Red Caboose - RN-17408-02 - Boxcar, 55 Foot, Thrall All-Door - St. Regis Paper - 373

Prototype History: Lumber has always been difficult to ship by rail. Box cars provide protection but are hard to load and unload. Flat cars eliminate those problems, but loads have to be tarped to protect them from the weather.

In 1967, Thrall took the best of both ideas and created a unique car that would solve these problems. The All-Door Box Car had no true sidewalls, but was equipped with four large doors which could be opened in pairs. This provided a 25' wide opening that made loading and unloading a breeze! And since it was a box car, the loads were completely enclosed for the entire trip. As the housing boom began in the 1970s, the cars became a common sight at lumber mills and yards across America.

Thrall Door boxcars arrived in Detroit in the early 70s. They were used to carry hardboard products to Ford plants in the Detroit area.

Road Name History: St. Regis Paper was established in 1899 by George Sherman and David Anderson. In 1901, construction of a mill in Deferiet, New York, was completed. The Village of Deferiet was also built by St. Regis to serve as a company town for the mill’s employees. During its peak production years in the mid-20th Century, the mill employed around 900 people. St. Regis manufactured several different types of paper at its Deferiet mill, but its main product through most of the mill’s existence was newsprint. In 1984, the mill was acquired by Champion-International. After fifteen years of slowing business and layoffs, Champion sold the mill to the Deferiet Paper Company. The mill closed in 2004, and in 2011, it was demolished.

St Regis Paper Company Ltd. provided paper products and services. The Company manufactured and sold corrugated case materials (CCM) and specialist paper grades. St Regis Paper also collected and recycled waste paper.

Brand/Importer Information: Originally Red Caboose was a manufacturer of HO and N Scale model railroading items. It was located in Mead, Colorado, and was founded in 1990 by Leon Fairbanks. Red Caboose manufactured highly accurate, well detailed N, HO, and O Scale freight cars and locomotives.

Red Caboose closed its doors in January of 2015. Red Caboose N Scale has been sold to Fox Valley Models and HO was sold to InterMountain Railway. Many of the Red Caboose toolings have seen re-releases from Fox Valley since the acquisition. We just wish they would clean up the underframes. Red Caboose always went light on the details where they thought people wouldn't look.

Manufacturer Information: While they were in business, Red Caboose split its production runs between the US and China. Which models were produced where was a function of which body style and which run. Furthermore, which Chinese company was used for production is something we would love to find out.