PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:

It was the mid 1970s, and the incentive per diem box car boom was just beginning. New, brightly painted box cars seemed to appear overnight. Many were lettered for various short lines. Pullman Standard (PS) was a significant builder of many of these cars. The 50’ outside post, non-terminating end box car, became the foundation for new per diem cars built in the 1970s. The 50’ PS cars also varied in door configuration and style to better suit each customer. Today box cars still matter to the railroads. Even with modern containerization, box cars have a higher capacity then allowable on US roads. We are finding today, that 1970’s box cars are being rebuilt and put into service for various leasing outfits. These models can still be seen today in the modern railroading scene.

MODEL FEATURES:

• Decorated models fully-assembled and ready to run out of the box

• Separately applied brake wheel, end ladders and grab irons

• Etched end platforms

• Body mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers

• 3-Packs available with unique road numbers

• 33” solid nickel silver wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• Highly-detailed, injection-molded body

• Minimum radius: 18”

• Weighted for trouble-free operation

• Replacement parts available

PRIMED FOR GRIME MODELS FEATURE:

• Faded base colors matched to the prototype, the perfect starting point for adding grime and rust

• Patches applied and shaped per road number matching each corresponding side to the prototype

• Duplicated look and feel of “In Service” equipment; “Tattered and Torn” just like the real thing

• Some Prime for Grime models feature paint scheme variations

In the 1970s, many shortline railroads purchased brand new boxcars to take advantage of the “Incentive Per Diem” put into place by the government. At this time, if a railroad increased its boxcar fleet, it was allowed to charge other railroads instead of the customer, for their daily use. Many shortlines saw this as another way to earn revenue beyond their home rails. Unfortunately the program didn’t work out exactly as the government envisioned; it was then abolished. Many of the shortlines that bought into “Incentive Per Diem” boxcars, cancelled their lease and the new boxcars scattered all over North America. Many were hastily patched as the orphaned boxcars found new home railroads.

Shortlines of the South 3-Pack #1

MODELS FEATURE:

• Collectible 3-Pack shortline boxcar set

• One shortline boxcar from each railroad CCR, TASD, and GTRA

• All three boxcars have unique road numbers from their single counterparts offered seperately

These boxcars represent Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama shortlines but were definitely not confined to those regions. These boxcars were commonly interchanged and could be seen all over North America.

Order Due Date: January 24, 2020

Anticipated Delivery Date: January 2021