Deluxe Innovations - 240371 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, AAR 1944 - Akron Canton & Youngstown - 2150

Prototype History: The Association of American Railroads had been establishing design standards for freight cars since the early part of the century. Each new design standard meant higher capacity, lighter, more durable cars. The 1937 standard 40' box car featured an interior height of 10'. Just prior to America's entry into the war, there was a push for an even larger interior height for the AAR standard. The first cars that would eventually be termed 1944 AAR, were actually built in 1941 but the war delayed its declaration as the standard. The new taller cars required a new design of end. Corrugated metal ends had been used since the days when wood side cars dominated for a very good reason, shifting loads would burst through wooden ends during sudden starts and stops! These corrugated panels were stamped in two sections, split horizontally down the middle. The 1937 standard had 5 ribs on one half and 4 ribs on the other -- creating what is called a 5-4 Dreadnaught end. The slightly taller 1944 model required something a little different. The lower panel has 4 ribs while the upper panel has 3 then a space and a final rectangular rib at the top. Called a 4-3-1 (or R-3-4) Improved Dreadnaught end, this design would dominate new box car construction for years.

Road Name History: The ACY finished their 10 mile line between Mogadore and Akron, Ohio in 1912. In 1920 a big opportunity presented itself as New York Central began selling off a number of subsidiaries to avoid running afoul of anti-trust laws. One of these subsidiaries the Lake Erie & Western had controlled the Northern Ohio Railway which ran from Akron to Delphos, Ohio. The NO was leased to ACY, even though it was 16 times the size of the ACY. They operated under the ACY flag and in 1944 the two merged. They never did reach Canton or Youngstown. The ACY was best known for serving the tire and rubber industry in the Akron area. Passenger service was a bit of an afterthought with the last mixed train operating in 1951.

The heaviest power in the steam fleet were USRA light Mikados, at least one of which was equipped with a tender booster. Their diesel fleet (about 18 locomotives give or take) was a bit odd. Their switchers were all Alco and their road power was all Fairbanks Morse. The FMs were setup to run long hood forward. In 1964, the AC&Y was purchased by the Norfolk & Western as part of the N&W-NKP-Wabash-P&WV-AC&Y consolidation. Unlike the other roads, the N&W kept the AC&Y as a separate operation.

By 1970, all of AC&Y's Alcos and FMs had worn out and had been traded in to EMD. However, they were traded in for new locomotives for AC&Y's parent, Norfolk & Western. N&W then leased older power (mostly ex-Nickel Plate GP-9s) to AC&Y. At that point, the only way to tell you were seeing an AC&Y train was "Leased to AC&Y" painted in small letters below the road number on N&W geeps. Finally, the AC&Y was merged into the Norfolk & Western in 1982 in preparation for the Norfolk Southern merger.

Brand/Importer Information: DeLuxe Innovations is a "wholesale manufacturer" of model trains. We manufacture scale replica train models and sell them to hobby shops and distributors worldwide. 2013 marked the 20 year anniversary of DeLuxe Innovations brand trains. There are over 25 body styles in our product line and all of the cars in our single and multi-car packs have different road numbers. DeLuxe Innovations, Inc. is owned by Dave Ferrari, founder of Squeak N Products. We are located in Midland Park, New Jersey. When Dave purchased the business it was located in Burbank, California which would have been a bit of a long commute so the move to the East Coast was planned. Our first East Coast location was in Whippany, NJ along the Whippany River.

The business was started in 1993 by George Johnsen and Roberta Liebreich in Burbank, California. They had a philosophy that just wouldn't allow using a coal car as a "stand in" for a woodchip car, or printing any and all boxcar paint schemes on a PS-1. Starting with the release of the first ever etched metal parts for a ready to run car (1994's Twinstack's metal walkways) through the full dimension underframe and etched metal roofwalk (1996's 1944 AAR Boxcar) to the challenging RoadRailer system (2000), our products have been accurate to target the modeler or enthusiast.

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