Modeling The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway - Available Models

This is mostly just a very short list, for two reasons: One, I'm only listing HO scale here. Two, there isn't very much. See the Locomotives page for additional information.


MDC/Roundhouse

I don't know whether MDC is still around in any recognizable form. They produced two cars lettered for the SAP, kits 3080 and 7812. These are a reefer and boxcar, respectively. The number on the reefer (4019) matches that in the 1918 ORER, but the boxcar does not. Although it could very well have been scrapped by that time, as the build date is 1901. The paint for the reefer seems to match the as-built scheme for ventilated boxcars 3000 to 3145. I'm almost certain that the 1908-built reefers, numbers 4001 - 4050, were painted yellow.

Incidentally, by 1918 the ORER lists only ventilated boxcars, not regular boxcars.

Here is a summary of the two cars:

MDC 3080 O/T Reefer: Car 4019, dark (tuscan?) red, black roof. Logo to the left side of door. Following info to the right of the door:

INSULATED
S.A.&A.P.
4019
In smaller lettering,
Built by the
Pullman Company
Pullman, Ill.
34 FT. INSIDE CAP. 60000 LBS.
WT. 30300 LBS 6-23.97


MDC 7812 O/T Boxcar: Car 31949, same coloring as reefer but with roof the same color as the body. Logo identical to #3080. On right side of door is

S.A.&A.P.
31949.
In smaller lettering is
35 1/2 FT. INSIDE CAP. 60000 LBS.
WT. 37300 LBS. 12-13.01

For more general information about what cars are appropriate, see John Nehrich's excellent resource at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. This site is no longer free, but has a ton of information in it.


Brass

Yes, you can get SA&AP locomotives in brass. Well, sort of. Hallmark has a Southern Pacific C-24 Consolidation that used to be a SAP loco. Retail was about $900 for a new one; I don't know what market value is these days. (No, I don't have one.)

If you can find one, there are also a few old brass D-1 (that's what the SP called them) Decapods floating around out there. There were only three of this class, and the SAP didn't keep them too long, as they tore up the track and didn't pull any more than the 2-8-0s they already had. They were all scrapped by 1937. Sunset made the models. They look nothing like the Bachmann Spectrum Russian Decapods that are available in plastic.


Austin Modeling Associates

Decals for several regional Texas roads, including the SAP, are available in HO scale. Five different SAP freight cars, plus a selection from the Houston East & West Texas; Moscow, Camden & St. Augustine, and others. Write Austin Modeling Associates, 7214 Lamplight Lane, Austin, TX 78731. The two sets I have include builder's photos of the cars. You can see an online catalog here. Highly recommended.


Art Griffin Decals

A bit more expensive than AMA, but decals taken directly from old builder's photos (which can be purchased here as well.) Two sets for ventilated boxcars and one reefer, plus a ton of other cars that would look at home on the SAP. Available through here. I haven't tried them yet.


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Last updated Wednesday, August 24, 2005