Third and Fourth Batches of 86' Auto Parts Boxcars.
The first three paint schemes seen here first appeared in the 1960s while the second three first appeared during the 1970s. These runs are IN STORES NOW! MSRP: $24.95 for single cars, $49.90 for 2-packs.
86051 Chicago & North Western double door single car; 86052 Chicago & North Western 2-pack.
C&NW had a significant fleet of auto parts cars. In later years, many were also used to haul breakfast cereal!
86061 Chesapeake & Ohio double door single car. 86062 C&O 2-pack.
Although largely associated with coal, C&O had a large network of lines in Michigan acquired with the Pere Marquette Railway in the 1940s.
87031 Missouri Pacific (KOG) quad door single car.
MoPac assigned this group of cars to their subsidiary Kansas Oklahoma & Gulf, resulting in the KOG reporting marks.
Products bearing Union Pacific, Rio Grande, Chicago & North Western, Cotton Belt, Western Pacific and Missouri Pacific marks are made under trademark license from Union Pacific Railroad Company.
86071 Denver & Rio Grande Western double door single car; 86072 D&RGW 2-pack.
This run is a good example of how auto parts boxcars are owned and routed. There are no assembly plants located on the Rio Grande, however they are on the route from midwestern plants and those on the west coast. Therefore, within a multi-railroad pool of cars, Rio Grande contributed a proportion of the fleet. Since
these pools encompass plants across the country, Rio Grande cars could circulate between Ohio and Missouri for years for instance and never ride the Rio Grande! This applies to every roadname. The key when modeling a realistic auto parts train is to have a wide variety of road names in your train.
86081 Detroit Toledo & Ironton double door single car; 86082 DT&I 2-pack.
Detroit Toledo & Ironton, as the name implies, serves the heart of America's auto industry. In fact, at one time the railroad was owned by Henry Ford. DT&I's massive fleet was also one of the most colorful with cars painted blue, green, and even magenta. We're starting with a trio of the striking sky blue cars.
86091 Conrail - Early, Hasty Repaint double door single car.
Conrail inherited its (and in fact the largest) fleet of auto parts boxcars from predecessors Penn Central and Erie Lackawanna. A number of these cars were hastily repainted shortly after the merger with early, often temporary, sets of stencils. CR 293357 was one of these. This car also received a replacement door during servicing that had been painted a different brown from the body of the car.
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