SOG Class “Great Lakes” Ore Car

HISTORY

Ore cars first appeared on the railroad scene around the time of the Civil War. These cars were wooden in construction and could handle around 20 tons of iron ore. By the turn on the century, large veins of iron ore were being found in the upper midwest and the iron ore business began to boom.

While the ore could be transported in a standard hopper car, the ore hauling railroads worked to find a specialized car to handle the heavy ore more efficiently. From this, the more modern steel ore car was born.

The SOG Class ore car was a fairly standard design of the Bethlehem Steel Works and was sold to many of the Midwestern ore haulers like the Duluth Missabe, & Iron Range, Chicago & Northwestern, Duluth South Shore & Atlantic, Lake Superior & Ishpeming, and Great Northern among others. These 70 ton cars were built in several batches by Bethlehem Steel starting in the mid 50s and some are still in service today, although they have mainly been replaced by the “U” series cars and newer 100 and 125 ton cars.

Our Car

 Our car is based on the LS&I “SOG” class 70 ton cars. It was modeled from photographs and drawings supplied in the various LS&I books. It would also be right at home painted for many of the other roads mentioned above. The car is designed to use Titan Trains Bettendorf trucks (not included) and use Live Steamer Parts solid shank couplers for the prototypical close coupling. Properly constructed, this car will traverse #5 switches and 35’ radius curves. This kit is a mix of welding and riveting to fully assemble.

Our kit includes:

• Laser cut sheet metal parts for the body

• 1X2 steel tube for the frame and bolsters

• Precision Steel Car details including grab irons, brake wheel and other brake details

• 3D printed Railhead Designs air tank, triple valve and brake cylinder

• All the screws, bolts and rivets to assemble the car

• Option to add LSP solid shank couplers to your kit box for a reduced price.

• Full instructions with drawings written out in an easy to understand manner.

• Customer support from the Reading Car Company team!

This car is shipped in a cardboard box and can be shipped worldwide. See our shipping page for more information.

How to Order

Order via our “Order Now” button below or email us for other options. Cars can be shipped, picked up at our facility near Reading, PA, free delivered to the Buckeye Limited Convention in Coshocton, OH or we can arrange pickup directly from one of our partners in Central OH.

We accept cash, check, money orders, and credit cards.

Flat rate shipping of $60. For multiple cars, we can do a better price on shipping. Please email us (Russ.Swinnerton@gmail.com) for a shipping rate. We will bill you directly after that.

Price: $975. Flat Rate Shipping $60

 From 1975 to 1980, National Steel Car built over 1000 of the 5277 cubic foot plug door boxcars. Most of the cars went to Canadian railroads (Canadian National, Ontario Northland, British Columbia Railway, and Canadian Pacific) for paper service, however some also went to Grand Trunk and later in their lives, the cars were sold off by the Class 1 Railroads and purchased by smaller railroads and leasing companies. One car was converted by Canadian National into an “Autonomous Geometry Car” and outfitted with devices to measure track geometry in regular freight trains.

The Reading Car Company model of the NSC 5277 is a faithful recreation of the boxcar in 1:8 scale. These files for this car were drawn from blueprints supplied by Canadian National to make them faithful replicas of the real thing.

This offering is a very limited edition and has all but sold out. Only 2 of the run of cars is still available and when they’re sold out, they will not be re-run.

These 50’ plug door cars feature fully formed steel parts along with a mix of Precision Steel Car details and 3D printed details. The roof can be opened using the included hinge and gas strut system. All necessary 4-40 screws are included in the kit. Trucks and couplers are not included, but can be ordered from us along with the car. The 5277 is also pre-drilled in the frame for air line installation to make adding brakes quick and easy. Please note the door on this car is non-operating.

The car features:

• All steel welded construction. This model should be assembled with either a MIG or TIG welder. This is not a hard process and can be learned by anybody (with practice!).

• Precision Steel Car details including their brake wheel and grab irons.

• Numbers etched into the steel so the car becomes “build by number”. Lightly etched numbers disappear when covered with paint.

• Tab-in-slot construction makes assembly easy!

• Steel frame included and it includes 1/2” holes for installing air lines all down the length of the carbody. This keeps air lines inside the frame and safe from damage.

• Steel roof that gives the option of being fixed in place or use the included hinges and gas strut to make the roof openable to use the inside of the carbody for storage.

• Frame has 1/8” starter holes for locating couplers and trucks to make it easy!

• All screws and details included.

We can ship this kit to you, or we can arrange pickup or local delivery in PA, DE, OH, MD, NJ and most of New England. Only 2 remain, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. These kits will not be produced again.

Please contact us regarding pickup, delivery or shipping prior to ordering. Click below to order!

Price - $2,550

65’ Modern Mill Gondola

The 65’ Modern Mill Gondola is based on the Thrall 3564 Mill Gondola.

The early 2000s saw railroads looking to supplement their fleets of steel carrying gondolas with longer cars to carry scrap, pipe and other long or bulky loads. The 65’ gondolas were the answer. Cars of this size were built by Trinity, National Steel Car and Thrall. The Thrall model is the one we chose to render in 1:8 scale. Our car features welded construction (with a few rivets as well) and will be a relatively easy kit to assemble for the novice welder. Parts are etched with a number to assist in assembly. We also provide all the fasteners you’ll need to finish the car including rivets, screws etc. Details parts such as grab irons and brake detail come from Precision Steel Car.

These cars are already on the way and are planned to arrive in March, therefore payment is due now for March delivery. These models were designed in conjunction with the Marshall Steam Museum and $75 of each car purchased will be given to the Museum to continue their work. A limited number of these cars is available and it’s unlikely they’ll be made again, so order now to ensure you get one of these modern big haulers.

Purchase Now For March Delivery

Price: $1550

50’ Modern Railbox / IPD Boxcar

HISTORY

The term shortline fever was used to describe the movement that swept through the North American boxcar fleet beginning in 1978. An impending shortage of newer, serviceable XM-class general purpose boxcars spurred changes to AAR car service rules. There was a shortage of boxcars for high-quality lading like paper and food. Railroads were buying lots of covered hoppers and container flatcars, not 50-foot boxcars. At the same time, scant capital funds on the part of the railroads for new cars encouraged a proliferation of savvy, opportunistic financiers ready to join in. This became known as the “IPD” (Incentive, Per Diem) craze and it produced some very colorful boxcars from some small railroads that wouldn’t have otherwise had any quantity of boxcars for interchange service. Little regionals and shortlines like The New Hope & Ivyland, the Terminal Railroad of Alabama State Docks, the Pickens Railroad and the Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad (just to name a few) suddenly found themselves on the national stage with their boxcars running coast to coast.

Unfortunately, the good times were not to last. By the mid to late 1980s, railroads like Conrail and Union Pacific, tired of seeing their market share being eaten up by the little guys, used their capital might to leverage the jointly owned Trailer Train company to bring “Railbox” to bear. The TTX subsidiary swamped the market with new XM type boxcars which could be had cheaper than the IPD cars. Along with that, the IPD rules were changed and these colorful cars returned to their home roads to be scrapped or resold. Many of them were resold to leasing companies and had their reporting marks changed while the old paint scheme continued to roll on.

Our Car

 Our car is a faithful representation of the FMC 50’ Plate “C” boxcar. This car served both the IPD boom as well as being well represented in the Railbox fleet. The car is an all-steel car with corrugated ends and Youngstown or Superior Steel type doors.

The car features:

• All steel welded construction. This model should be assembled with either a MIG or TIG welder. This is not a hard process and can be learned by anybody (with practice!).

• Precision Steel Car details including their brake wheel and grab irons.

• Numbers etched into the steel so the car becomes “build by number”. Lightly etched numbers disappear when covered with paint.

• Tab-in-slot construction makes assembly easy!

• Steel frame included and it includes 1/2” holes for installing air lines all down the length of the carbody. This keeps air lines inside the frame and safe from damage.

• Steel roof that gives the option of being fixed in place or use the included hinges and gas strut to make the roof openable to use the inside of the carbody for storage.

• Frame has 1/8” starter holes for locating couplers and trucks to make it easy!

• All screws and details included.

• Doors are able to be fixed in place or openable which is the modeller’ choice and you can choose door type.

We look forward to providing another wonderful car kit to the hobby and we can’t wait to share this one with you, so order today!

Price: $1700 Please contact us prior to ordering to discuss shipping costs or pickup possibilities.