Atlas - 50 002 297 - Boxcar, 53 Foot, Evans Double Plug Door - Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific - 2035

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 Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway Company was incorporated August 31, 1906, to construct a 230 mi (370 km) railroad from Roscoe, Texas, to the New Mexico state line near Portales. The full line was never completed but a 31 mi (50 km) line was opened to Snyder in 1908 and extended another 18.5 miles (29.8 km) to Fluvanna in September 1909.

The line was abandoned between Snyder and Fluvanna prior to 1945, and passenger service ended in 1953. The line between Roscoe and Snyder was abandoned in 1984 because of deregulation associated with the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, which made it difficult for the company to compete. A small portion of the line that connects to the Union Pacific near Roscoe still serves a railroad car rebuilding facility and provides storage of rail cars awaiting repair.

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.