Fox Valley - 8118-1 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, PS 5344 - Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern - 49742

Prototype History: The P-S 5344 Boxcar is last of the successful boxcar projects of the Pullman-Standard company. With production beginning in 1977, Pullman-Standard produced nearly 7,000 P-S 5344 Boxcars. In 1981, Pullman moved to sell all railroad assets in an economy of declining freight car sales. However, these cars ply the rails in legacy of America's great car builder. The last of a breed.

Road Name History: MN&S launched in 1918 to take over the former Dan Patch Lines that had fallen into bankruptcy two years before. MN&S inherited the Dan Patch nickname (named after a race horse.) The line was 87 miles long, running from Minneapolis south to Northfield, Minnesota. The new owners promoted the line as a bypass around the Twin City’s terminals. MN&S connected with the original Soo Line at Crystal, Minneapolis & St. Louis, and Great Northern at Glenwood, the Omaha Road at Savage, and Chicago Great Western, Milwaukee Road, and Rock Island at Northfield. Passenger service was provided with gas-electric cars into the 1940s. In addition to transferring blocks of cars between the Twin City’s various Class One railroads, the MN&S also had a significant number of on line customers.

The early diesel years brought Fairbanks Morse and Baldwin engines to the property. These included one each of H12-44, H10-44, VO1000 and a pair of VO660 switcher. To handle MN&S’s heavy transfer trains, they used Baldwin’s massive 6 axel center cab units, a single RT-624 and five DT6-6-2000’s. They also had a single Baldwin road switcher, a DRS6-6-1500. As the Baldwins wore out, they were replaced with six SW1200’s, two SW1500’s and a pair of SD39’s.

In 1982, Soo Line bought the MN&S. They were planning on acquiring the Milwaukee Road (which was in bankruptcy at the time) and needed the MN&S to connect their own line at Crystal with the MILW at Northfield. MN&S was operated separately until 1986 when it was merged into Soo Line.

Brand/Importer Information: Fox Valley Models is a small supplier of model railroad and related products. FVM started by finding solutions to different challenges that model railroaders were faced with. Our first products resulted from a need to equip custom built passenger cars with tinted windows made of an ideal material; thin, flexible, easy to cut, simple to install, available in multiple colors and be affordable. We met those needs and even included a frosted version for the car's lavatory windows.

Other challenges inspired additional products including wooden grade crossings, trestles and different lineside structures. As our product line expands, input and requests from friends and customers help shape the product selection further.

Future products, under development, include more parts, structures, details and rolling stock. We strive to offer a good quality product at an affordable price.