As the automobile industry in the US expanded in the years following the end of World War 2, many railroads were finding it hard to efficiently move the finished autos. The C&NW was one of these railroads. In 1949, they placed an order for 248 cars, to be numbered in the 57400 – 57898 (even numbers only) series, class XMR, from Pullman Standard. These 40 foot, 50-ton All Steel sheathed boxcars featured double doors that allowed for a 15-foot opening. Since these cars were assigned to haul finished automobiles, they were all equipped with Evans auto loading devices style “E” and featured a white stripe on the righthand door to indicate that these cars were so equipped for automobile loading. These cars were lettered with the then standard Slogan scheme featuring “Route of the 400 Streamliners” on the left side of the car and “The Overland Route” on the right side.
As the railroad industry began to find better alternatives to moving finished autos than in boxcars these cars had their Evans devices removed and then they were placed into the general boxcar fleet. Over time several of these cars were sent through the C&NW shops at Clinton IA to then emerge in later lettering styles. While several of these cars remained on the roster until March of 1980, many were shown as “heavy bad orders” and had been placed in storage. The three cars that are being offered (57548, 57776, 57892) are such cars.
Accurail has produced these HO scale model kits for us decorated as they were delivered in November 1949. These cars include Accumate trucks, wheel sets and couplers. Single cars are $32, set of 3 is $85. IL residents please add 9 ½% sales tax.
These cars are available from the Society at PO Box 1068, North Riverside IL 60547 or through the Society website at www.cnwhs.org.
