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In assessing the boxcar kits produced by the SLHTS over the years and surveying models which are or have been available, it’s apparent that outside-braced single-sheathed wood boxcars are lacking. The Soo and W.C. boxcars of this type were quite unique to the railroad. Most of these have been produced as resin kits, but none of them are readily available at this time. For anyone modeling the 1950s steam-to-diesel transition era, these car types should make up a significant percent of the boxcar fleet on a Soo / W.C. roster.
Accurail’s 40’ single-sheathed boxcar with wood doors and ends is a great stand-in for these cars. It most closely resembles the cars rebuilt in 1950 from worn-out “saw-tooth” cars built by American Car and Foundry Co. in 1913, 1914 and 1915. These cars were rebuilt with straight side sills and six-foot doors, as replicated by the Accurail model. A total of 250 cars of this type were rebuilt and renumbered. At the time of the 1961 merger, 170 Soo cars remained with numbers 100 to 444, even numbers only. 75 W.C. cars remained with numbers 1500 to 1652, even numbers only.
The SLHTS has produced one Soo and one W.C. car number. We have also produced
decal sheets containing 12 additional
side and end number pairs for renumbering
these models, in case one would like a larger roster of this car type. The decal sets also include matching letters “X” and “W” for renumbering as M.O.W. cars, which were used well into the 1980s. The numbers can also be used with other Soo cars.
These models were again produced for us by Accurail, based on their 7000-seriesboxcar kit. Artwork for all lettering was developed
and provided by the Soo Line Historical
and Technical Society.
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