Bluford Shops N 86741 86' Double Door Boxcar, Conrail #237960

Bluford Shops is bringing back our popular 86_x0092_ Double Door Auto Parts Boxcars. These will include our recently improved draft gear, magnetically operating couplers and metal wheels. The minimum radius is 11_x0094_. They also include separate wire grab irons and etched metal platforms on the ends. The draft gear is mounted to the body but has a spring centered swing action that both resists string-lining the train pulling through curves and resists the trucks climbing the rail during shoving moves.


These super-size boxcars were originally built to carry high-value low-density automobile parts such as body panels and window glass to final assembly plants. Cars were acquired in wide ranging pools including several plants and the railroads that connected them. It was common for cars to run for months or years without traveling on their home road_x0092_s rails.


We now skip ahead a quarter of a century. Conrail adopted a more practical logo size and launched their Conrail Quality program. Then in 1999, Conrail was split between Norfolk Southern and CSX. Cars going to CSX had their reporting marks changed to NYC while NS bound cars kept their CR reporting marks. Then in 2005, yellow reflector stripes began to appear on rolling stock. It is during this period that we depict this group of cars.