Atlas - 50 002 294 - Boxcar, 53 Foot, Evans Double Plug Door - Fox River Valley - 13116

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: The FRVR was launched in 1988 as a spin-off from Chicago & North Western, running from a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin north through Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton to Green Bay. There was also a branch from Green Bay to a point just south of Manitowoc and a short intersecting line between New London and Kaukauna which crossed the main at Appleton. Total length was 214 miles putting it between Bessemer & Lake Erie and Lehigh & New England in relative length. They had a fleet of 28 first and second generation EMD and Alco diesels. The FRVR was owned by Itel Corporation who also owned the connecting Green Bay & Western. The two lines shared a management team for a while. Both GB&W and FRVR were acquired by Wisconsin Central in 1993.

Brand/Importer Information: In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.