Micro-Trains - 027 00 500 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, Steel, Plug Door - Evans Products - 60003

Specific Item Information: This 50’ standard box car with plug door is blue with white lettering and runs on Barber Roller Bearingtrucks. Built in 1962, this Evans Railcar Leasing boxcar had all the high-tech bells andwhistles of theearly 1960s. It was equipped with a Hydra-Cushion underframe, Damage-Free Bulkhead loadingsystem, and heavy insulation - advertised by the “Kid Glove Treatment” logo.

Prototype History: The 50-foot boxcar made its first appearance in the 1930s and steadily grew in popularity over the years, which further improved redundancies by allowing for even more space within a given car. Today, the 50-footer remains the common boxcar size. After the second world war ended, and steel became once again readily available, steel became the go-to choice for construction of boxcars. Pullman Standard and ACF were some of the most prolific builders of these cars.

In the 1960s, the flush, "plug" style sliding door was introduced as an option that provides a larger door to ease loading and unloading of certain commodities. The tight-fitting doors are better insulated and allow a car's interior to be maintained at a more even temperature.

Road Name History: Founded as U.S. Railway Equipment, or U.S. Railway Manufacturing, the name was changed to Evans Railcar Manufacturing in 1964. Evans Products Freight Cars built in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's were plentiful in the 1990's and many EP Freight Cars are still around. SIECO became one of their subsidiaries. Evans was purchased by GE Transportation sometime in the 1980s and transformed into a maintenance division.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide