50' DOUBLE-DOOR BOXCARS
The automobile was the primary motivation for the development of fifty-foot boxcars as their weight was far below the capacity of a boxcar. While double doors were necessary for loading automobiles, they also eased the loading of other bulky cargos such as lumber or furniture. Like their forty-foot counterparts, fifty-foot boxcars were designated according to the equipment they carried as follows:
XR (Formerly XAR)- A boxcar with side doors at least ten feet wide, and equpipped with permanent automobile stowing equipment. It may be with or without end doors, and is usually marked “Automobile”. A car that could also be used for general service was formerly designated as type “XMR”.
XF- A boxcar with an interior coating to prevent contamination of processed foods.
XL (Formerly XML)- A boxcar equipped with loader devices, consisting of perforated side rails, crossbars or bulkheads.
XM- A boxcar suitable for general service.
XP (Formerly XMP)- A boxcar specially equipped for a specific commodity, and not suitable for general service. The commodity is usually noted in the Equipment Register. Boxcars equipped with permanent racks for stowing automobile parts were formerly designated “XAP”.
The rise of fifty-foot boxcars coincided with the dieselization of America’s railroads, which made it possible to run much longer trains. While this saved the railroads money, it also increased freight damage due to slack action. Because of this, many of the new boxcars of the time were equipped with various loading devices designed to secure loads from moving. When these devices were new, they were often advertised on the car sides, which can be found on many of our models. These devices were expensive and complicated, and have been largely replaced by inflatable cushions.
The chart below lists fifty-foot double-door boxcars by type on the New York Central Railroad between 1947 and 1966. It is interesting to note the amount of boxcars that were dedicated to the automotive industry, both for the transport of parts and whole automobiles. The shipment of automobiles in boxcars ended with the adoption of the auto rack, making type XR boxcars obsolete. Though auto parts continued to be an important source of revenue, they were increasingly being transported by longer and higher boxcars.
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD X32 ROUND ROOF BOXCARS
MICRO-TRAINS and FINE N-SCALE
In 1932, the AAR adopted a standard inside height for boxcars of nine feet, four inches in. The Pennsylvania Railroad felt a need for higher capacity boxcars, particularly for automobile service. They developed the X32 boxcars with an interior height of ten feet and rounded edges at the roof to reduce clearance problems. The X32 cars were constructed with both 12’ doors and 14’6” doors. In addition, some round-roof boxcars were built with end doors and designated X33. As larger automobile cars appeared in the fifties, many X32’s were rebuilt into X32d single-door boxcars as well as K9 stock cars (A model I’d love to see in N-scale).
The Micro-Trains 79000 series model represents an X32 boxcar with 14’6” doors, though some of the roadnames offered represent cars with 12’ doors. A cast resin kit of an X32 with 12’ doors is available from Fine N-scale, which includes decals for Pennsy’s shaded keystone scheme. The chart below lists the roads that originally owned X32 boxcars, as well as the short lines that picked them up second hand in later years. Automobile cars are listed seperately.
In 1961, Northern Pacific acquired several series of secondhand double-door boxcars for hauling lumber. This included two series of X32’s as well as a series of 40’ X31’s. The July, 2009 release of Micro Trains 07900060 included a green veneer load with no doors. While correctly numbered for the series of 14’6” boxcars, I could find no evidence of its existence. However, two photos exist of green veneer cars with 12’ doors: a 1971 photo in the Railroad Picture Archive website as well as a 1973 photo in the Northern Pacific Color Guide. The Northern Pacific Color Guide also contains a 1976 photo of 40’ veneer car NP 39025, which is also listed in the October, 1975 Equipment Register.
50’ PLUG/SLIDING DOOR BOXCARS
MICRO-TRAINS
Like their forty-foot counterparts, fifty-foot combination door boxcars were popular with granger roads as grain haulers. For other railroads, the auxiliary plug door provided a flush interior wall for the installation of loading devices. Cars equipped with loading devices carried a mechanical designation of XL, and usually carried markings denoting their status.
Micro-Trains introduced their 33000 body style in 1977. It features a fifteen-foot door opening with plug and sliding doors of equal size. None of the doors on the prototypes quite match the model, with most having a sixteen-foot door opening consisting of a nine-foot sliding door and a seven-foot plug door. Notes on specific road names are as follows:
ATLANTIC COAST LINE (ACL)- The quantities listed in the July 1969 through July 1981 Equipment Registers include cars with SCL reporting marks.
CANADIAN PACIFIC (CP)- Micro-Trains 33090 represents the as-delivered series 293435-293934, which was equipped with auto racks. In the early sixties, the auto racks were removed and the cars renumbered to 201000-201494.
FLORIDA EAST COAST (FEC)- The actual built date of these cars is a mystery, as the model with road number 5002 shows a built date of 7/62. However the series is not listed in the April 1963 Equipment Register, but it does appear in the October 1966 issue. Photos of the prototype show it had a high handbrake and running boards, though they differ from the model by having superior sliding doors and plug doors with four vertical rods. The original 1979 issue has a road number of 5029 and a built date of 7/67; it represents a subsequent series of double plug door cars numbered 5017-5030.
GREAT NORTHERN (GN)- Micro-Trains 33010 is numbered for a large series of boxcars with 12’ door openings leased to Great Northern in 1969. Despite the late date, prototype photos show that they had running boards. In addition, Great Northern received 250 cars with the same paint scheme in 1961. Numbered 36000-26249 and 36750-36773, they had 14’1” doors.
UNION PACIFIC (UP)- Micro-Trains 33050 represents a series of boxcars rebuilt from older cars in 1972. They had no running boards, lowered handbrakes and exterior rib plug doors, making Micro-Trains 76040 a more appropriate choice. Micro-Trains 033 00 220 carries the Overland Shield logo, which was applied to a few cars in order to retain their copyright.
YREKA WESTERN (YW)- Yreka Western acquired Western Pacific’s combination door cars in 1976. Though most had had their running boards removed by this time, photos show that at least one car still had running boards.
Micro-Trains introduced their 76000 body style in 1997. It represented a fifty-foot combination door boxcar which had been modernized by removing its running boards, but retaining the high ladders and handbrake. As such, the model would differ from cars built after 1966, which would have had low ladders and handbrake. An (L) in the road column indicates cars with low handbrakes, while an (X) indicates plug doors with exterior ribs.
AKRON, CANTON & YOUNGSTOWN (ACY)- This road owned two series of combination door cars: 1700-1999 delivered in early 1965 with running boards and 2200-2500 delivered in late 1966 without running boards. The Micro-Trains models are lettered for the latter series.
BRITISH COLUMBIA RAILWAY (BCOL)- Micro-Trains runner pack #86 is numbered for series 40000-40399, which were delivered to the Pacific Great Eastern in 1971 as PGER 40000-40399. An additional series was delivered to British Columbia Railways as BCIT 40400-41084 in 1972. Both series had exterior rib plug doors and were designated for international service only. By 1975, the reporting marks of both series were being changed to BCOL, a process that had been completed by 1986. The quantities listed for October 1975 and July 1981 include all three reporting marks.
