In November 2021 I wrote about modeling a boxcar storage scene based around an ex-Milwaukee Road car in Milbank, S.D. This time around we’ll take a look at a car in the Minnesota Northern RR (MNN) yard in Crookston, Minn., my hometown.
Back in 2016 I was invited to the National Model Railroad Association Thousand Lakes Region convention in Fargo, N.D. Since I was about an hour from Crookston, I decided to take a trip back home. During my visit, I went to the MNN yard on the south end of town. My friend, then an employee of the railroad (since retired) escorted me on the tour. Much to my surprise, the former Great Northern (GN) wood boxcar storage shed that had been in the yard since my childhood was still there. This car serves as an example of how you can prototypically weave equipment from an earlier era into a contemporary scene.
Left-side details
When the boxcar was taken off its trucks, it was put on wood cribbing as the terrain slopes from north to south. The left side of the car received the heaviest modifications. The sliding steel door was removed and replaced with plywood doors. The opening above the doors was also filled with plywood.
A dusk-to-dawn area light was mounted above the double doors. Conduit runs from the light to a service box. An electrical mast attached to the car side runs parallel to the full-height eight-rung ladder on the side of the car.
My friend asked if I wanted to look inside. Naturally, I said yes. Though I knew the car was of GN heritage, I never knew its road number. Stencils on the back of the steel door and near the roofline read “G.N. 45520.” The car was part of the railroad’s 45000 through 46999 series built in 1942. The boxcar was based on the Association of American Railroads 1937 design.
Today, the boxcar storage shed sits empty. I’m not sure what was stored inside the car back in the day. However, I would guess it was flammable as there’s a faded “Danger. No Open Flames or Sparks” sign to the left of the plywood doors.
The B end
The brake wheel, or B, end of the car was stripped of most of its parts. The full-height ladder, brake wheel, and placard board were removed. The Ajax handbrake was still on the car, as well as a few grab irons near the bottom. Some original GN paint can be seen on the draft gear.
Right-side details
Much to my surprise, the right side of the boxcar was in decent shape. As you can see in the image above, this side of the car still has its original door, full-height ladder, and grab irons. After 30 years of being exposed to the elements, the white paint had largely peeled off, and a few patches were put near the sill to cover rotting wood. The cribbing, which looks to be a mix of bridge stringers and crossties, is clearly visible. From this lower vantage point, it appears the boxcar still has its wood running boards. And take a close look at the sills. That part of the car wasn’t painted white. That appears to be GN Vermillion Red!
A look at the A end
The full-height ladder was also removed from the A end of the car. A metal shed, painted in Burlington Northern’s standard green-and-white building scheme, was next to the car on a wood foundation. The building didn’t appear to be connected to the boxcar. A “Danger. No Smoking” sign was affixed to the rusty gray personnel door.
Modeling considerations
To re-create this scene in HO scale, I would start with an Athearn 40-foot wood boxcar kit (the undecorated model was No. 5230). Though no longer in production, they’re readily available on eBay and at model railroad swap meets. Remove the stirrup steps, modify the left-side door opening with wood or styrene, and use brass or phosphor bronze wire for the conduit and electrical mast. The trickiest part will be removing the molded full-height ladders on the A and B ends.
For the cribbing, I would use Grand Central Scenery HO scale wood bridge stringers. Wood crossties in HO scale are available from Northeastern Scale Lumber and Fast Tracks, among others.
The metal shed next to the boxcar will need to be scratchbuilt. It would be fairly easy to construct with Evergreen Scale Models styrene and a Pikestuff personnel door.
