July 2, 2025 - M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2025 O Scale Premier 50' Waffle Box Car in SIX roadnames next Winter. Each scheme will be available in up to two prototypical car numbers in limited quantities and is expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in February 2026.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

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

ABOUT THE PREMIER 50' WAFFLE BOX CAR

In designing a boxcar interior, freight car manufacturers must balance two competing desires. The first is for a smooth interior wall, with nothing to snag, puncture or otherwise damage a load. One modern solution to this was the exterior post car, with its vertical support posts on the outside to allow for an unbroken interior surface. The second desire, however, is for wall-mounted tie-downs or other attachment devices to secure the cargo, to prevent shifting and damage en route. The waffle-side boxcar, introduced in the mid-1970s, successfully satisfied both desires.

The waffle-like bumps on the exterior of the car are actually recesses stamped into the inner wall to accommodate load-restraining devices. Thus the car presents a smooth interior wall for load safety, plus the ability to fasten load restraints almost anywhere in the car. This is especially useful for loads that, as truckers would say, “weigh out before they cube out” — i.e., reach the car’s maximum load weight with space remaining in the car, and need to be restrained so they won’t shift into the empty space and get damaged. Loads commonly handled in waffle-side boxcars include furniture, appliances, auto parts, and rolls of paper for the printing industry.

Like other modern boxcar designs, waffle-side cars lack roof walks and, with roof access no longer needed, have end ladders that run only partway up the sides, to allow crew members to ride the cars during switching moves.

The Southern Railway was one of the early adopters of the waffle-side design, taking its first delivery of 70-ton, 50’ cars from Pullman-Standard in 1974. It eventually rostered nearly 5,000 waffle-side cars, boldly emblazoned “Southern Gives a Green Light to Innovations.” Many other carriers followed suit, buying boxcars with various waffling patterns from a variety of builders. Once quite common, waffle-side cars still ply the rails today but, like other boxcars, are less often seen because containerization has taken over many of the cargos once carried in boxcars.

OPERATING FEATURES

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
• Stamped Metal Floors
• Metal Wheels and Axles
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
• Needle-Point Axles
• (2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Detailed Brake Wheel
• Separate Metal Handrails
• Sliding Car Doors
• 1:48 Scale Dimensions
• Unit Measures: 14 1/8” x 2 3/4” x 3 7/8”
• Operates On O-31 Curves

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

Scheduled Arrivals Thru July 15, 2025

July 2, 2025 - To review a list of items scheduled for arrival between July 1, 2025, and July 15, 2025, click HERE. Upon the completion of quality assurance inspections, the items will begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers and Distributors.

As always, you can stay apprised of the latest shipping dates by using the M.T.H. Product Search tool. Once items have shipped, their individual pages will show the month the item has shipped and a list of retailers reporting the item in stock.

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2025 O Gauge RailKing SD60 Diesel Locomotive in SIX roadnames next Fall. Each scheme will be available in up to two prototypical cab numbers, all in limited quantities and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in December 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 O Scale Premier GP-35 Diesel Locomotive in EIGHT roadnames next Fall. Each scheme will be available in up to two prototypical cab numbers with some schemes available in low-hood and others in high-hood configurations. All will be produced in limited quantities and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in November 2025.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

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