Description

Within a few years after the introduction of the 1932 ARA standard box car design, the inside height of house cars began to increase, primarily through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Railroad and its X31 family of cars.  By 1937, the AAR had increased the inside height of its standard design to 10’0″ (and the inside width to 9’2″.)  In  the intervening years, a few roads experimented with cars that were based upon the existing AAR standard design, but with slightly taller inside dimensions.

The first of these roads was the Santa Fe.  In mid-1936, the Santa Fe purchased 500 box cars from Pullman-Standard (Lot 5522, class Bx-26, car nos. 136000-136499) that followed the AAR standard, but used an inside height of 9’7″.  The Santa Fe also opted for the Duryea Cushioned Underframe, which it was using on just about all new car purchases at the time.  The increase in height over the 1932 design meant that the Dreadnaught ends could accommodate an additional corrugation, giving them four in the top panel and five in the bottom.  As delivered, the cars featured only the Santa Fe emblem, without slogans, as these cars pre-dated their use on cars.  Undoubtedly, they would have been repainted with slogans and maps or slogans and “ship and travel” lettering, but we have not found any photo documentation of a Bx-26 with a slogan, except for a car late in life in maintenance of way service.  The cars were painted mineral red on all surfaces, except for black roofs that were the result of slate granules being added to wet paint to provide traction.

The kits feature one-piece cast resin bodies, resin, styrene, and wire details, including a faithful reproduction of the Duryea Cushioned Underframe, the usually accurate Speedwitch decals and detailed instructions including numerous photos. $53.00

Note that we have changed the numbering of these kits as part of their re-issue. They were formerly K114.4 – K114.8, with each specific sub-number denoting a specific slogan. The kit numbers are now merged into K114.4 and we ask that you specify your slogan preference after you place your order (either email us or we will contact you via email.)

Slogans include Grand Canyon Line, El Capitan, The Scout, The Chief or The Super Chief