Athearn - 22991 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, SIECO - Sabine River & Northern - 1258

Model Information: MODEL FEATURES: Fully detailed molded under frames, Screw mounted trucks for enhanced performance, Accumate magnetically operated knuckle couplers, Weighted for optimum operation, Photo etched stirrup steps provide scale cross section, Scale profile brake wheels.

Prototype History: The 1970s saw a shift in general purpose boxcars from 40 foot to 50 foot exterior post designs. The incentive per diem regulations (IPD) made it very attractive for railroads to acquire large fleets of boxcars. Along with the larger companies like Pullman Standard and American Car & Foundry (ACF), Southern Iron & Equipment Co. (SIECO) also jumped into the 50 foot boxcar business. The SIECO railcars were recognizable by the "gap" between the roof and walls of the car.

Road Name History: SABINE RIVER AND NORTHERN RAILROAD. The Sabine River and Northern Railroad Company was chartered on April 20, 1965. to provide rail service to the Owens-Illinois, Incorporated, linerboard mill subsequently constructed near Mulford in northeastern Orange County. The railroad was projected to run from Bessmay on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway to a connection with the Southern Pacific in Orange County two miles west of the Louisiana border. The capital stock was $1,000,000, and the principal place of business was four miles south of Deweyville in Orange County. Construction of the Sabine River and Northern began at Echo in late 1965, and the segment between Echo and Mulford opened on April 19, 1966. Operation of the 31½ miles began on August 17, 1967, when service was extended to Mauriceville and Bessmay.

The mileage includes 6,800 feet of trackage rights over the Missouri Pacific Railroad at Mauriceville. Between Echo and Mauriceville the Sabine River and Northern constructed a completely new railroad. North of Mauriceville, however, the company laid its track on the abandoned grade of a Missouri Pacific branch line that once ran to Bessmay and Newton. In 1972 the railroad owned five diesel units and one car and reported a net income of $172,000. The Mulford mill and the railroad were acquired by a subsidiary of what is now Temple-Inland, Incorporated, in 1986. Other Temple-Inland facilities in southeast Texas include a Temple-Inland Forest Products Corporation sawmill at Buna and a bleached paperboard mill at Evadale.

The Buna sawmill was served by the Sabine River and Northern. In order to better integrate the three mills in the area and to provide additional outlets for the production of the Evadale facility, the railroad began work on a line to Evadale in June 1988. This eight mile branch, which leaves the main line eleven miles north of Mauriceville, opened on July 19, 1990. The Sabine River and Northern connects with all four major railroads serving southeastern Texas, the Southern Pacific Transportation at Echo, the Kansas City Southern Railway at Lemonville, the Missouri Pacific at Mauriceville, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at Bessmay and Evadale. The Sabine River and Northern transports wood chips from Buna and other Temple-Inland East Texas products bound for Mulford as well as inbound chemicals and other raw materials required for the manufacture of paper. Outbound freight includes finished lumber and paper products. From the Texas State Historical Association

Brand/Importer Information: Athearn's history began in 1938, when its founder-to-be, Irvin Athearn, started an elaborate O scale layout in his mother's house. After placing an ad selling the layout, and receiving much response to it, Irv decided that selling model railroads would be a good living. He sold train products out of his mother's house through most of the 1940s. After becoming a full-time retailer in 1946, Irv opened a separate facility in Hawthorne, California in 1948, and that same year he branched into HO scale models for the first time.

Athearn acquired the Globe Models product line and improved upon it, introducing a comprehensive array of locomotive, passenger and freight car models. Improvements included all-wheel drive and electrical contact. One innovation was the "Hi-Fi" drive mechanism, employing small rubber bands to transfer motion from the motor spindle to the axles. Another was the double-ended ring magnet motor, which permitted easy connection to all-wheel-drive assemblies. Athearn was also able to incorporate flywheels into double-ended drives.

The company produced a model of the Boston & Maine P4 class Pacific steam locomotive which incorporated a cast zinc alloy base and thermoplastic resin superstructure. It had a worm drive and all power pickup was through the bipolar trucks that carried the tender. This item was discontinued after the Wilson motor was no longer available, and was not redesigned for a more technologically advanced motor.

Athearn's car fleet included shorter-than-scale interpretations of passenger cars of Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad prototypes. The company also offered a variety of scale-length freight cars with sprung and equalized trucks. The cars could be obtained in simple kit form, or ready-to-run in windowed display boxes. The comprehensive scope of the product line contributed to the popularity of HO as a model railroad scale, due to the ready availability of items and their low cost.

Irv Athearn died in 1991. New owners took control in 1994, but continued to follow Athearn's commitment to high-quality products at reasonable prices. Athearn was bought in 2004 by Horizon Hobby. Athearn was then moved from its facility in Compton to a new facility in Carson, California. In mid-2009, all remaining US production was moved to China and warehousing moved to parent Horizon Hobby. Sales and product development was relocated to a smaller facility in Long Beach, California.

Read more on Wikipedia and Athearn website.