This kit profile is for Walthers 75' TTX flat car (Walthers 3950). The kit was produced in the early 1990s. It is now out of production but can be found after some searching on the secondary markets. The particular version I have is undecorated:
![]()
Online Resources:
- General information on PRR F39 class flat cars and some modeling notes:
http://prr.railfan.net/freight/classpage.html?class=F39
- General information on PRR and TTX F39 flat cars:
http://www.mountvernonshops.com/F39.html
- Mont Switzer's article on upgrading and detailing the Walthers kit to an ATTX prototype (which also contains a lot of useful information and techniques for modeling the TTX F39s):
http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/31/2289/july-2007-page-49
Offline Resources:
Gatewood & Buchan, 2009, Pennsylvania Railroad Flat Cars: Revenue & Work Equipment, 1881 to 1968
Switzer, Mainline Modeler July 2005 page 22, F39A Piggyback FlatCar, Trailer Train Company
Switzer, Mainline Modeler August 2005 page 56, F39 Piggyback Flat, Part Two
Keating & Panza, RMC July 1990 page 60, Pennsy's Truc-Train F39A
January 1958 ORER Information:
The January 1958 ORER lists F39s in 7 items under Trailer Train Company. The cars all carried FC mechanical designations and TTX markings:
The dimensional data were:
IL 75'
IW 8' 10"
OL 75' 8"
EW 10' 8"
EH 8' 4" (except 470900 to 470909 and 470910 to 470929 were listed as 7')
Capacity 716 square feet, 125,000 lbs.
The Home Points were listed as:
For the Pennsylvania R.R. System:
Chicago Ill.
Cleveland O.
East St. Louis Ill.
Kearny N.J.
Pittsburgh Pa.
For the Norfolk & Western Ry. System:
Bristol Va.
Roanoke Va.
Winston-Salem N.C.
For the Missouri-Kansas-Texas R.R. Co.:
Dallas Tex.
Houston (Eureka Yard) Tex.
Kansas City (Glen Park Yard) Mo.
Oklahoma City Okla.
Parsons Kans.
St. Louis (Baden Yard) Mo.
For the Missouri Pacific R.R. Co.:
Houston Tex.
Little Rock Ark.
St. Louis Mo.
For the St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co.:
St. Louis Mo.
For the Boston & Maine R.R.:
Boston Mass.
For the Chicago Burlington & Quincy R.R.
Chicago Ill.
Council Bluffs Ia.
East St. Louis Ill.
Kansas City Mo.
Minneapolis Minn.
St. Louis Mo.
St. Paul Minn.
For the Wabash R.R.:
Buffalo N.Y.
Chicago Ill.
Detroit Mich.
St. Louis Mo.
The Kit:
The kit is comprised mostly of injection-molded styrene with fairly thick and brittle castings. The parts count is under 50; the kit was designed for simplicity of construction rather than for fidelity to prototype detail and fine-scale reproduction of detail. In this photograph, the black sprue at upper left contains the parts for the ACF-design trailer hitch while the yellow sprues contain the parts for the car itself:
![]()
This photograph shows the molded on coupler pocket on the underside of the car. Modifications will be necessary to install scale-width draft gear:
![]()
This photograph shows the side rails, the cast-on hand brake stand, and the cast-on stirrup step and grab iron (Mont Switzer recommends removing the latter three items):
![]()
The car deck is actually pretty nice with the exposed centersill and bolster and reasonable texture on the wood planking, although the end detail needs extensive rework per Switzer's article:
![]()
The trucks provided with the kit are a roller-bearing design (not discussed in Hendrickson's handout):
![]()
I plan on finishing this kit as a TTX F39a using the upgrading techniques described by Switzer. With two 35' trailers and an ACF Model A hitch (http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/227/16727/may-2001-page-25) this car should make a really nice late-1957 time marker.
Charles Hostetler
Goshen, Ind.
Online Resources:
- General information on PRR F39 class flat cars and some modeling notes:
http://prr.railfan.net/freight/classpage.html?class=F39
- General information on PRR and TTX F39 flat cars:
http://www.mountvernonshops.com/F39.html
- Mont Switzer's article on upgrading and detailing the Walthers kit to an ATTX prototype (which also contains a lot of useful information and techniques for modeling the TTX F39s):
http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/31/2289/july-2007-page-49
Offline Resources:
Gatewood & Buchan, 2009, Pennsylvania Railroad Flat Cars: Revenue & Work Equipment, 1881 to 1968
Switzer, Mainline Modeler July 2005 page 22, F39A Piggyback FlatCar, Trailer Train Company
Switzer, Mainline Modeler August 2005 page 56, F39 Piggyback Flat, Part Two
Keating & Panza, RMC July 1990 page 60, Pennsy's Truc-Train F39A
January 1958 ORER Information:
The January 1958 ORER lists F39s in 7 items under Trailer Train Company. The cars all carried FC mechanical designations and TTX markings:
| Start | End | Class | Number |
| 470400 | 470599 | F39 | 200 |
| 470600 | 470749 | F39a | 150 |
| 470750 | 470799 | F39b | 50 |
| 470800 | 470899 | F39a | 100 |
| 470900 | 470909 | F39b | 10 |
| 470910 | 470929 | F39a | 20 |
| 470930 | 471229 | F39c | 300 |
The dimensional data were:
IL 75'
IW 8' 10"
OL 75' 8"
EW 10' 8"
EH 8' 4" (except 470900 to 470909 and 470910 to 470929 were listed as 7')
Capacity 716 square feet, 125,000 lbs.
The Home Points were listed as:
For the Pennsylvania R.R. System:
Chicago Ill.
Cleveland O.
East St. Louis Ill.
Kearny N.J.
Pittsburgh Pa.
For the Norfolk & Western Ry. System:
Bristol Va.
Roanoke Va.
Winston-Salem N.C.
For the Missouri-Kansas-Texas R.R. Co.:
Dallas Tex.
Houston (Eureka Yard) Tex.
Kansas City (Glen Park Yard) Mo.
Oklahoma City Okla.
Parsons Kans.
St. Louis (Baden Yard) Mo.
For the Missouri Pacific R.R. Co.:
Houston Tex.
Little Rock Ark.
St. Louis Mo.
For the St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co.:
St. Louis Mo.
For the Boston & Maine R.R.:
Boston Mass.
For the Chicago Burlington & Quincy R.R.
Chicago Ill.
Council Bluffs Ia.
East St. Louis Ill.
Kansas City Mo.
Minneapolis Minn.
St. Louis Mo.
St. Paul Minn.
For the Wabash R.R.:
Buffalo N.Y.
Chicago Ill.
Detroit Mich.
St. Louis Mo.
The Kit:
The kit is comprised mostly of injection-molded styrene with fairly thick and brittle castings. The parts count is under 50; the kit was designed for simplicity of construction rather than for fidelity to prototype detail and fine-scale reproduction of detail. In this photograph, the black sprue at upper left contains the parts for the ACF-design trailer hitch while the yellow sprues contain the parts for the car itself:
This photograph shows the molded on coupler pocket on the underside of the car. Modifications will be necessary to install scale-width draft gear:
This photograph shows the side rails, the cast-on hand brake stand, and the cast-on stirrup step and grab iron (Mont Switzer recommends removing the latter three items):
The car deck is actually pretty nice with the exposed centersill and bolster and reasonable texture on the wood planking, although the end detail needs extensive rework per Switzer's article:
The trucks provided with the kit are a roller-bearing design (not discussed in Hendrickson's handout):
I plan on finishing this kit as a TTX F39a using the upgrading techniques described by Switzer. With two 35' trailers and an ACF Model A hitch (http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/227/16727/may-2001-page-25) this car should make a really nice late-1957 time marker.
Charles Hostetler
Goshen, Ind.