Boxcars for the Conn River set

[conductorchris]

This is a "1937" 40' steel boxcar, distinguished from more common postwar versions by being six inches shorter. Model and textures by Rick Franzosa.

[conductorchris]

ATSF Boxcar. Note the straight lines on the map. Another "1937" boxcar, six inches shorter than most post-war boxcars. Dreadnaught ends and Murphy panel roof.
Santa Fe boxcars were common enough to be found in any random sample of freight cars at just about any location of the country.

[conductorchris]

Baltimore & Ohio M-26 boxcar from the 1920's, still active in the mid-fifties:

Model and original textures by Tim Muir. Reskinning by me. (There is, by the way, already a free B&O M-26 boxcar available at Elvas Tower, but these were common in 1956 and we are aiming for a representative cross-section in the set, so I made a new version to include. Thanks to Tim for allowing his work to be part of this set. These are the same body style as used by the Pennsylvania Railroad X-29 and the ARA "1923" plan.)

[conductorchris]

Bangor & Aroostoock - another skin by Rick, edited by me:
This is a lower height "1932" boxcar.
Not too many BAR boxcars made it onto the Connecticut River Line, but they traveled in large volume on the B&M mainline, so it seemed potentially useful to have one in a B&M set.
I wanted to include one of the red white & blue "State of Maine" boxcars too, but basically ran out of time and since they were rare on the Conn River (and already available in freeware) it was not the priority.
These cars were used in paper service and much less likely than other cars to join the national free-running pool of boxcars used for any load on any road.

[conductorchris]

And here is the roster of B&M boxcars in the set.
(Other Boston & Maine cars include 5 hoppers, a flat car, 4 gondolas, 4 reefers - plus a batch of cabooses)
Those wood outside braced boxcars were commonly used for LCL service in the later years.

[conductorchris]

Note the interesting viking roof on this "1937" boxcar.

[trs666]

Great work on this set in general but - the boxcars/reefers in particular. It is quite a treat to no longer have to spend 15 minutes hunting for enough boxcars that still have full ladders & roof walks while trying to make up a consist for a train that I want to run in (for example) the circa 1962 time frame.

[vermont204]

"Viking Roof" otherwise known as corrugated steel.

[conductorchris]

Thank you



The large fleet of CN boxcars reflects the fact that fifty percent of the boxcars moving on CV were CN cars. Many were interchanged to B&M, even more ran down to the New haven railroad in New London. What I love about this batch of boxcars is how much variety there is, even within generations (the wood cars have steel and wood doors, for example; the 1937 boxcars have two roof styles as do the postwar boxcars. And the different varieties of paint).

These CN boxcars have not really been done before, excepting some made by Paul Charland. This set would be valuable to anyone who wants a period Canadian fleet.

[conductorchris]

Another Viking roof on a "1937" boxcar:

[conductorchris]

The Canadian Pacific boxcar fleet.
Like CN, there was quite a variety within the basic 40' boxcar - different eras brought different roofs, ends, heights and paint schemes.

[conductorchris]

CV "War emergency" boxcars (which lasted into the 1970's). I think these were most often used for bagged feed from Saint Albans and company service.
The other kind of CV boxcar out there were double door auto boxes, which Paul Charland modeled and are available at trainsim. The route would be incomplete without them.
Model and textures by Rick Franzosa, edited by me

[conductorchris]

This is a "1932" boxcar with an early welded side. The D&h was ahead of it's time. I put it next to a postwar boxcar to see the height difference.

[conductorchris]

A Lackawana version of the 1920's ARA steel boxcar (shape by Tim Muir):

[conductorchris]

Another "1937" boxcar with Viking roof and interesting ends along with a "1923" ARA steel design, built in 1930.
Erie had a fair number of cars and they showed up everywhere.