Eastern Seaboard Models - 222401 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, PRR X58 - Conrail - 209479

Specific Item Information: Painted Tuscan red with black and white printing.

Model Information: The body and underframe are injection molded plastic, with etched brass roofwalk, brake platform and end platforms. Intricate and accurate detail is present throughout. The model rides at the prototypically-correct height above the rails, on BLMA's ASF 70-ton Ride Control roller-bearing trucks fitted with low-profile metal wheelsets, and comes with the following equipment variations based on the prototype -

Features: As-Built body - with roofwalk, high brake gear, high ladders; Transitional body - no roofwalk, high brake gear, low ladders except for the A end; Transitional body variant - no roofwalk, high brake gear, high ladders; Modern - no roofwalk, lowered brake gear, low ladders; Hydra-Cushion or Keystone cushioned underframe; Simulated cushioned-underframe coupler pockets are integrated into the underframe.

Road Name History: The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail (reporting mark CR), was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. Conrail is a portmanteau of "consolidated" and "rail" from the name of the company.

The U.S. federal government created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and Erie Lackawanna Railway. With the benefit of industry-wide regulatory requirements being reduced (via the 4R Act and the Staggers Act), Conrail began to turn a profit in the 1980s and was turned over to private investors in 1987. The two remaining Class I railroads in the East, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), agreed in 1997 to split the system approximately equally, returning rail freight competition to the Northeast by essentially undoing the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad that created Penn Central. Following Surface Transportation Board approval, CSX and NS took control in August 1998, and on June 1, 1999, began operating their portions of Conrail.

Brand/Importer Information: Eastern Seaboard Models was founded in 1987. They are a manufacturer of N scale reproductions of North American eastern railroad prototypes. The have both decorated other manufacturers' models as well as designed body styles of their own. They are located at PO Box 301, Waldwick, New Jersey 07463-0301 U.S.A.

Their 2016 lineup includes ready-to-run gondolas, well cars, hoppers, tank cars and boxcars. They also produce craftsman quality kits in their "Made in America" series. ESM products may be purchased directly from their website.