Roundhouse - 8816.1 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, PS 5077 - 4586

Model Information: Boxcar, 50 Foot, Double Sliding Door, Rib Side, Without Roofwalk, FMC. This body style was acquired by Athearn from MDC Roundhouse in June of 2004.

Prototype History: Pullman Standard built 4,301 5077 cubic foot plate B box cars with sliding doors between October 1972 and August 1979 for seven original customers. In addition, Pullman supplied a total of 300 superstructure kits (car bodies and doors - Berwick Forge and Fabricating supplied the underframes) to Golden Tye at Pickens, South Carolina for assembly during 1975-76 for the National Railway Utilization Company (NRUC).

Road Name History: No applicable company.

Brand/Importer Information: MDC Roundhouse was founded in California in 1938 and relocated in 1993 to Carson City, Nevada due to statewide restrictions on painting. MDC Roundhouse was a producer of both RTR (Ready-to-Run) and kit versions of N Scale rolling stock as well as RTR locomotives. They entered the N scale market in 1979 with a Thrall Hi-Side Gondola and a Hi-Cube Single Door Box Car. MDC Roundhouse was purchased by Horizon Hobbies in June of 2004, when its owner since 1938 C. H. Menteer retired, and merged into their Athearn line.

Unlike many of their contemporaries which contracted with European firms to produce their products, MDC made their own toolings. They made several popular body styles and produced them for road names that many other vendors (even Micro-Trains) wouldn't touch. This made them popular with modelers. Also, their un-assembled "kits" permitted a lower price point so they were popular with "runners" as well as "modelers".

Of particular interest was the attention given to modern 50 foot steel boxcars. They made some attempt to accurately mold the differences into distinct models to represent each of the major prototype manufacturers products. They have distinct toolings not only for the different products from FMC, BFF and PS, but also multiple models for each of these manufacturers including "standard" vs "Youngstown" doors and "waffle" vs. "rib" sides. In total they produced 13 different versions of the 50 foot steel boxcar.