Is this a Japanese freight car?

[John P Boogerd]

I wonder if someone could tell me if the model in this picture is a Japanese freight car - it looks like an American flat car and it has no markings, names or numbers that I can see.

[bikkuri bahn]

I believe its based on American prototype.  AFAIK there are no Japanese flat cars that use fishbelly outside frames, though later container flats do.  Also, the bogies appear to be bettendorf type- early Japanese flats using bogies tended to have arch bar frames with leaf springs, rather than coil springs.

[John P Boogerd]

Thanks - that's what I was thinking, too - I couldn't find any fishbelly frames in my Kato and Tomix catalogues other than the ones on the container cars and they are quite different - this car kind of reminds me of a Lionel flat car I had when I was a kid.

[westfalen]

Although it's not in its original box it looks like the old Rivarossi 40ft flatcar that was sold by Atlas and others years ago.

[John P Boogerd]

I was thinking it was a Tenshodo car because it has the brass wheels that Tenshodo uses and the Japanese type couplers that were used until about thirty years ago.

[Guest ___]

Actually looks like it has Kadee coil-spring trucks mounted to it.

[westfalen]

I was thinking it was a Tenshodo car because it has the brass wheels that Tenshodo uses and the Japanese type couplers that were used until about thirty years ago.

After a closer look I noticed the wheels, they at least, are not Rivarossi.