Trainworx - 45344-05 - Trailer, 53 Foot, Box - United Parcel Service - 874820

Prototype History: For the longest time, the 48-foot dry van was the de facto standard in trucking, owing largely to older regulations which limited the overall length of the vehicle to 75 feet. Once the length laws went bye-bye in the late 1980s, the industry was quick to adopt the now-ubiquitous 53-foot vans - room for thirteen rows of pallets, plus a foot of leeway to make sure the doors could close easily. 53' are the longest that can go anywhere. Just checked with Caltrans for one of my projects and they said in CA 53' is max without special permit. Some states allow 57' (yep, they are out there, and they are BIG), but most will only do so by special permit. Truckers and shippers continue to push for 57' everywhere, along with double/triples (2 53' or 53' + 28' or 3 - 28'), plus heavier load limits. Watch out; if 57' and heavier loads become permissible everywhere, plus double/triples, large amounts of intermodal will disappear back to the roads.

Box vans are known as such for their rectilinear proportions. Their simple design makes them easy to manufacture and maintain.

Road Name History: United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is one of the world's largest package delivery company and a provider of supply chain management solutions. The global logistics company is headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, which is part of the Greater Atlanta metropolitan area. UPS was founded in 1907.

Along with the central package delivery operation, the UPS brand name (in a fashion to that of competitor FedEx) is used to denote many of its divisions and subsidiaries, including its cargo airline (UPS Airlines), freight-based trucking operation (UPS Freight, formerly Overnite Transportation), and retail-based packing and shipping centers (The UPS Store). UPS is known for its brown delivery trucks and uniforms, hence the company nickname "Brown". UPS also operates its own airline and air cargo delivery service (IATA: 5X, ICAO: UPS, Call sign: UPS) based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Brand/Importer Information: Trainworx was founded in 1999 by Pat Sanders and is located in Delta Colorado. Their first freight car was the Quad hopper and it was released in 2000. They have been making N scale products ever since. Their website can be found at www.train-worx.com. As of 2016, they have produced 8 different rolling stock body styles as well as a range of different highway vehicles in N Scale. Their limited edition runs have proven a huge success with collectors and modelers enjoy the accuracy of all their products.

Trainworx sells their products both through tradional retail channels as well as directly by phone order. When asked "What prompted you to found Trainworx?", Pat Sanders responded "There was a freight car that hadn't been done in N scale that I just had to have and it didn't look like anyone was ever going to make it."