Price: $24.98
Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
5601 W. Florist Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
www.walthers.com
Era: mid-1990s to present (as painted)
Road names: Railbox (mid-1990s repaint and original schemes); Ashley, Drew & Northern; Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern; Port Huron & Detroit; and Vermont Ry. (SSI scheme). Two road numbers per scheme.
Comments: A newly tooled 50-foot boxcar, based on an American Car & Foundry prototype, is the latest addition to the WalthersMainline product line. The injection-molded plastic HO scale model features a one-piece body; a separate roof with eight tabs that lock into corresponding slots on the car’s interior; and a single casting for the draft-gear boxes, center sills, body bolsters, crossties, and crossbearers. The air reservoir, brake cylinder, and AB control valve are separate castings tethered by freestanding piping. The grab irons, ladders, and crossover platforms are molded.
Our sample is decorated as RBOX no. 30284, part of Railbox’s 30000 through 30499-series of 5,275-cubic-foot-capacity boxcars built under lot 11-06849 by American Car & Foundry in February and March 1978. This class of cars is used to transport items such as pulpboard, canned goods, and ingots.
I compared the model to a prototype photo of car no. 30284. For the most part, the lettering matches prototype placement. The Railbox logo and “Next Load, Any Road” slogan were positioned a bit high on the model, but not objectionably so.
The Railbox Yellow paint is smooth and evenly applied. The color separation between the yellow body and black door was crisp. All of the printing was legible. I especially appreciated that the correct lot number is stenciled under the consolidated panel.
There was a minor detail discrepancy. The tack and route boards are molded on the door, but they should be to the left of the door (the tack board under the Plate C stencil, the route board on the next body panel to the right).
The model’s dimensions closely match prototype drawings. The distance over the coupler pulling faces was a scale 1′-6″ long, which is typical because model couplers are oversized.
A metal weight secured to the car’s interior with three screws accounts for most of the car’s 4.5 ounces. The car is at the proper weight per National Model Railroad Association recommended practice 20.1. The 33″ metal wheels, mounted on plastic axles, are correctly gauged. The Proto-Max couplers are at the correct height.
The WalthersMainline ACF 5,275-cubic-foot-capacity boxcar features a good mix of molded and separately applied details, allowing the car to withstand typical handling. The car would look good in a manifest freight or parked at an industry.
