This was the first of the hitches that retracted flat and latched onto the trailer king pins when in the upright position eliminating all the jacks and tie downs. And by 1958, this hitch was on about half of the piggyback cars in service from the books I have on the subject. Not sure when the cars requiring the screw jacks and tie downs disappeared, but looking at how labor intensive these cars were, I bet it was not long afterwards though. The fun or frustrating(depending on your point of view on how close to the prototype your going for) is that intermodal was and is always changing to meet market demands. From rail cars to trailers and containers. You've chosen an interesting time period as you can intermingle both types of trailer restraint systems. Enjoy!
The ACF type A hitch was used with tie downs for many years after introduction depending on railroad. Tie down chains can be simulated with twisted micro wire or braided thread. The 50's into 60's probably brought more change in the trucking industry than any other point before our after. All CMW trucks would work for the era. This includes White COE and Superpower, IH R series and the Ford F800 series. Athearn made the Mack R and B series trucks. The B series would be very popular for the era while the R was introduced in the late 60's. GHQ makes several transition era trucks including a Peterbilt, White COE and Kenworth COE. All are must haves. Showcase makes a Mack B series and some round nosed trailers good for the late 50's. I would avoid the resin kits: Both Ultimate N Scale and Fine N Scale have vehicle lines, but the trucks can be WILDLY out of proportion. For example, the UNS White COE is at least 20% larger than the GHQ and CMW versions. The one exception I found was the UNS Federal tractor, which was about right once the wheels and chassis was replaced with GHQ parts. Trainworks and CMW will be your primary sources of trailers, but don't discount the cheap stuff. The Atlas 40 for trailer included in their 50'TOFC flat is actually a good representation of a fiberglass reinforced plywood FRP trailer tat was popular in the 60's. If you can find them, the old 20' exterior post trailers included with Minitrix TOFC cars was pretty good too. Don't forget the X post and sheet post trailers from Athearn. Bachmann has also just introduced a 35' x post trailer as well.
