Brooklyn Locomotive Works - BLW-03 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, PS-1 - Delaware & Hudson - 19635

Specific Item Information: Only 50 made. BLW custom decorated this series of cars. These cars are very rare and highly collectible.

Model Information: This is a model of a PS-1 boxcar with no roofwalk. Micro-Trains introduced this version of their popular steel boxcar in 1976. It features the same operating doors as the popular 20000 series boxcar with similar dimensions and details but this model is appropriate for hobbyists who model the post-roofwalk era.

Prototype History: The 40' Boxcar is widely known as one of the most popular freight cars used by railroads as they transitioned from steam to diesel. In particular the Pullman Standard or PS-1 design was one of the most popular and was widely used by North American railroads. These boxcars were built beginning in 1947 and share the same basic design, with certain elements such as door size, door style or roof type varying among the different railroads and production years. When production of these cars ceased in 1963, over 100,000 had been produced.

So just what is a PS-1? Well the simple answer is it is any boxcar built by Pullman Standard from 1947 on. The design changed over the years – sometimes subtly, sometimes for customer request, and sometimes in a larger way. In general, most PS-1’s built from 1947 to 1961 share the same dimensions and basic construction techniques. These cars all had a length of 40′, a height of 10’5″ or 10’6″, welded sides and ends and roof of Pullman’s own design. The greatest variation was in the size and style of doors used. Pullman Standard also offered 50′ and later 60′ boxcars – also with the PS-1 designation.

Road Name History: The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company would found the Delaware and Hudson Railway to support its mission of getting fuel to the timber denuded cities of the northeast when it was discovered that 'rock coal' or Anthracite could be burned successfully. In time the railway eclipsed the parent company, and America's brief canal age would be ended by the availability of more powerful traction locomotives, so today the canal is little known. Today the Delaware and Hudson Railway (reporting mark DH) is again a subsidiary railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it was owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway under the rail subsidiary Soo Line Corporation also controls the Soo Line Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited.

The name itself originates from the 1823 New York state corporation charter listing the unusual name of "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co." authorizing an establishment of "water communication" between the Delaware River and the Hudson River.

Nicknamed "The Bridge Line to New England and Canada," the D&H helped connect New York with Montreal, Quebec and New England. It called itself "North America's oldest continually operated transportation company." Between 1968 & 1984, the D&H was owned by Norfolk & Western. N&W sold it to Guilford Transportation, who cast it into bankruptcy in 1988 and in 1991, the D&H was purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).

On September 19, 2015, Norfolk Southern Railway assumed control and began operations of their recently acquired Delaware & Hudson "South Line", the 282 miles from Schenectady, New York to Sunbury, Pennsylvania from CP. The Delaware & Hudson "South Line" is a rail route that now consists of three rail lines, the Sunbury Line, the Freight Line, and the Voorhesville Running Track; the Sunbury Line absorbed the original route of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line which contains the Nicholson Cutoff during that rail line's history.

Brand/Importer Information: Brooklyn Locomotive works is a hobby shop that is located in Manalapan, New Jersey. Pete A. Postel founded BLW in 1979. They specialize in N Scale although they claim to cover other scales as well. In addition to serving as a volume discounter with competitive pricing for N Scale hobbyists, Brooklyn Locomotive works also often works with various manufacturers to create their own line of branded special runs. These special runs are usually only available through their retail operation (online or storefront). They also worked for a limited time in the early 1980s as a custom decorator. They bought undecorated kits from Micro-Trains and painstakingly custom painted and decaled a series of cars for collectors.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide

Commissioner Information: Brooklyn Locomotive Works was a hobby shop, specialized in N-scale, located in Manalapan, New Jersey, that also sells on-line. BLW regularly commissions special runs.

The company was founded by Pete Postel who announced that he would retired by end of 2018. His brother Paul should continue the business from his own shop Hogtrainz.com.

Brooklyn Locomotive Works (BLW) released special runs from various manufacturers under its own brand until approx. the mid-1980s. Thereafter the special runs where sold under the manufacturer's name and denoted as special runs for BLW. Hence in this database, we assign the BLW brand in the former case, and the original manufacturer's brand in the latter.