Product Spotlight - S Gauge 2018 Norfolk Southern Rebuilt Steel Box Cars

Available Items

35-74023

S Gauge MTH S Gauge Rebuilt Steel Box Car (Hi-Rail Wheels)
  • Norfolk Southern

35-74024

S Gauge MTH S Gauge Rebuilt Steel Box Car (Hi-Rail Wheels)
  • Norfolk Southern

During and after World War I, American railroads took delivery of tens of thousands of boxcars built to USRA designs: single or double-sheathed wooden sides, wooden doors, and steel ends, roofs and underframes. By the late 1920s, however, all-steel cars had become the norm, although new car construction slowed to a crawl during the Depression.

A cheaper alternative was rebuilding older USRA cars, replacing the wooden sides and doors with steel and re-using the existing underframe, ends, and/or roofs. Brake systems were also upgraded, from the earlier K-brake to the more modern AB brake system. As World War II loomed and traffic began to pick up, railroads upgraded thousands of USRA boxcars to all-steel construction, usually doing the work in their own shops. Rebuilding programs continued through and after the war, and steel rebuilt cars were a common sight into the late 1950s, with many serving into the following decade.

While rebuilt car details often differed from railroad to railroad, a spotting feature common to most of the cars was the sill brackets added to the existing underframe side sills — a feature replicated on these M.T.H. models. These sill brackets supported new steel sides that were spaced father apart than the old wooden sides, making a wider car with greater carrying capacity.

Product Features

Product Features: 

  • Intricately Detailed Durable ABS Body
  • Metal Wheels and Axles
  • Decorative Brake Wheels
  • Separate Metal Handrails
  • Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
  • Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
  • Needle-Point Axles
  • American Flyer Compatible Coupler
  • S Scale Kadee Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
  • Sliding Car Doors
  • 1:64 Scale Dimensions
  • Unit Measures:8 13/16” x 1 7/8” x 2 9/16”
  • Operates On 20" Radius Curves