The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (c)1998-2008 George J. Irwin

UMTRR January, 2003 || Edited From Subscriber Edition
©2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Legal Stuff

NOTE: This archive edition covers single car releases only. Reviews of and commentary on Micro-Trains locomotives (including the FTs) and Special Edition sets such as the Evergreen Express are available exclusively in the e-mail subscription edition of the UMTRR.

N SCALE NEW RELEASES:

20636, $14.50 - 40 Foot Single Door Boxcar, Youngstown ("Narrow Rib") Door, Atlantic Coast Line. Boxcar red with white lettering including reporting marks on left and 1950's circle herald on right. Reporting Marks: ACL 21003. Approximate Time Period: early 1950's to early 1960's. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The history of heralds used by the railroads has always been a particular point of interest with me. For example, before the ACL adopted the circle with small "Atlantic" and large "Coast Line", all in sans serif lettering, and Thanking You for Using Coast Line, there was this smaller version of the circle herald with all words getting equal weight. That was preceded by the circle herald with the much more ornate script wording of the railroad name, and the states served by the ACL wrapped around the circle (for the record, clockwise from approximately the eleven o'clock position, these were: North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Virginia). An example of this earlier herald can be found on the first release of the Micro-Trains 39080 wood boxcar from January 1987; the October 1997 version is a "not a reprint" and does not have this herald. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

There was overlap in the use of these heralds on the ACL system, as seen in the public documents of the line. For instance, the ACL's entry in the May 1954 Official Guide of the Railways shows the older fancy circle herald, not this simpler one, even though the simpler one was adopted for use on rolling stock in 1951. And there's a fourth logo in most of the OG: a rounded rectangle in black with a large "Coast Line," all in caps, centered in this shape, a smaller "Atlantic" above and "Railroad" below. Although the big "Coast Line" herald was already in place by the time of the February 1963 OG, the fancy herald and the rounded rectangle remained. In the May 1966 Official Guide (a new addition to the UMTRR research accumulation thanks to Rich Roberg), one of the last OGs in which the ACL appears prior to its merger with the Seaboard, only the rounded rectangle is present. But here's an interesting tidbit: apparently that fancy round "curlicue herald," as John Nehrich calls it on the RPI rundown of railroad milestones, was never used on any frieght cars. Well, that explains why the 39080 "not a reprint" doesn't have it. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

As long as we're citing John Nehrich, he mentions that the little stripes along the bottom of the car were, on the prototype, a shiny reflective paint called "Prismo" that the Coast Line used from about 1951 to about 1958. That, more than the herald or paint scheme, is more likely to define the Approximate Time Period. How to make the model's paint actually reflective is something I'll leave to the more advanced modelers out there. But note that the stripes are on the ends too, adding decorating complexity-- and price. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

With those tangents out of the way, let's check out the volumes we more regularly go to and see about the car itself. The Official Railway Equipment Register for July 1950 (Westerfield CD-ROM) is a little later than the 1942 build date but close to the apparent repaint date for this car. The series 20000 to 21629 is a pretty big one, 1602 cars described "Box, Solid, All Steel" with AAR Class "XM" plus nine exceptions that were converted to Ventilated boxcars, AAR class "VA". (Which would make for an interesting project.) The key dimensions: inside length 40 feet 6 inches, inside height, 9 feet 10 inches, outside length, 41 feet 9 inches, extreme height, 14 feet 6 inches, door opening, 6 feet, capacity, 3676 cubic feet or 100,000 pounds. The car's a little shorter than the standard PS-1 that is the MTL 20000 body style, but we're definitely not talking as short as the USRA/AAR type either. The January 1959 ORER (also Westerfield CD-ROM) shows this series at 1564 cars, not much of a drop. Although I'd estimate it be toward the end or even outside of the "strictly speaking" ATP, the January 1964 Register shows 1291 cars still roaming the rails. As you may know from previous columns, when the SAL and ACL merged, the car totals for the partners were wiped out of the ORER, so there's not a good way to estimate how many cars were left after 1967. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

38310, $19.65 - 50 Foot Plug Door Boxcar Without Roofwalk, Canadian National/Canadien National. Boxcar red with yellow plug door. White lettering including roadname and reporting marks on left and large "wet noodle" (a.k.a. "lazy 3") herald on right. Note roadname is in English on one side and French on the other. Reporting Marks: CN 401020. Approximate Time Period: mid-1960's (1966/67 renumber date given by MTL) or mid-1970's (1976 service date given by MTL) to as late as the present. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

I confirmed with MTL that this car indeed has the English spelling, "Canadian National," on one side, and the French spelling, "Canadien National," on the other side. I would have assumed this, but we all know what happens when you assume. Of course, any time that Micro-Trains releases a car with different printing on opposite sides of the car, there is the potential for trouble. At the very least, there's trouble explaining it... and then there's that "rare misprint" possibility, where the ends are flipped versus the "standard issue." I won't go beyond that. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The April 1970 ORER shows the series 401000 to 401299, of 296 cars, and the series 401300 to 401399, both tagged with a number or pound sign "#" denoting "large cars within Plate C dimensions." Described as just "Box, Steel" in the main text, Note 66 adds that the cars "are equipped with Hydraulic Cushioning and plug type doors." The cushion underframe is the most likely reason for the outside length of 55 feet 7 inches against an inside length of 50 feet 6 inches, so the extended trucks included by MTL are appropriate. The inside height is 10 feet 11 inches and the extreme height is 15 feet 6 inches. The plug door opening is 9 feet. The April 1976 shows the two series consolidated into one with a total of 373 cars, in April 1981 there were 364 cars, and as late as January 2002 there were 291 cars plus a subseries of five more with longer draft gear. So the "to present" should work, although if you are outside the years, say, 1978 to the early 1980's, you should consider removing the U-1 wheel inspection "yellow dot" that appears at the far right of the car. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

George Elwood's Fallen Flags site is even more helpful than usual on this car, with not one, not two, but three images of cars in this series. The first two were captured in 2000 and 2001 in Champaign, Illinois, of CN 401020, without the yellow door, and CN 401044 in the snow and wet. CN 410375 was parked circa 2001 in Griffith, Indiana, and although I can't be sure about this, it looks like it has a very faded yellow door. I didn't try to check every detail but I think the "look and feel" of the prototype against the MTL model is there. All three cars are showing the "Canadien National" side, but they're not all showing the French spelling on the brake wheel end. So, which one is the "rare misprint"?!? © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

52090, $32.95 (!) - 52 Foot Express Refrigerator, Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Red, white and blue striped sides and ends. Black and white lettering including reporting marks and "Support Car - Urban Rapid Rail Program" on left. UMTA logo on right. Reporting Marks: DOT X-3. Approximate Time Period: early to mid-1970's. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Yes, it's expensive enough to rate an exclamation point. Yes, it's very much a specialty car, and I think I hear some of the gang muttering something about "collector appeal". But it turns out that the story behind this new release is altogether fascinating... well, at least to me. I'll wager that this is closest that Micro-Trains will ever get to making a subway car. A subway car? Read on! © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Let's start with the Urban Mass Transportation Authority. The website of its successor, the Federal Transit Administration has a brief history. The UMTA grew out of the ashes of the nearly total abandonment of mass transit by the Eisenhower Administration in favor of Interstate Highways. In 1961, President Kennedy put provisions to start spending on mass transit in the Omnibus Housing Act in 1961, and in 1962 sent a message to Congress calling for a federal program. He said: "To conserve and enhance values in existing urban areas is essential. But at least as important are steps to promote economic efficiency and livability in areas of future development. Our national welfare therefore requires the provision of good urban transportation, with the properly balanced use of private vehicles and modern mass transport to help shape as well as serve urban growth." Note that we're not strictly talking trains here, but that's OK. The Urban Mass Transportation Act was signed into law in July 1964 by President Johnson. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Now, to the State of the Art Car Program, or SOAC. We go to the New York City Subway Resources website, which has the story of the SOACs: It was an experimental train that the United States Department of Transportation sponsored in the 1970s. It was a two car train that ran on the NYC Subway and in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and elsewhere. The two and only cars are now at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. But you don't have to go to Maine to see them, as there are plenty of photos with this link. The SOACs are pretty cool looking cars. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

But the 52090 clearly isn't a subway car, so we have to dig a little further. A 1996 letter, posted on the site and now in the public domain, from Jeffery Mora, Transportation Systems Manager to Bill Mosteller gives more information. Start quote: © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

"Your letter to Secretary Pena was referred to my office for reply. The State of the Art Car (SOAC) Program was completed in 1977, and needless to say nineteen years later we do not have very much material available. The Program was designed to demonstrate the newest rail car technology, such as Director Current Chopper Control, to the older rapid transit systems (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland). The "new technology" San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) was under construction in 1971 (it opened in 1972) when the SOAC project was initiated. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
"Boeing Vertol was retained as a Systems Manager for the SOAC and related work. Boeing contracted with St. Louis Car Company to build two rapid transit cars based on "BART or better" technology... The cars were extensively tested at the Department of Transportation's High Speed Ground Test Center, Pueblo, Colorado in 1973." © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
"You asked whether the SOAC Program was successful. The final 1979 Boeing Vertol project report states - 'SOAC successfully demonstrated modern transit car technology to transit authorities and the riding public in five major cities. Incorporating features and improvements based in part on operational evaluation of BART vehicles, the SOACs were well-received. The riding public was impressed with the smooth ride, low noise, air conditioning, interior appointments, and high light level while the motormen... found the smooth response, fine control and automatic speed maintaining system particularly desirable.' The cars carried over 312,000 passengers in revenue service. I am enclosing several pages of information from the Boeing Report." © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

End quote. I'll leave you to surf to the Subway Resources site to view the pages from that report. Elsewhere on the net, you'll also find out there Joseph Korman's posting of a SOAC brochure. "SOAC is the NOW CAR!" it exclaims. And on-line archives of the print magazine "The Third Rail" include a review by a rider of the SOACs. Look for the July 2000 issue in the files. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The need for "support" as this duo traveled around was probably, well, supported by the prototype for the 52080. Given the attention that the rapid transit cars themselves got, it's not surprising that I didn't come across any images of the prototype in the resources at my disposal. I have been told that the real thing does in fact survive at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, and a look at their website shows the listing, but alas, not the car. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

100180, $17.70 - 36 Foot Riveted Steel Sided Caboose, Santa Fe (AT&SF). Mineral red (brown) with white lettering including reporting marks at bottom center. Small circle crosses along bottom of side of car. Reporting Marks: ATSF 2216. Approximate Time Period: late 1950's to early 1970's (given by MTL). NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

MTL introduces a new truck style, the Barber-Bettendorf Swing-Motion version (try saying that three times fast). This method of introduction isn't so uncommon lately, but what is a bit different is that the trucks as separate items are also already available. Look for part number 003 02 140 with standard wheels and 003 02 145 with low-profile wheels. So far, in black only but I wouldn't be surprised to see the brown plastic join the roster before long. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

I am so used to the idea of Santa Fe steel cabooses in red, perhaps from the Athearn kits that grace my kids' HO layout, that I have to remember that steel waycars did come in brown and have been modeled as such as well. (For example, the "Atlas First Generation" car, which I understand is based on the Santa Fe's 1900 series.) As Santa Fe fans will doubtless attest, the MTL 100000 series body style is a representation of what the AT&SF owned, not an exact replication. The number of windows and the shape of the cupola will be the most visible areas of compromise in my estimation. Your mileage may vary. (In fact, I did receive a more thorough review which will appear in the February UMTRR, subscriber edition only.) © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Once again George Elwood's "Fallen Flags" site provides some readily accessible images of the real thing, in the form of ATSF 2219 which I trust is from the same number series as the 2216 released by MTL. You'll want the second image, with the "-R" following the number, to view a brown and white waycar. However, that first image of the 2219 is quite intriguing in itself, showing a kind of homebrewed scheme... which, who knows, might be an interesting future release. Take a look-see for yourself. Meanwhile, the 2219-R and several other scans of Santa Fe waycars in brown on Elwood's site date into the early to mid 1970's, a little past the ATP provided by MTL. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

N SCALE REPRINTS:

20830, $13.65 - 40 Foot Single Door Boxcar, Youngstown ("Narrow Rib") Door, New Haven. Bright red with white lettering including roadname and reporting marks on left. Black and white "stacked letter" McGuiness-era herald on left. Reporting Marks: NH 31728. Approximate Time Period: mid-1950's to mid-1970's. Previous Releases: Road Number 32198, December 1987; then a six-pack of road numbers 31740, 31850, 31920, 32120, 32495 and 32541, June 1988. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

"Assuming that you don't have the book [You're right!], here's some information from the Morning Sun Books 'NH Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment' by David R. Sweetland with Stephen Horseley in cooperation with The New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Society. Road number 31728 is depicted at the top of page 12, in a photograph credited to Mike Usenia. The caption is as follows: © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
'Looking closer at one of these 40 foot box cars, NH #32178's repainting was completed at Readville (Massachusetts) in February 1956 and was photographed on March 4, 1956, at Providence, RI. NH #32178 was assembled in October 1944 by Pullman-Standard, but was equipped with a Youngstown six foot door. The #31000-32999 series was the largest block of cars delivered to the New Haven during World War II.' © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
"In addition, a table on page 9 of the same book, indicates that in 1950, 1,343 cars in the road number series 31650-32999 were in service. In 1955 the number was down to 1,329; 1,119 in 1960; 488 in 1965 and 176 by 1970. Supposedly this data was taken from various copies of the ORER. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
"I'm curious about MTL's description of the paint color as 'hopper red'. Certainly, none of the NH hoppers in the "Color Guide" appear to have been painted that color – they appear to be some variation of 'box car' red/brown. Further reading in the "Color Guide" indicates that NH hoppers that weren't painted black were painted "red iron oxide". This is distinct from the McGinnis "red-orange" color. The MTL covered gondola, Catalog 106010, was painted in this "red iron oxide" also. The NHRR Historical Society refers to the color of the models it sells as "McGinnis red-orange." © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.
"Also, according to the 'Color Guide' this car would have been delivered in 1944 painted 'freight car brown' with white lettering and script herald (like MTL's Catalog 20029). MTL does not mention the 1956 repainting into the 'red-orange' McGinnis scheme. Although the MTL website picture is a bit fuzzy, it appears that the markings on the model include the rebuild/repaint date 'R.2.56' printed below the road number and the three lines of capacity and weight limits. This matches the photo in the 'Color Guide'. The first run (single number) of the car had 'R.5.55' as did the later six pack." © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

End quote, and thank you very much, Joe. Guest commentaries are always welcome 'round these parts, so if you have a favorite railroad, feel free to help out. I very much appreciate it when someone makes this avocation easier for me! © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

34060, $12.85 - 50 Foot Double Door Boxcar, Denver and Rio Grande Western. Boxcar red with white lettering including reporting marks on left and "speed lettering" roadname on right. Reporting Marks: D&RGW 63505. Approximate Time Period: late 1950's (1957 build date given by MTL) to mid-1970s. Previous Releases: Road Number 63555, July 1974; Road Number 63595, November 1974. Both of these were initially released as Catalog Number 34105. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Well, for once I'm glad that I'm so far behind. I never did get around to recycling the bookmark for the "Rio Grande Box Car Roster" that appears on the website of the Rio Grande Modeling and Historical Society, after using it for the "Cookie Box" boxcar from last month. So I was able to pull it back in for this reprint. The listing shows the "second" series of cars 63500 to 63699, built by Pullman Standard in May 1957, just as MTL notes. [If you're curious, the "first" series in this number sequence was a 1920's era group of 36 foot boxcars, not likely to be confused with these cars.] © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The RGM&HS confirms that these cars were used in either general service or autoparts carriage; that makes sense considering that some of the units were equipped with DF fixtures. The January 1964 ORER goes farther, giving the individual numbers of cars with that equipment; however all of those cars were in the 63600s so the three MTL releases don't play there. Here's something more obscure: twelve of the seventy cars were also equipped with Fisher Body Roof Containers for 1964 Model Automobiles. I wonder if that changed every year? © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

While we're in the ORER, let's check the vital statistics: inside length 50 feet even, outside length 51 feet even, inside height 10 feet 6 inches, extreme height 15 feet 1 inch. Since the prototypes were PS-1s and the MTL 34000 series is a model of a PS-1, you'd expect the look and feel to be pretty durn close. But MTL actually admits a "door thing" in its car copy, stating-- correctly-- that the prototypes had an 8 plus 7 foot door arrangement, while the model has two 8 foot doors. Not a biggie in N Scale. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

According to the RGM&HS, most of these cars were sold off to the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad to become their series 7200 to 7399 in 1977, and the rest were retired before 1983. My guess is that the roofwalks were pulled concurrent to or even before that event, shortening up the ATP. I have a dim memory of seeing a photo of one of these cars coverted to Maintenance of Way service, somewhere on the 'net. You think I can remember where? Rats. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Although it had been more than 28 years between general releases of this car, a fifty foot double door car in this lettering scheme was part of a three-pack sold by the N Scale Collector's Society in 1996 in conjunction with their fourth Collector Convention in Denver. That car had road number 63555 and a disclaimer right of the doors. But I doubt that you'll see many of those running on any layouts. Meanwhile, the first two Kadee releases are what I'd call "somewhat uncommon" in the aftermarket, and were sold in both standard and "clip-on" truck versions. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

35060, $12.00 - 40 Foot Despatch Stock Car, Southern Railway. Freight car red with white lettering including roadname and road number on left. Road Number: 45784 (will be "SOU 45784" in website listing). Approximate Time Period: late 1930's (1939 build date given by MTL) to mid-1960s (but change the trucks, see text). Previous Releases: Road Number 45682, July 1974; Road Number 45688, October 1974; Road Number 45872, January 1988. First two numbers originally issued as Catalog Number 35062. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

As with the Norfolk and Western entry from back in April 2001, when thinking of the Southern Railway, stock cars aren't the first thing that comes to my mind. While I think it's safe to say that there weren't any major trains delivering hundreds of cattle to market from large ranches, like you'd have seen in the western part of North America, the Southeast was not devoid of lifestock that needed to be moved around, or out. And so you'd expect larger roads in the area to have at least a modest fleet of cars around to handle such requirements. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The January 1940 ORER (Westerfield CD-ROM) shows the series 45650 to 46002, of 353 cars. They were AAR Classification "SM," with description "Stock, Steel Frame", inside length 40 feet 6 inches, outside length 42 feet 3 inches, inside height 8 feet. (That indicates to me that the MTL model will be taller than the prototype by a couple of scale feet.) Door opening was 6 feet and capacity 80,000 pounds. And that's all she wrote on the dimensional data; the rest is unusually blank. The missing information is filled in by the January 1964 Register, where it appears that this is the only surviving series of livestock cars owned by the railroad. The gathering is still pretty healthy at 245 cars. Not so by April 1970, though, as the series is gone. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

What I find a bit curious about this release, though, is that it comes with Archbar trucks. I'll speculate that somewhere in the files in Talent there is a builder's photo or similar, depicting the prototype car with that equipment. (I think the fact that MTL knows where the car was built supports this.) The 1939 built date given by MTL is, depending on the source you cite, either just after the 1938 date for the banishment of these type of trucks from interchange service, or just before the January 1940 date when the ban was supposed to take effect. In either event, if you are not modelling the Southern Railway and want to run this car appropriately, you'll want to flip the trucks to something in an Andrews (for up to the 1950s, when they were also booted) or a Bettendorf type truck. If you're modeling the Southern, you are theoretically OK with archbar trucks, since the ban only applied to interchange service and you could state that the car is in captive service on the system. But wouldn't that have eliminated the need for a listing in the ORER, which is supposed to list cars in interchange service? Well... yeah, I guess so, but I think it's fair to say that isn't always true, either. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

70040, $22.20 - 51 Foot Mechanical Refrigerator, Exterior Post ("Ribside"), Milwaukee Road. Orange sides, black ends, aluminum roof. Mostly black lettering including reporting marks on left. Red and white herald on right. Reporting Marks: MILW 9798. Approximate Time Period: mid-1960's (1965 build date given by MTL) to late 1970's. Previous Releases: A six-pack with road numbers 9651, 9678, 9685, 9711, 9778, and 9788, November 1989. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Take three body colors-- black, aluminum and orange-- and add two lettering colors-- black on the sides, white on the ends, and garnish with a two color herald-- red and white-- and you've got the recipe for a pretty pricey reprint. The first run of these cars came in at $12.00 each, back in 1989. Well, that's inflation for you, I guess. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The ORER for April 1970, the closest I have to the 1965 build date, shows the series 9650 to 9799 of 145 cars, described as "Mechanical Refrigerator, Plug Doors, Cushion Underframe" with AAR Class "RPL". The inside length was 51 feet 1 inch and the outside length 64 feet 2 inches. Two items probably account for the more than 13 foot difference: First, the cushion underframe, get out those extended draft gear trucks! Second, as with ice cooled reefers, the space needed for cooling apparatus takes away from the available space for loading, meaning the inside length is noticably shorter than the actual car. Prior to mechanical refrigeration, this takeaway was to account for the ice bunkers and such; on these cars, it's the actual mechanical refrigeration equipment and such. The dimensions suggest that this car would actually be termed a 57 foot car, and references located by my helpers (see below) concur. In short, the MTL model is, well... short, by a bit. Meanwhile, notations in the ORER state that the cars were equipped with movable bulkheads, load dividers or compartmentalizers (which may explain the "LRD" on the door), and also "fork lift truck pallets, platforms or skids which will be considered part of car." I don't know why this says to me that this car might be hauling frozen food, but it does. No facts behind this, it just sounds right. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Subtract the fork lift pallets and add wood racks, or, perhaps, just rename what's already in the car, for the April 1976 ORER listing, for which there were 133 cars out of the possible 150 in the series. However, between then and April 1981, there must have been a selloff or something, as there are just three cars remaining, road numbers 9669, 9682, and 9713. The Milwaukee was already retreating at that point, so perhaps this is an example of that. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The December 1993 issue of Rail Model Journal shows MILW 9966, which is a car that was built later (1973). The paint scheme is very similar to the car MTL reprinted. You've heard of "stand in" models? This would be a "stand in" photo... Fortunately, several readers chimed in to cite a better reference, namely, the Morning Sun book "Milwaukee Road Color Guide, Volume 2" by Doug Nighswonger. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

105030, $12.95 - 50 Foot 14 Panel Gondola, Fixed Ends, Baltimore and Ohio. Black with white lettering including reporting marks on left, roadname across center, and "13 States" circle herald on right. Reporting Marks: B&O 264000. Approximate Time Period: mid-1950's (somewhat of a guess) through the decade of the 1970's. Previous Release: Road Number 351065, February 1998. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

What struck me first on this reprint is that the road number is quite a ways away from that of the first run, almost to the point of making this a "not a reprint." Why is that? © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Sometime in the decade of the 1950's, the series into which this reprint falls appeared; it's not in the July 1950 ORER but does show in the January 1959 edition. The series 264000 to 264999 was AAR Classification "GB" and description "Gondola, Steel, Steel Floor." This contrasted with the three series directly above it in the Register listing, all of which were drop end gondolas with roughly the same dimensions. Outside length was the key exception. Perhaps it was different due to the fixed ends, so lading couldn't "hang out" of the gondola? Not sure about that. Anyway, the dimensions of this series were: inside length 52 feet 6 inches, inside height 3 feet 6 inches, outside length 54 feet 2 inches, extreme height 7 feet. Comparing this to the MTL model, we find the usual compromise: the car is a little short inside the body but a little long when counting the couplers. There were 736 cars in the main series in '59 and a subset of 10 cars that had been given extended sides and ends and dedicated to service hauling scrap cans and scrap tinplate. (So I guess if you had any old Lionel or American Flyer stuff you didn't want... never mind.) Doing a car like this might be an interesting project, so if you're interested, a couple of individual numbers are 264076 and 264087. Have at it! © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The January 1964 ORER shows a drop of just one car to 735 plus those "tinplate ten." By April 1970, though, there was a "big drop" as my son used to say, all the way down to 115 cars, but the ten hauling tin were still OK. There were 81 pieces left in April 1976, and the series did manage to hobble through the rest of that decade to leave 21 cars in April 1981. We'll call the ATP done at that point. Keep in mind, though, that by that time the "13 States" herald had been supplanted by the large "B&O" initials and then by the Chessie cat. So the Approximate Time Period may be a bit generous. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

So, why was the number series shifted for MTL's reprint? The January '59 Register, which I did not have at the time of the original release, offers a clue in its entry for the original road number: "Cars in series... are equipped with hooded skids and permanent end buffers for handling coiled sheet steel." Naturally, those aren't included with the model car, so perhaps it was better to move to a series that was more of your general service type. Makes sense to me. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

N SCALE SPECIAL EDITION RELEASES:

21320, $19.85 - 40 Foot Plug Door Boxcar, Illinois State Car. Aluminum sides, black roof, ends, sills and door hardware. Red and black lettering including reporting marks, state name and outline map on left. Four color process graphics including state flag, state flower (violet) and state bird (cardinal) on right. Reporting Marks: IL 1818. First release in the States of the Union series. NOTE: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The MTL "States of the Union" series has been compared to the U.S. Mint's State Quarters Program more than a few times in my presence, so perhaps we could start with what was chosen for Illinois' State Quarter. In October, 2002, the design was announced by Governor George Ryan. It consists of a figure of Abraham Lincoln as a fairly young man, in front of an outline of the state map. To the left are a depiction of a farm and the words, "Land of Lincoln"; to the right is the skyline of Chicago and the words "21st State / Century". At the top is the state name and 1818, its year of entry into the Union. And that's a pretty good way to sum up Illinois. Chicago is probably the first thing people think of, but most of the land remains devoted to farms and small towns. While Lincoln wasn't born in Illinois, he made his name in Springfield, the state capital. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

[For those of you reading this away from North America, we're well underway here in the States with a "special run" of twenty-five cent pieces, one for each state. These legal tender coins were issued starting in 1999, and the program will run into 2008 with five coins issued per year. They are being released in the order in which the states joined the Union; Delaware was first and Hawaii will be the fiftieth.] © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

The oldest European settlement in what is now Illinois was Cahokia, founded 1699; the land was part of French Lousiana first before being turned over to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War. George Rogers Clark-- remember him from history class?-- took Kaskaskia from the British in 1778. (I certainly recall the names Kaskaskia and Cahokia from grade school, but forgot which was which a long time ago.) The Illinois Territory was separated from the Indiana Territory in 1809, nine years before statehood. Chicago was founded by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable circa 1779. There's more where that came from at the official Illinois website. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

One question that I've been asked several times since the series was first announced was, why start with Illinois? I have three possible explanations: First, the announcement was made at the Chicago Hobby Show, so it was quite politically correct to begin with the state in which the news was broken. Second, this release roughly coincides with the release of the Illinois State Quarter, which will be the first of 2003. And my favorite speculation, Chicago, Illinois was and remains the single largest rail center in North America. I have not officially looked this up but I think that more Class I railroads had trackage in Illinois than any other state. (Missouri might be close.) Illinois' share of railroad history, museums and retail outlets is quite enviable as well. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

71060, $22.95 - 89 Foot TOFC Flat Car, Pepsi-Cola®. White with blue lettering including reporting marks on left. Red and blue contemporary Pepsi logo in center. Reporting Marks: PC 710103. 18th release in the Pepsi-Cola series. Note: This item has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Although not on the website on in the Short Line, the reporting marks listed above were confirmed with MTL. Let the record show that I called this right last month, although it's hardly a major bit of prediction. What is a little surprising is that an 89 footer was selected to go under the trailer. Well, more modern trailer, modern flat, I guess; double stacks not being available in the MTL lineup. The paint scheme on this car would be contemporeanous with the trailer's decoration, both with an "Approximate Time Period" of "now". © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

TOFC flats have a tough time on my layout, given the clearances I've used, but I don't normally run them since my pike is set in 1963. In the interests of research, however, I tried an earlier release of the 71000 series on my "Starter Layout" which is an oval with 9 3/4 inch radius curves. The car does make it around, although with a considerable amount of overhang. But it can work. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

Nn3 SCALE (NARROW GAUGE): No releases this month.

Z SCALE:

Reprint:
14122, Marklin Coupler, $14.75, 14122-2, Micro-Trains Coupler, $16.45, 40 Foot Boxcar, Single Door (Superior or "Wide Rib") Door, Nickel Plate Road. Aluminum with black lettering including reporting marks on left and herald on right. Reporting Marks: NKP 8505. Approximate Time Period: late 1940's (1947 build date given by MTL) to late 1950's. Previous Release: Road Number 8502, January 1991. NOTE: This item (both versions) has been sold out and discontinued. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

According to a posting on the Railroad.net board, the NKP never had dedicated express trains but handled that service in their regular passenger trains. But that doesn't mean they didn't have express equipment. As MTL notes in its car copy, this short series of ten cars were outfitted for that line of work. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

I held my breath as I checked the ORER for July 1950 (Westerfield CD-ROM), since passenger equipment normally isn't listed in it. But we catch a break this time. The series 8500 to 8509 is present, with AAR Classification BX, which translates to "Box Express: A box car constructed and equipped to render it suitable for passenger train service, having suitable side doors, with or without end doors or windows." The cars are described as "Box, Aluminum Body, Steel Frame." Note M just confirms MTL's car copy: "Cars in series... are equipped for Passenger Train Service having high-speed trucks, steel wheels, steam and signal train lines." Overall, the cars are still pretty standard in the dimensional area, with inside length of 40 feet 6 inches, inside height of 10 feet even, outside length of 41 feet 10 inches, extreme height of 14 feet 6 inches, a 6 foot door, and 100,000 pounds capacity. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.

This appears to have been a short-lived series, as it's all present and accounted for in the January 1959 ORER (Westerfield CD-ROM), but gone from the January 1964 Register. It could have been flipped to the passenger listings, but I doubt it, since in the "BX" translation in that volume is also listed a requirement that new build BX cars must be listed in the ORER, although they were to be numbered in passenger train sequences. © 2003 George J. Irwin. All rights reserved. Reposting prohibited.