Atlas - 50 005 448 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, NSC Steel - Procor - 851028

Model Information: This Atlas model was first announced in February of 2015 for A 3rd quarter 2015 delivery. The actual delivery was likely later. It models a National Steel Car (NSC) prototype from the 1970s and 1980s.

Prototype History: Steel boxcars became the de facto standard for railcar service sometime in the late 1950s. Every major railcar manufacturer had their own version. Plug-door cars held a better seal for air coming in and out of the car interior and operated much the same way a modern minivan side door works. A common feature for plug door cars such as the offering from NSC was an insulated interior to further protect the contents from the elements. From 1975 to 1980 National Steel Car built over one-thousand 50’6” single-plug door box cars. This being the post-roofwalk era, these cars have a simple aluminum roof. The model 5277 had an interior capacity of 5,277 c.f. and the model 5177 had a capacity of 5,177 c.f. Most of the 100-ton cars went to Canadian railroads primarily for paper service. Two hundred 70-ton cars went into food service for the Grand Trunk Western.

Road Name History: Procor is a Canadian company producing railway shipping cars. It is Canada's largest private rail car rental fleet, with more than 21,000 conventional and special-purpose tank and freight cars. Linked to Sparling Tank Car of Toronto, Procor was founded in 1952 as Products Tank Line Limited and became an affiliate of US-based Union Tank Car Company. Within a few years they had become a major player in Canadian tank car operations through the acquisition of the Transit Co./Imperial Oil fleet in 1955, along with a number of smaller operators such as Canadian Industries Ltd. circa late 1956. The company, which shortened its name to Procor in 1962, is headquartered in Oakville, Ontario.

Brand/Importer Information: In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.