The Freight Yard - 9820C - Boxcar, 53 Foot, Evans Double Plug Door - Wickes Agriculture - 10226

Prototype History: This 53' boxcar was manufactured in the 1960s and '70s by Evans Company and was used primarily to haul produce, wood and paper products, and canned goods. This railcar is an insulated RBL (Railcar, Passenger Service, Insulated) featuring a 16 foot opening and double plug doors.

Road Name History: Wickes Cos. was one of the nation's largest retailers with $4 billion in annual sales at such chain outlets as Builders Emporium, Wickes Lumber, Wickes Furniture, and Woman's World Shops. It entered in Chapter 11 corporate reorganization in 1982, in one of the largest bankruptcy relief actions ever filed.

Wickes Agriculture Division was sold to the Pillsbury Company of Minneapolis for approximately $43.4 million in 1982.

Brand/Importer Information: The Freight Yard was a hobby shop that did custom decoration and special runs of other manufacturers' N Scale products. It sold its custom products under several brands or collections: Premiere Editions, by The Freight Yard and Dreams Design.
It was located in Anaheim, California and then moved to 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Established in the late 1980s, it stopped business under this name by the end of the 2000s.
The Freight Yard was owned and operated by Darren J. Cohen. Darren is now operating North Valley Trains.
The Freight Yard / Premiere Editions runs are usually available in series of two to twelve different numbers (suffixed A to M, with I not used).
The first two digits of the stock number correspond to the release year (9x being 199x, and 2x being 200x).