The H.P.Products 3-Door-Boxcar

[TheKnighTT]

It´s the second H.P.Products 40´feet boxcar I bought with this feature and I also came across a kit, that only has 3 doors in it, but seems complete otherwise.

Was it a common mistake to read the instruction wrong, because it showed both the 1-door-option and the 2-door-option? Did the kit actually include only 3 doors and you had to buy to kits, to make one single door and one double door?

[milwrd1]

I don't think the instruction sheet was read wrong; I think it was interpreted incorrectly. It helps to know that HP used the same instruction sheet for 7 cars. There was a common instruction sheet for the HP 40' steel Box, Auto and Reefer (kit HP 550); the HP 40' wood Box and Reefer (kit HP 551): and the HP 40' wood Furniture and Auto car (kit HP 552). This did cause some confusion among the TT modelers of the time. It is easy to understand how, by viewing the instruction sheet, one side of the car could possibly wind up with 2 doors and the other side with one door. Viewing the instruction sheet (scan attached), the top figure shows a 40' Double Door (Auto) Boxcar, and the middle figure shows a 40' Single Door Boxcar. Most of the early kits (specifically the HP 550 and the HP 552 kits) were provided with 5 aluminum doors. 2 doors for the single door cars and 4 doors for the double door (Auto) cars. The lateral roof walks were cut from the fifth door (Part 14, noted as 'short runways' on the instruction sheet). Later kits (I believe about 1956-1957) had cast metal, plastic or wood lateral roof walks. The cast metal laterals were probably provided by Gandy Dancer, and the plastic laterals were probably provided by Star Line. HP probably made the wood laterals. During the mid 1950's HP obtained detail parts from other TT manufacturers. Later kits (due to the supplied lateral roof walks) were only supplied with only 4 doors.

I know if we look hard enough, we can somewhere find a 3 door prototype boxcar. HP didn't intend the 550 series of kits to be built with 3 doors. The layout and common use of the instruction sheet unfortunately resulted in some of these models being created.

[Richard-B]

I know if we look hard enough, we can somewhere find a 3 door prototype boxcar.

IMHO... The remote chance of that would be a 2-door boxcar with an end door...
more common with side double doors for auto loading service.