Uncataloged O Gauge RailKing 50’ Modern Box Car Announced

December 27, 2024 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an exclusive and uncataloged RailKing O Gauge 50’ Modern Box Car in unique Atlantic Coast Line livery for exclusive distribution for M.T.H. Authorized Retailer The Train Loft. The cars will be available in two unique car numbers and are slated to arrive in April 2025.

30-71215 Atlantic Coast Line 50’ Modern Box Car
Car No. 35477
Pre-Order Price: $69.95
Download The Order Form: HERE to purchase from Train Loft.

30-71216 Atlantic Coast Line 50’ Modern Box Car
Car No. 38696
Pre-Order Price: $69.95
Download The Order Form: HERE to purchase from Train Loft.

ABOUT THE RAILKING 50' MODERN BOX CAR

Our 50’ modern boxcar is modeled on the fleet of cars originally built for Railbox service in the 1970s and early 1980s. Formed in 1974 as a subsidiary of Trailer Train Company (now TTX Company), Railbox did for box cars what Trailer Train had done earlier for piggybacking: established a pool of cars that could be used by all member railroads, without the burden of routing rules that prioritized empty cars for return to their home railroad. With its slogan of "Next Load, Any Road!", Railbox strove to minimize empty backhauls and keep loaded cars flowing wherever needed, throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The initial 1974 Railbox order was for 10,000 boxcars with the reporting marks RBOX, supplied by a variety of car builders including Pullman-Standard, American Car and Foundry, and FMC. The 50’ RBOX cars exemplified modern box car design at the time: welded rather than riveted construction; exterior support posts to maximize interior space and provide a smooth interior wall; and a lack of roof walks, which had been outlawed in the 1960s for safety reasons. With roof access no longer needed, the cars’ end ladders only went partway up the sides, to allow crew members to ride the cars during switching moves.

Beginning in the 1980s, the need for box cars — once a mainstay of American freight trains — began to shrink as loads that had formerly moved in box cars shifted over to containers. Many Railbox cars were sold off to other railroads and repainted in a variety of paint schemes. Although the earliest RBOX cars are approaching the end of their legal 40-year service life, many are still plying the rails for various owners, and TTX Company still supplies 50’ and 60’ RailBox boxcars throughout North America.

EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE THRU

The Train Loft
4007-B Country Club Road
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104
336-760-9817
www.trainloft.com
JKonc52032@aol.com

M.T.H. Electric Trains will release the 2025 RailKing O Gauge Airslide Hopper Cars in six unique liveries next Spring. These cars will be available as single cars and 3-car sets, each individually numbered. They will be limited in production and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in May 2025.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2025 Premier O Scale F-7 Diesel Locomotive in five unique liveries next Spring. These locomotives will be available in powered A, non-powered A, and non-powered B Unit configurations allowing users to build consist configurations from a single A to an A-B-B-A set. Each item will be limited in production and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in May 2025.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.