Manufacturer
Atlas Model Railroad Co.
378 Florence Ave.
Hillside, NJ 07205
www.atlasrr.com
Road names: Rutland, Boston & Maine, Buffalo Creek, Lehigh Valley, Maine Central, Milwaukee Road, St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt), and Western Pacific (two numbers each).
Era: 1947 to 1980s (Rutland, 1954-1961)
Comments: When metal restrictions were lifted after World War II, America’s railways were eager for new steel boxcars to replace their aging, mostly wooden fleets. A new offering from Atlas represents one of the most popular designs of that day, Pullman-Standard’s 40-foot, 50-ton PS-1 steel boxcar, in N scale.
Atlas’ car is accurately detailed, with fine molding, see-through etched-metal running boards, and separately applied ladders. A separately molded underframe incorporates brake detail. The roof corner grab irons are likewise separately applied.
Our sample car is decorated in the Rutland’s eye-catching green-and yellow-scheme, with black ends and a silver roof. The 1-piece molded plastic body has crisply molded side weld seams, a 12-panel PS roof, and 7-foot 5-panel Superior doors. Other road names come with 10-panel roofs and 7-foot Youngstown or 7-panel Superior doors, as appropriate.
Our car matched color photos in The Rutland In Color by Philip R. Jordan (Morning Sun, 2003). Its dimensions matched builder’s diagrams in The Car Builder’s Encyclopedia (Simmons-Boardman, 1953). The model’s blackened metal wheels were in gauge, and its body-mounted knuckle couplers were at the right height. Its weight of 1 oz. matched National Model Railroad Association recommendation RP-20.1.
By the time production of these boxcars ended in 1963, more than 100,000 were roaming the rails. An N scale layout set between the 1950s and 1980s should have more than a few of these versatile freight cars.
