I Had To Have It: InterMountain HO Scale Borax Hopper
These past five years or so I have tried to make the overall
look of my 1956-era Citrus Belt Railway Company more prototypical. To that end
I have been eliminating many pieces of rolling stock that had special, overly gaudy
paint schemes. Most of these cars were based on actual prototypes. The problem
was that having too many of these cars on the railroad was not prototypical. A
look at period photos of freight yards will confirm this.
Then InterMountain offered a Pacific Coast Borax Company two-bay
hopper in bright yellow with a twenty-mule team graphic. The very definition of
a special, overly gaudy paint scheme. I had to have it…if it was prototypical.
Thankfully, an inquiry on the Real Steam Era Freight Car
Discussion Group (A great resource for modelers) produced a quick answer with a
photo. STMFC discussions noted that five cars, series NAHX 30514-30518, were
leased to Pacific Coast Borax. At least one of these cars had the paint scheme
seen in the model photo below and that was documented by a prototype photo. Frank
Hodina brought the photo to the attention of Ed Hawkins, who shared the photo
with the group:
The car on my railroad would be three years old so I plan to
only lightly weather it before putting it in service.
Yes, it’s gaudy…but I had to have it.
Bob Chaparro
Hemet, CA
