Boxcar Sunday, Let's see your boxcars.

Great cars everyone!

Here is my offering, both MTH cars…I painted and decaled…

Tom

Since I don't have a year-round layout, I am at the mercy of finding older shots that fit the topic.  I looked but can't find any real good closeups of the 99 Pittsburgh related cars that I once owned (sold off).  Here's a few of those 99.

- walt

Well, thanks Dave for starting us off on this very HOT Central Texas Sunday (104 today!).  My post today is part of a new slant on my collecting hobby that I am initiating.  It turns out that in about 1978 MDK took over Marx's tooling for some (perhaps all) of their freight cars.  They started producing what were Marx type "Deluxe" (sliding door) box cars from the same molds but with Lionel compatible couplers and all new liveries...in a sense it continued the line of Marx's best box cars.  SO...I have decided to add to my Marx collection, these Kline "pretenders"   I posted one (B&O box) on this thread on 8/3 and here is my second one (I do have one that advertised the Toy Train Museum) but that is a little different slant on this subject.

  So anyway here is the Kline (ne Marx) PRR Norge Gas Refrigerator Box car.  Now, how long has it been since you saw a GAS refrigerator advertised ?  These were the technology of the 30's and I am not sure if any are even commercially sold anymore.  Note also the Norge advertising slogan..."Frosty Flame" a very clever twist on the fact that a gas refrigerator does in fact use a flame as part of the refrigeration cycle.    This box car has no built date but given the B&O dates from 1992 I would expect this one to be in the same era say mid 80's to mid 90's.  Note if anyone in the forum has better data please post it back to me...Thanks.

Here is the full side view, I really like the bright red /white color scheme

Here you go..."Frosty Flame" Gas refrigerators!

Best wishes, hope your upcoming week goes well

Don

Another MPC-era rarity from Lionel for the Monday edition of Boxcar Sun:

According to an article from Forum sponsor, Trainz, the "Cracker Jack" billboard reefer was originally cataloged by Lionel in 1973 in the caramel color shown above, likely to reflect the color of the iconic product. However, when the first cars were produced, the "electrocal" tapes for the "Cracker Jack" logo provided by the vendor lacked a white surround which would make the words stand out against the caramel background. So that the first shipment of these tapes could be used, production was almost immediately switched to a white car color and these white cars were what dealers initially received. Later, tapes for the "Cracker Jack" logo with the white surround were provided and the car color was returned to the originally-intended caramel.

Apparently, the car shown above is an example of the rarest of all billboard reefers Lionel ever produced. I received it in fulfillment of an order of clearance items from Trainz the photo for which showed the "Cracker Jack" logo WITH the white surround. Lucky me and thank you Trainz! This car is now in her original box safely stored. "Rolling the dice" with more clearance orders to come!

@Don McErlean posted:

Well, thanks Dave for starting us off on this very HOT Central Texas Sunday (104 today!).  My post today is part of a new slant on my collecting hobby that I am initiating.  It turns out that in about 1978 MDK took over Marx's tooling for some (perhaps all) of their freight cars.  They started producing what were Marx type "Deluxe" (sliding door) box cars from the same molds but with Lionel compatible couplers and all new liveries...in a sense it continued the line of Marx's best box cars.  SO...I have decided to add to my Marx collection, these Kline "pretenders"   I posted one (B&O box) on this thread on 8/3 and here is my second one (I do have one that advertised the Toy Train Museum) but that is a little different slant on this subject.

  So anyway here is the Kline (ne Marx) PRR Norge Gas Refrigerator Box car.  Now, how long has it been since you saw a GAS refrigerator advertised ?  These were the technology of the 30's and I am not sure if any are even commercially sold anymore.  Note also the Norge advertising slogan..."Frosty Flame" a very clever twist on the fact that a gas refrigerator does in fact use a flame as part of the refrigeration cycle.    This box car has no built date but given the B&O dates from 1992 I would expect this one to be in the same era say mid 80's to mid 90's.  Note if anyone in the forum has better data please post it back to me...Thanks.

Here is the full side view, I really like the bright red /white color scheme

Here you go..."Frosty Flame" Gas refrigerators!

Best wishes, hope your upcoming week goes well

Don

Don, these refrigerators are still very popular in motorhomes and "off-grid" homesteads. The refrigeration cycle has no moving parts. The refrigerant is distilled water and ammonia using gaseous hydrogen as a circulation agent. The energy input comes from a propane flame now but a natural gas (methane) flame would work just as well.

Happy Boxcar Sunday. I'll start us off with a recent acquisition a P&LE made by MTH.

Photos and video show two boxcars in a train pulled by New York Central #9110 - an MTH Railking model (30-21010-1 with PS3) of a Fairbanks Morse H10-44 diesel switcher. I’ve posted both boxcars before but haven’t bought any new ones lately so I’m repeating – although the photos are new.

First boxcar is New York Central #92102 – model built by K-Line (K765-1751) in 1999 at MSRP $39.95. Boxcar #92102 had an experimental paint scheme applied by the New York Central.

Second boxcar is New York Trumbull & Boston Railroad #777 – expertly repainted and lettered for the name of my model railroad by forum member @Krieglok. The more I examine this car, the more I’m amazed by Tom’s paint and decal work.

MELGAR

Nice kick off Dave!

Here are two Western Pacific boxcars; a 6464 and a 1954.

Here is a rare thing for me. Three factory painted Weaver cars. I bought them to strip and repaint, but they were so nicely done, I just couldn’t do it!

Tom

Here we go!  Weaver stripped and repainted; K4 decals of an unusual IC paint scheme.

Cheers,

Price

The LCCA 2024 CHRISTMAS BOXCAR.  SAL GAMBINO

SAL GAMBINO.

@MELGAR posted:

Photos and video show two boxcars in a train pulled by New York Central #9110 - an MTH Railking model (30-21010-1 with PS3) of a Fairbanks Morse H10-44 diesel switcher. I’ve posted both boxcars before but haven’t bought any new ones lately so I’m repeating – although the photos are new.

First boxcar is New York Central #92102 – model built by K-Line (K765-1751) in 1999 at MSRP $39.95. Boxcar #92102 had an experimental paint scheme applied by the New York Central.

Second boxcar is New York Trumbull & Boston Railroad #777 – expertly repainted and lettered for the name of my model railroad by forum member @Krieglok. The more I examine this car, the more I’m amazed by Tom’s paint and decal work.

MELGAR

Mel, there’s something about watching your videos that are very peaceful to me no matter what angle you’re filming from, and your trains run so smooth.

Gene

@Genemed posted:

Mel, there’s something about watching your videos that are very peaceful to me no matter what angle you’re filming from, and your trains run so smooth.

Gene

@Genemed,

Gene,

Thank you very much.

Today's video of NYC #9110 was taken on my 12'-by-8' layout built between 1999 and 2004 that's operated conventionally from two Z4000 transformers. The Atlas O track was laid carefully on Mianne benchwork but I credit the excellent speed control of the MTH PS3 diesel for the smooth running.

MELGAR

Pulling out an empty box from Morrison Door as the first shift arrives for work...

Thanks for getting us off to great start Dave!   ... Here are some photos of a Missouri Pacific Merchandise Service boxcar by Weaver.  I really like the graphics!   I sure do miss Weaver as they produced some really great products!  Good thing there is an abundance of still new in the box and pre-owned Weaver products on the market.

Western Maryland plug door boxcar also by Weaver.   As it's still August, the weather here in Central Maryland has that " Fall feeling" in the air all this week ...  so I thought I'd re - post this car as it's about to be loaded with pumpkins.    I know it may be a bit early for pumpkin harvest but Fall is in the air .. LOL!

A few of mine in the yard at the club.

The way things are going with the Pirates under Nutting, we'll never have the pleasure of watching one of these home grown moments anytime soon.

Good ol' Forbes Field - a dump but still a good memory.

The Maz car came with a World Series ticket.  Not for the actual game mind you, a replicate years after his historic homer.

- walt

@walt rapp - Hey your right on the gas refrigerators, I forgot the "camper" market, in fact we had one in our camper back in the 80's.  My in laws had a gas refrigerator the bought new in the 1930's and it was still running keeping soda and drinks cold in their basement 50 years later, it had never been repaired.  No moving parts!

So Now to the subject of this post, BOXCAR Sunday!!  This is a Menard's, full scale 40 ' (i.e.10") box car , # CB&Q 10678 , from 2019.  For their cost, like just over $20 NIB I think they represent great value.  Note the ladders and brake wheel (add on) and roof walk colored in black to stand out.  High detail and great livery.

Best Wishes, Don

Price,

Too funny!  I just painted and decaled an Atlas car to match yours…you did a great job.

What are the odds we used the same number?  

Hope all had a good Boxcar Sunday, PW Lionel 3428 U.S. Mail operating car from 1959,60 dropping off some Lionel trains.

Don,

Yes, it’s a small O gauge world!!!

Price

Boston & Maine refrigerated boxcar #13138 (Atlas O) and boxcar #73199 (MTH) ran in a short freight train headed by B&M GP7 #1562 on my 12’-by-8’ layout.

MELGAR

Thanks for getting us started Mel & Happy Boxcar Sunday. I'm still working on my basement, so I'll be posting from my archives. Here is a Weaver Norfolk & Western.

Nice Dave, I also went to the archives this week. Here is a PW Lionel Plugdoor boxcar.
Whirlpool #6024.

My contribution this week:

Weaver stripped and repainted, K4 decals

Intermountain kit assembled by me:

Cheers,

Price

Thanks for getting us rolling today MELGAR!  I haven't seen a B&M boxcar with that particular logo before ... very nice!   Dave Ripp - nice looking N&W freight!  Good luck with your basement project!

Here's my boxcar of the day ... a NYC auto parts boxcar with automobile frames.  Plus a videos of WM FA2 consist pulling a string of boxcars and reefers.  

IF YOU LIKE HOT STUFF WE GOT IT. 

My 2.5 Boxcars for today:

The Berkshire and Atlantic is an old 40’ AHM, painted for interchange with a friend’s railroad.

This Seaboard is a stock 50’ Weaver, with weathering applied with powder and Pan Pastels.  I tend to stay away from weathering trucks, since I have about 300 freight cars on the railroad, and keeping track clean is enough of an issue without dust.  My magical thinking tells me someday I’ll mask and airbrush all the trucks…

This .5 was formerly a Weaver 50’ car, but here we go with paint again.  The decals are Highball Graphics.  The car is out of my NHRR era, but I just needed to do one.  

Just one new one this week, a MTH 19th Century box car detailed and painted by me…

Tom

From the Pittsburgh Science Center gift shop (nee: Carnegie Science Center).  For those not knowing about the place, they have a HUGE O-Gauge layout that displays all kinds of interesting Western PA scenes.  Buildings are all scratchbuilt and represent local famous buildings such as Fallingwater a picture of it:  Club members build them.

the website: Miniature Railroad & Village® - Carnegie Science Center

- walt

@Krieglok posted:

Just one new one this week, a MTH 19th Century box car detailed and painted by me…

Tom

Wow that’s a great decal job! Do you do that as one decal; or several separate decals?

And now it’s done!

P.S.—Nice work on that Fairbanks car, Tom

Great looking boxcars guys. This is the best I can do. A boxcar I have run around my layout for many years.

Well my offering today is a K-line 8 1/2" box car from 2005.  It is a fantasy livery designed to advertise an "All K-Line Train Show" during the month of February that year.  Besides being colorful, what made this car attractive is that for the 8 1/2" box car series K-line utilized the molds of the Marx "deluxe" sliding door boxcar for the bodies and then added their own frame and trucks, compatible with Lionel.  Since I have a collectors interest in Marx, I have started to collect these K-line "pretenders".

What struck me about this car is both the amazing detail and the clarity in the livery.  Those tiny black dots under the large "K" on the door actually say "K-Line" and its perfectly clear IRL even though the letters can't be even a mm high.  The design is not only in 4 colors (yellow, white, blue and silver) but the design is highly detailed.  All the dark blue is outlined in white or yellow.  More interesting (and costly I expect) is that the silver portions of the design, especially the "snowflake" portions are not just silver but silver metallic or foil type paint.   This event must have been very important to K-line as decorating this car in this fashion would not have been cheap.

Note again, under the large "K" the words "K-line" in tiny yet very clear letters

Here you can see the "snow flake" design in silver.  It is not well captured by the camera but held at an angle to the light this silver is highly metallic and reflects the light.  Again the elaborate design and the careful decoration shows a great deal of effort when into making this car.

Well that's it folks for Labor Day Weekend Sunday !  Best Wishes and enjoy your Holiday tomorrow.

Don

Ahhh...the smell of coffee in the morning...

@Don Sierakowski 111617 posted:

And now it’s done!

P.S.—Nice work on that Fairbanks car, Tom

Very nice job, Don. I love the Pan Am paint scheme, but I lack your skills, so I had to settle for buying one!!!

@pennsyfan posted:

Wow that’s a great decal job! Do you do that as one decal; or several separate decals?

Hi Bob!

Thanks for the kind words. Don too!

The lettering on the left side was a total of five separate decals cut from one sheet. I divided the large decal into five pieces to make it easier to apply.

The right side is two decals, again divided to get the right spacing on this particular car…

Tom

@Krieglok posted:

Hi Bob!

Thanks for the kind words.

The lettering on the left side was a total of five separate decals cut from one sheet. I divided the large decal into five pieces to make it easier to apply.

The right side is two decals, again divided to get the right spacing on this particular car…

Tom

Even more impressive!

Thanks, Paul.  Nothing exceptional, just years of practice--think playing a piano!

@trumpettrain,

If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get those automobile frames?