Micro-Trains - 123 44 012 - Boxcar, 60 Foot, NSC Excess Height - TTX Company - 667025

Specific Item Information: Built by National Steel Car in early 2013 for Railbox, a TTX subsidiary, these 286,000-pound capacity, 60’ rib-side high-cube boxcars feature double-plug doors and belong to a series of 725 cars. Commonly called “TBOX cars” in reference to the reporting mark, they have a 7,538 cubic-foot capacity and can be found in trains hauling general freight all-across North America.

Prototype History: National Steel Car company was one of three manufacturers enlisted by Trailer Train Company to build their new fleet of 60’ excess height boxcars in 2003. These heavy-duty cars featured double plug doors giving the customer a 12’ opening to easily load everything from paper products, appliances to consumables. Referred to as “Super Duty” cars, they join the growing fleet of “Plate F” cars providing higher capacities for shippers looking to streamline their deliveries.

Road Name History: TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train until 1991) is a leading provider of railcars and related freight car management services to the North American rail industry. TTX's pool of railcars (over 220,000 cars and intermodal wells) is ideal for supporting shippers in the intermodal, automotive, paper & forest, metals, machinery, wind energy and other markets where flatcars, boxcars and gondolas are required.

Owned by North America's leading railroads, TTX's free-running pools provide fungible assets that minimize total empty miles, further lowering costs and minimizing risk for the industry, helping the railroads conserve their capital for other critical infrastructure needs. Customers easily recognize TTX's bright yellow cars as a consistent, high quality, well-maintained fleet that serves many transportation needs.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide