While usually referred to as an insulated boxcar, the prototype for this car, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), is technically a bunkerless refrigerator car, class RBL. Built by Evans Products Company at Blue Island, Illinois from 1969-1977, these cars were designed for shipments that need protection from temperature extremes but do not require refrigeration. They have hardwood floors and at least 3" of insulation in their sides, ends and roofs. Produce is a common cargo. The cars’ length and wide 16’ door openings have also made them popular with plywood and lumber shippers.

In contrast with typical sliding doors, the plug doors on these cars are pulled into the door opening when the door is latched. This produces a nearly watertight and airtight seal, protecting the load and helping to keep a more constant inside temperature. A cushioned underframe also helps protect the load from shock, hence the "DF" (for "damage free") logo found on some of these cars.

Evans Products built nearly 4.400 of these cars, selling or leasing them to a large number of North American railroads and private owners. Although the last of these cars are nearing the end of their allowable 40-year service life, they can still be found in U.S. freight trains today.

While Electro-Motive’s four-unit FT is often touted as "the diesel that did it" — vanquished the steam locomotive — it was the lowly switcher that launched the initial assault on steam and made the FT’s victory possible. The first commercially successful diesel-electric, Central of New Jersey No. 1000, was a 300 hp boxcab switcher; it came off the American Locomotive Company’s Schenectady, N.Y. erecting floor in 1925. To make that landmark engine possible, Alco, the nation’s second-largest steam locomotive builder, had teamed up with Ingersoll-Rand, which supplied the diesel motor, and General Electric, which built the generator and traction motors.

Three years later, Alco acquired an established diesel motor company; its largest steam competitor, Baldwin, would later make the same move. In Alco’s case, the firm was McIntosh & Seymour of Auburn, N.Y., an industry leader in stationary and marine engines. While the nascent diesel technology was not yet ready to power road locomotives, the early 300-600 hp motors proved ideal for yard work. Compared to the 0-6-0s and similar switchers they replaced, the new diesels were easier to operate and fuel required significantly less downtime for maintenance and spewed a lot less soot into the urban areas where most of them worked.

Almost from the beginning, Alco recognized the need to give its new technology a semblance of style. Later dubbed "HH" models by railfans (for "high hood"), Alco switchers of the mid and late 1930s were styled by industrial designer Otto Kuhler. The high hood, which reached almost to the cab roof, was necessitated by the height of the McIntosh & Seymour model 531 and 538 inline 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel motors, which displaced 1,595 cubic inches per cylinder. (Compare this with 567 cu.in. per cylinder in the Electro-Motive FT’s 16-cylinder two-stroke diesel.) In those early days of a radical new technology, it was not uncommon for Alco HH engines to demonstrate on a new railroad and be purchased almost immediately.

2018 Volume 2 Catalog

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It's Easy To Add WiFi To Your DCS Layout

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M.T.H. Electric Trains is releasing a limited run of smartphone cases for popular iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models this Fall. Club Members save $5.00 off the regular suggested retail of $15.99 each.

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