Athearn - 22988 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, SIECO - Raritan River - 498

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: The RR opened in 1888 and ultimately built a 12 mile line between South Amboy and New Brunswick, New Jersey. Branches were later built to reach sand and clay pits in the area. Ownership of the RR was split between the Jersey Central (with a 60% stake) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (with a 40% stake.) The First World War brought a huge increase in traffic to the line as first a tire plant and later explosive factories opened on the line. The RR fleet expanded to 15 engines. 14 passenger cars were acquired secondhand from Lackawanna. At the peak in 1918, RR was dispatching 22 passenger trains and loading 4,000 tons of cargo per day. Traffic declined after the war and collapsed during the Depression. The tire plant closed and the sand and clay traffic disappeared. Passenger service ended in 1938. RR dieselized in the ‘50s with a fleet of six SW900’s. There was a resurgence of the sand business with the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike. RR attracted new industrial customers in the early ‘70s just as their parents were falling into bankruptcy. Raritan River was at first expected to be rolled into Conrail along with Jersey Central and Penn Central but RR management sued to gain their independence. In 1979, RR had their biggest year providing dependable rail service to National Lead, Hercules Chemical, Sunshine Biscuits, C&E, Continental Baking, Cel Fibe, Personal Products, H&F, NJ Steel, Squibb, Premium Plastics and DuPont. Despite the recent success, Raritan River was finally merged into Conrail in April of 1980.

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.