Review by Tony Cook/Model Photos by Pamela Varney
A recent delivery of Atlas Trainman-series boxcars provides five decorations listed as never-before-offered for this ready-to-run 1:48 freight car model. This 40-foot sliding-door boxcar is a classic in the hobby, and for good reason. Introduced with Atlas’ debut in the O scale market in the early 1970s, this finely rendered plastic rolling stock specimen is a classic and common prototype that draws devotees of O to it, as well as luring in hobbyists pursuing other scales to look twice and consider this larger model railroading scale.
In this production is a great-looking Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) release dressed in the road’s striking green with orange livery and large billboard lettering. The paint and lettering are excellent and includes black ends with white reporting marks and road number present on the car ends. This EJ&E model is a 2-rail edition and possesses body-mounted metal knuckle couplers and friction-style trucks with 33-inch metal wheels.
Northampton & Bath is a rather uncommon road to find in a regular production release and, though this boxcar is dressed in a simple light version of Boxcar Red with white lettering, it also provides an inviting release for operators and collectors alike. This Northampton & Bath boxcar is Atlas’ 3-rail edition and is setup with deep-flange wheels with working metal couplers included on the trucks (both versions include springs in the truck design).
This is the 10th run for this boxcar since the advent of Atlas’ Trainman series and, in addition to these roads, Clinchfield, Maine Central, and Santa Fe’s Bx-83 class are new looks. Returning with a new road number is Baltimore & Ohio’s Sentinel service paint scheme.
Atlas Model Railroad Co. O-scale Trainman
40-foot Sliding Door Boxcar
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern
2-rail edition
2001294, $72.95
Northampton & Bath
3-rail edition
2001245, $69.95
Atlas Model Railroad Co.
378 Florence Ave.
Hillside, NJ 07205
