Athearn - 2289 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, PS-1 - Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac - 4005

Model Information: This MDC Roundhouse body style models a 50 Foot Pullman Standard (PS) Boxcar with a single sliding door, Rib Sides, peaked ends, and no roofwalk. The molds were acquired by Athearn/Horizon Hobbies in 2004.

The 2021 release of this model included these features: See through metal roof walk, Scale profile brake wheel, Detailed under frame, Roller bearing or Bettendorf trucks, Fully-assembled and ready-to-run out of the box, Accurately painted and printed, Highly detailed, injection molded body, Machined metal wheels, Screw mounted trucks, McHenry knuckle couplers, Weighted for trouble free operation, Clear plastic jewel box for convenient storage, Operates on Code 55 and 80 rail, Minimum radius: 9 ¾”

Prototype History: 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.

The original PS-1 measured 40 foot in length, but Pullman Standard also offered 50′ and later 60′ boxcars – also with the PS-1 designation.

Road Name History: The RF&P ran from Richmond, Virginia north 114 miles to Potomac Yard (known widely as Pot Yard) on the river near Washington D.C. The purpose of the line was to link the Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio lines to the northeast with the Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line lines to the south. There were few branchlines of consequence and the mainline was entirely double tracked with no grades to speak of. It was operated as a single route as early as 1901 although the route north of Quantico actually belonged to a PRR subsidiary called the Washington Southern. RF&P absorbed the Washington Southern in 1920. There were also connections with Southern and C&O but C&O traffic in the area was almost entirely east-west and Southern had their own line to Washington D.C.

Traffic was heavy and fast. Pacifics were used for freight and passenger service. These were supplanted by 4-8-2 Mountains then by Northerns and Berkshires. Aside from some Alco switchers, RF&P was an entirely EMD road in the diesel era. E8’s and FP7’s hauled the passengers (mostly PRR, SAL and ACL trains) while F5’s and F7’s hauled freight with GP7’s in support. The second generation brought GP35’s, and GP40’s for road service. The diesel fleet usually ran just under 40 units for the 114 mile line (indicating very heavy traffic.) As a rule, even numbered units faced north and odd numbered units faced south. Road switchers were equipped with dual cab controls and running long hood forward was common.

By 1987, RF&P’s situation had changed. The former PRR connection had mostly faded as Amtrak operated the line to the northeast and not Conrail. That left the former B&O on the north end and the former Seaboard System on the south end. Both were now part of CSX. RF&P was still a vital link but it didn’t make sense to be a separate railroad. CSX already owned much of the stock but a quarter of the shares of RF&P were owned by the state of Virginia’s state employee retirement fund. In the end, CSX gave the state fund the property rights to Potomac Yard in exchange for all of the stock. Pot Yard originated or terminated very little traffic with nearly every train just running through so the property was ripe for development. In fact there was talk of turning part of the property into a new stadium for the Washington Redskins. In the end, it became commercial property instead. The state was happy and CSX closed the gap on their system map. RF&P merged into CSX in 1991.

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.