Boxcar Sunday, Let's see your boxcars.

My latest purchase- an Atlas Pennsy X-29

Here is a Lionel GN boxcar before and after pics.  I completed this weathering job yesterday.  

Well hello everyone, its BxCrSun again and I am a little behind in posting so I'm going to try and make it up.  First , Sitka I wanted to say that we share a collecting interest, I have always liked the Lionel 0-27 type box cars (some collectors call them "plug door" boxcars - which they are not) because Lionel used them to advertise so many different stores and products besides normal RR's.  By the way, if you are interested in these type boxcars, don't forget the "savings bank" boxcars which is this mold just with a slot in the top.  I posted the latest offering of one of those on 11/7 in this thread. The other series of these cars is the "Toys are Us" cars from the middle 70's which while not prototypical are very colorful.

So today, I thought we might look at the humble Lionel #655 pre-war boxcar.  The "600" series came in two basic groups, those with plates (brass at first then nickel) identifying the car and then with rubber stamped information as Lionel started in its quest for greater realism.  So here you are, the Lionel #655 boxcar.

Here is the basic car with identifying plates that served from 1933-1938.  This particular variant with all nickel trim and plates was offered from 1935-1938 whereas earlier versions looked much the same but substituted brass for nickel in either some or all the trim.  Note that one of the changes to this car as it moved through the pre-war era was the couplers changing from these manual "latch"couplers to so called "automatic" (note that in operation this is a stretch) box couplers.

The "name end" of the car, note the large nickel hoop next to the ladder should hold a brake wheel staff but it has disappeared sometime in the last 87 years !!

The "number" end showing the nickel plate with the #655 plus the ladder and (on this side) the brake wheel and stem.

OK now its 1939 and the plates are gone replaced by a rubber stamping of the name, number, and car data in black on the left of the door as well as a Lionel logo and additional data on the right of the door.  This specific car has box couplers with a simulated knuckle and lift pin on the top and the journals have been blackened so this car is most likely 1940 or 41.  There is one further version with all the trim blackened from 1942 but given the shortened production year (WWII) its not common.

The Lionel Logo end. Note the simulated knuckle and lift pin on the top of the box coupler.

The number end with additional car data.  Remember, the original "plates" car had no data on the car at all.  This would be highly unusual in the prototype, hence Lionel adding data when they went to the stamping to increase realism makes sense. The simulated knuckle and lift pin on the top of the box coupler is very visible in this picture.

Here are the two cars side by side for comparison.  While not all that much closer to scale, IMHO the rubber stamped car does in fact seem more realistic - at least a small step.

Note by modern standards the "600" series cars were quite small.  This boxcar is about 6 1/2 " long (not including couplers) whereas the more modern post war 6464 boxcar was about 9 1/2 " long.  Lionel did make a series of larger cars (the "800" series) which I will picture in a future post which are closer to modern size.  Of course nothing in this era would have represented the most modern 50-75 ft box cars as they simply did not exist in the 1930's.

Well happy Bx Cr Sun everyone, enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a good week

Best wishes

Don

Box Car Sunday…New Haven…and it’s a 2Fer!!! 🚂😉😺

Have a good Box car Sunday, some double door and operating cars and non.

An MPC era C&NW 40' boxcar equipped with a flashing end of train devise brings up the rear of a heavy manifest. That's Dad's new Edsel on the road below.

Sitka- great array of double doors and operating cars.  I also have the B&O autocar but the Wabash and the UP map have eluded me...oh well the hunt continues.  I should mention that being from Texas, I like the fact that your cattle loading pens are chuck full of cows!!.

Today I am going to go back to the early to mid 50's with an example of what most collectors call a "deluxe" plastic freight by Mr. Marx.  I should note that I just posted a very new 1996 - 99 Lionel box car on the Santa Fe thread and the only metal on that car is the wheels / axles.  Yet we refer to Marx's later deluxe cars as "plastic" but the wheels, axles, truck frames, truck sides, door slides, and entire support floor are all metal.  A lot less plastic than that "modern" Lionel from the 90's.  Oh well, that's the way it is...

Here is the Marx Rock Island, #147815 deluxe sliding door boxcar.  This particular car is somewhat unusual as this example has what the Greenberg collectors book calls Type D trucks with an embossed sheet metal truck side.  These trucks were only used on the earliest of the plastic freights thus dating this car to about 1952.  These were soon replaced by trucks with embossed plastic truck side facade's over metal frames and having very obvious protruding journal boxes.

Here is the logo end of the car showing the car data and listing the built date and new date as January 1951, which would track with when this car was first offered.

Here is the large lettering end of the car showing the prominent "RI" and the car number. This also shows the not very prototypical "pickle fork" coupler that Marx used as an "automatic" coupler.  In fact, although not too realistic in appearance, it actually works quite well although it can tend to be fragile, yet its easily fixed and new "forks" are quite cheap and still available.

The deluxe plastic cars as introduced by Marx beginning in the early 1950's were about 8 1/2 inches long and about 2 inches wide and were fitted with sliding doors, metal railings and ladders and separately cast parts.  These cars were sold in Marx's best sets destined for Sears, Wards, and other top distributors however they were also available for separate sale. In general they were offered from about 1955 (some earlier) to the mid 1960's.  A few cars even made it until the end of Marx when he sold to Quaker Oats in the early 1970's.

Best wishes for a wonderful Sunday...have a great week

Best wishes

Don

Inexpensive but relatively nice boxcar from Menards. I did change out the trucks to Lionel metal sprung. SP picking up a load at the local dock.

Good afternoon (I did remember to reset my clocks),

Here are a couple ex-boxcars.  While double-sheathed boxcars were pretty much gone from revenue service by the end of the 1930s, many were repurposed for MoW work.  I have been collecting photos of PRR prototype MoW equipment for a while, and these Lionel cars are decent generic representations of these cars.  For my time period I need to find black "PENNSYLVANIA" decals for them.

Of the 5,790 MoW cars the PRR had over its history, 152 were kitchen cars and 204 were tool cars.

The Maryland & Pennsylvania in Bellwood, IL.

Rusty

2 Weaver Union Pacific's.

Here are three versions of the same car from three manufacturers. They are very close, but all three are different. On the left is from Atlas. Model 0519-2. The center is a Weaver model. These were a custom run for McDonald Models. On the right is Lionel 6-52550. this was done for LOTS in 2009. Enjoy!

Two oldies…

@Don McErlean posted:

Sitka- great array of double doors and operating cars.  I also have the B&O autocar but the Wabash and the UP map have eluded me...oh well the hunt continues.  I should mention that being from Texas, I like the fact that your cattle loading pens are chuck full of cows!!.

Today I am going to go back to the early to mid 50's with an example of what most collectors call a "deluxe" plastic freight by Mr. Marx.  I should note that I just posted a very new 1996 - 99 Lionel box car on the Santa Fe thread and the only metal on that car is the wheels / axles.  Yet we refer to Marx's later deluxe cars as "plastic" but the wheels, axles, truck frames, truck sides, door slides, and entire support floor are all metal.  A lot less plastic than that "modern" Lionel from the 90's.  Oh well, that's the way it is...

Here is the Marx Rock Island, #147815 deluxe sliding door boxcar.  This particular car is somewhat unusual as this example has what the Greenberg collectors book calls Type D trucks with an embossed sheet metal truck side.  These trucks were only used on the earliest of the plastic freights thus dating this car to about 1952.  These were soon replaced by trucks with embossed plastic truck side facade's over metal frames and having very obvious protruding journal boxes.

Here is the logo end of the car showing the car data and listing the built date and new date as January 1951, which would track with when this car was first offered.

Here is the large lettering end of the car showing the prominent "RI" and the car number. This also shows the not very prototypical "pickle fork" coupler that Marx used as an "automatic" coupler.  In fact, although not too realistic in appearance, it actually works quite well although it can tend to be fragile, yet its easily fixed and new "forks" are quite cheap and still available.

The deluxe plastic cars as introduced by Marx beginning in the early 1950's were about 8 1/2 inches long and about 2 inches wide and were fitted with sliding doors, metal railings and ladders and separately cast parts.  These cars were sold in Marx's best sets destined for Sears, Wards, and other top distributors however they were also available for separate sale. In general they were offered from about 1955 (some earlier) to the mid 1960's.  A few cars even made it until the end of Marx when he sold to Quaker Oats in the early 1970's.

Best wishes for a wonderful Sunday...have a great week

Best wishes

Don

Thanks Don man has to eat LOL. Mark

I picked up this Western Pacific box car for $19.00 shipped. A little high for a Junker but I liked the logo. I changed out the base and trucks to Weaver, added weight and weathered it.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

I picked up this Western Pacific box car for $19.00 shipped. A little high for a Junker but I liked the logo. I changed out the base and trucks to Weaver, added weight and weathered it.

Nice job on the weathering Dave .

You've given me some inspiration.....I have a couple of inexpensive Lionel boxcars that I think might look better with some weathering.

Boxcar Sunday!

Here are some boxcars on our layout, near the river.

Weaver 40 foot Great Northern.

Boiler Up!  Hopeful they have a good game tonight. Have a great week everyone!

Have a great BCS

Well Good Morning Box Car Sunday fans...it seems like it may finally be spring here in central Texas with sun and temperatures in the 70's in the afternoon...truth is this is the best weather of the year here as summer temps exceed 100 deg on many days!  Hey everyone !  Here is an update on my quest to collect all 8 of the "I Love XXXX" Lionel boxcars from the states my wife and I have lived in...that has been my idea and I posted #6 the "I Love Texas" boxcar on Feb 13 on this post.  Well here is an update.  Based on some tips from folks on this thread, I queried Grzyboski's  trains and found the other 2 needed.  While one, MD,  is way too expensive (like $200) for me, the "I Love Georgia" boxcar was priced right and I managed to get it.  So here is my #7,  the Lionel "I love Georgia" boxcar, it even has diecast trucks.

For all you boxcar collectors, there is some things a bit unusual for this car.  First, its Lionel LLC as it was offered in 1999-2000 after Lionel LTI sold off the license in 1995.  Its LLC product number is 6-19985 and that is how its listed in the various collector's guides.  However, the car itself carries the number 9700 which you may recall is the base number Lionel MPC used on their boxcars way back in the 70's.  In fact #9700 was a Southern RR boxcar from 1972-73. Seems a bit odd.  Also the decorating theme is also a bit off from the rest of the series, as it has no state "slogan" just the artwork, although they did make the "O" in Georgia a peach.

Oh well, that makes #7 out of the 8 needed for me to finish this little collection.  I am still on the hunt for Md but that may be the most difficult to get if all I can find are multiple $100's in price.

Have a great Sunday...Best Wishes

Don

I found a video of my high cube boxcars

the plywood area is now finished into an intermodal yard.

@clem k posted:

I found a video of my high cube boxcars

the plywood area is now finished into an intermodal yard.

Great look watching the Amtrak passenger train rolling through the pines Clem. 🤓

This Athearn box car is from one of the very first kits made before WW II.   It was just a body less trucks, couplers, doors, and a number of detail parts when I got it.  Its stamped metal underframe parts, made of recycled tin cans, was not as neatly done as later parts as well as coarser grained wood for the floor and roof helped to date it.   However, the original car sides were in excellent shape. The car ends needed work filling extraneous holes with solder, and the roof panel as well with dent removal and several replacement panel seam caps ('ribs').

The underframe parts were painted black before putting it on the new car floor, which is unpainted wood, just like the prototype. On prototype box cars, the wood floor and internal wall sheathing are the last things installed.

Of course, it helps to have a stash of old parts to help. Athearn before the War provided stand-off end brackets in the kits for grab irons, which are no longer made.   With a strip of .010" thick brass, I made new end brackets by copying the two originals still on the car body.

The Athearn model follows New Haven's purchase of 500 new steel 40' boxcars with a 60-ton capacity in 1941.

S. Islander

The PRR had three Merchandise Service paint schemes for their boxcars.  Phase 1, the most complex, went from Aug '47 to Jan '50, Phase 2 from Jan '50 to May '54, and Phase 3 from May '54 to Nov '57.  Since my layout is set in '49, I only use Phase 1 boxcars.

For Phase 1, there were three boxcars used:  40' X29b, 60' X40b, and 50' X41b.

While the actual car bodies are not correct, MTH's paint schemes for their AAR 40' and PS-1 50' models in Merchandise Service are correct.  Now I hope someone will do the MS scheme in a 60' car.

Here's two boxcars for this Sunday. The first boxcar is from a Lionel 3 car mixed set which includes compartment load. I love Lionel's sets, they typically have very nice detail.

I don't think I've posted a close up of this K-Line WP PFE which is part of a set of Western Railroad boxcars made specifically for Western Depot, CA. They still have some inventory of these in both O 2 rail and 3 rail. First photo with ice doors open.

For CAPPilot,

Read your post above and took this quick shot of a Lorenzen 60’ PRR boxcar built by me many years ago. It is 2 rail O scale.

oops, I am still new at posting photos. Sorry for the duplicates.

Leon

A couple from our northern neighbors.

Two Atlas entries…

@Krieglok posted:

An eastern road painted and decaled by me…

A bit of Southwest…

And an South Eastern road, painted and weathered by me…

Tom

Krieglok Nice painting, have a question about painting will send you a email if you don't mind Thanks Mark

Thanks Mark! Always happy to help!

Tom

Well BxCrSun fans, I am going to "drift off" a little bit today and feature a somewhat unique Lionel car from 1956-57.  The Lionel #6376 Circus Stock Car.  This two level stock car in its unique livery represented what might have been a full up Lionel circus train but to my knowledge it never really happened.  MPC did it later but not in the PW period...although they did do the giraffe car so maybe that was all the circus Lionel wanted.  So here is their attempt at a truly unique stock car.

Best wishes enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Don

Have a good Box car Sunday all,

For a while I thought round roof cars and wagontop cars were the same, just different terminology used by different roads.  Well I was happy when I did learn the difference because now folks don't laugh behind my back anymore.

Pennsylvania needed boxcars with greater volume to haul more stuff per car.  The problem was a regular design, with the sides going higher, would not go through the tunnels on much of Pennsy's system.  So they develop a round roof design that would carry more and make it through the tunnels.  Here is an image of my Lionel car.

The B&O, on the other hand, was looking to find a way to limit corrosion that occurs around the edges where the roof met the sides.  Their solution was to eliminate that edge with their wagontop design and they used this design on different types of cars.  This is one of Patrick's many great images.

I have been looking a long time for a wagontop that would fit in my era (no large B&O) and not brass.  I have had an Atlas one on preorder with PDT for over two years (I added a second one later).  Sure will be nice when they ever arrive.

While Marx only offered the PRR Merchandise Service box car in one style they did follow the prototype practice of different car numbers. The car came with 16  different serial numbers and one version with no number at all.  The Marx cars were #37960 - #37975 + no number.

Below are cars 60,62,65,66,67,70,74,75 and no number

@Robert S. Butler posted:

The car came with 16  different serial numbers and one version with no number at all.

My brother had collected all 16 cars but some were a little rough.  He passed before he could get all 16 cars in excellent condition.

Ron - thanks so much for information on rounded roof boxcars!  Much appreciated!   To paraphrase the late Paul Harvey " And now we know the rest of the story."

Today I'm in a Maine State of mind.   I love this boxcar by Weaver.  

Sacks and barrel loads of potatoes being transloaded.  

Here are two Erie boxcars that I got from the good people at Empire + Eastern div. TTOS.  They fit well with my pre/postwar themed layout.  Dated 2009 and produced by Lionel.

Fendermain