Athearn HO scale 50-foot SIECO boxcar

Athearn is now marketing HO models of a common 70-ton single-sheathed boxcar built in the 1970s for general service. These handsome Genesis-series models come ready-to-run and feature numerous separately applied details, magnetic knuckle couplers, and roller- bearing trucks with rotating caps.

The prototype cars were built by the Southern Iron & Equipment Co. (SIECO) of Atlanta, Ga., starting in the early 1970s. At the time, incentive per diem rates (car rentals) were instituted to encourage ordinary boxcar construction. The November 1996 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman included an article and prototype plans, while additional roster information was published in the August and September 2001 issues of Railmodel Journal.

Athearn’s model represents one of the early SIECO cars built to Plate B clearance dimensions for unrestricted use nationwide. These cars can be identified by several characteristics:

• Straight, inward-facing channel side sills running from bolster to bolster reinforced with a steel channel beneath each doorway.
• Eight-panel sides on each side of the doorways.
• Inset Dreadnaught ends with the corner flanges turned outward where they’re riveted to the sides.
• Stanray X-panel roof.

The Boston & Maine model shown here represents a prototype from series 78000-78599 built in 1973 and 1974. It closely follows the dimensions in the drawing plus the ones listed in the January 1978 Railway Equipment Register.

A small instruction sheet is provided with information on changing couplers, tips for assembling undecorated kits, and an exploded isometric drawing showing how things fit together.

The well-detailed carbody has the floor, sides, and ends molded in one piece, while the roof and underframe are separate parts. Its brake system, end ladders, stirrup steps, and uncoupling levers are also plastic, but the side grab irons are formed wire. The etched metal end platforms, just above the couplers, have a nice see-through effect.

Athearn is introducing new 70-ton roller-bearing trucks with a scale 5′-8″ wheelbase and rotating bearing caps, and they’re included with this car. They have rigid frames and wheelsets with blackened metal RP25 contour wheels mounted in acetal plastic tubes. The bearing caps are pressed onto the metal axle ends which step down in diameter and pass through a narrow retainer in the sideframe. This metal axle turning in a thin acetal plastic journal is relatively free-rolling compared to the roller bearing trucks Athearn marketed about 25 years ago.

All of the wheelsets matched the National Model Railroad Association gauge except for tire width. The Genesis wheel is .090″ wide, which is narrower than the regular NMRA S4 standard of .108″. This width is close to the NMRA Fine Scale standard of .086″. Even so, I didn’t have any problem running the model through commercial turnouts.

Model Railroader’s sample cars came with body-mounted E-Z Mate magnetic knuckle couplers. The coupler box height is fine but both couplers drooped, so I added a thin styrene shim inside the box to eliminate the problem.

With its concealed steel weight, our sample car is ½ ounce under the 4½ ounces called for in the NMRA’s Recommended Practice of one ounce plus ½ ounce per inch of length. The roof pops off, so it’ll be easy to add another ½ ounce inside the body.

All of our sample cars were smoothly spray-painted including the silver roofs. The printed lettering is simply excellent. Even the block of tiny lease data in the upper left corner is readable! These cars all match specific prototypes with two car numbers in each scheme.

It’s great to see this excellent model of a plain, modern boxcar join the HO car fleet.

HO SIECO 50-foot boxcar

Price: $23.98 each

Manufacturer:
Athearn Inc.
19010 Laurel Park Rd.
Compton, CA 90222
www.athearn.com

Description:
Ready-to-run plastic freight cars

Road names:
Boston & Maine
The Milwaukee Road
Norfolk & Western
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
Saint Lawrence RR