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A Closer Look at Flatcar
Number 6302
The 6302 is the only fully complete and operational example of this series of freight car. It is now located at Hall Siding on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. The car appears to be in reasonably good shape, although I don't believe it has been moved in the last couple of years.
This is the same car that is pictured in the Grandt book Narrow Gauge Pictorial, Vol. III on pages 176 and 177.
There were only fifteen cars in this series and, unlike the high side gondolas or the stock cars, they all seem to be similar in layout and hardware. Like most wooden freight cars, however, there are many small differences between the cars. The two existing cars differ slightly from each other and probably differ slightly from the rest of the cars in the series. The location of the rail clamps and the stake pockets seems to vary from car to car and even from side to side. The only major difference in the cars appears to be in the placement of the retainer. Some cars have the retainer placed on the B end of the car next to the brake wheel. Other cars have the retainer placed in the middle of the side sill on the left side of the car. On the 6302, the retainer is on the B end.
Of the two surviving cars, not only is the 6302 in much better shape than the 6314, but it also appears to be a much better example of the car type. The 6314 has a number of modifications that may have been added to the car very late in its Rio Grande career. I believe that all of the rest of the cars in this series probably looked very similar to the 6302. If you decide to model a 6300 series flatcar, I would suggest basing it on the 6302.
Because of the car's surroundings, it is impossible to get good overall pictures of the 6302. Instead, here are a number of detail photos that show the major aspects of the car.
6314 - 6300 Flatcar Drawings - 6300 Flatcar Model Pictures - 6300 Flatcar Prototype Pictures
If you wish to contact me for any reason my e-mail address is: bdwhite@orci.com