Fox Valley - 194108-02 - Autorack, Enclosed, Bi-Level - CSX Transportation - 979135

Specific Item Information: InterMountain Railway Company arranged with Fox Valley Models to produce sixteen paint schemes of what was formerly known as the Red Caboose Bi-Level Auto Rack.

Model Information: A few of these cars have operating end doors. They have truck-mounted MTL couplers. The tooling was originally created by Red Caboose, but was later sold to Fox Valley.

Prototype History: For many years, automobiles were carried in boxcars like other freight. The relative light weight of the cars for their size meant that these boxcars reached their volume capacity far faster than their weight limit. Loading cars through the side doors was also challenging and inefficient. End door boxcars helped with the loading, but could still only be loaded one at a time. Due to these limitations, modified flatcars, known as autoracks, began to appear in the 1960s. At first, these cars were open sided, with the cargo exposed, but later cars added the protection of aluminum sides to enclose the automobiles within.

Enclosed autoracks come in two basic configurations. Bi-level racks have a two decks: the floor of the flatcar itself, as well as one elevated deck. These cars can haul two rows of taller vehicles like vans and trucks. Tri-level racks have an extra deck and can carry three rows of conventional automobiles. Up until the 1990s, tri-level cars were far more common, but with the rise in popularity of the SUV, the number of bi-level cars has grown quickly over the past 20 years.

Road Name History: CSX Transportation (reporting mark CSXT) is a Class I railroad in the United States. The main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation, the railroad is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km). CSX operates one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and Canadian Pacific Railway. It also serves the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Together CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway have a duopoly over all east-west freight rail traffic east of the Mississippi River. As of October 1, 2014 CSX's total public stock value was slightly over $32 billion.

CSX Transportation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries, and finally with the Seaboard System Railroad in 1986. The originator of the Seaboard System was the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which previously merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and later with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, as well as several smaller subsidiaries such as the Clinchfield Railroad, Atlanta & West Point Railroad, Monon Railroad and the Georgia Railroad. The origin of the Chessie System was the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which had merged with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway.

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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.