Moloco 70010-04 - BN 1972 Cascade Green repaint, Brainerd built 50' XM 15-0 Double-slider centered Burlington Northern (BN) 245133 - HO Scale

NOTE: Image is representative of the paint scheme. See the listing for the actual car number

After many years of successful 40-foot boxcar design and manufacturing at the Brainerd Shops in Brainerd, MN, times were changing and that meant cars needed to get longer. In 1955 the Northern Pacific Brainerd Shops started to build one of their most successful groups of 50-foot general service boxcar designs. These distinctive centered double-slider arrangement was not a common one, but it was NPs solution to their forestry based service area. The initial rivetted design of 1955 utilized many off the shelf car body components by Stanray, ends and roof panels, along with two Youngstown 7.5 foot sliding doors. Being added to Brainerd shop design and fabricated frames and sides. (500 cars) The following year (1956) a new design (the subject of our model) emerged with a spec. change to Youngstown sides added to the design. With their distinctive diagonal panels on either side of the door opening meant a design change to the frame and associated side sill with a pronounced dip in the sill. These changes stiffened up the overall car and particularly the door opening. Brainerd manufactured 1350 cars of this design from 1956 to 1959 quite a feat considering that equated to about two cars a day. Perhaps the reason to purchase Youngstown sides instead to keep up with production levels. Being of Plate B clearance standard translated to unlimited service to all rail lines in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The following 1960-61 years another design change evolved with welded sides and Superior double-sliders, but basically the same distinctive centering of the doors remained. (500 cars) During the BN era the rebuilding of these workhorses came to St. Cloud ex-GN shops in Minnesota, the shop symbol for St. Cloud was TP. This series of rebuilds were from a 1972 car building programme, which refurbished interiors and updated brake systems to Auto Slack Adjustor systems. All cars have been photographically identified and verified. Handbrake and wheels BN 245028, 245077, 245133, Miner D3290XL, Miner wheel BN 245080, 245183, 245248, Equipco 3750, Equipco wheel Truck types Ride-Control (black) - BN 245028, 245077, 245080 Barber (black) - BN 245133, 245183, 245248 DESIGN FEATURES Differing lettering placements for individual car numbers for repainted cars Accurately applied roofwalks or not with cut down ladders to match era specific schemes Car number specific handbrakes, Ajax, Ellcon-National, Equipco, Klasing or Universal Fixed frame design with manual brake wear controls Brainerd designed etched roofwalk specifically designed Wire parts for ALL brake rods, air pipes, and stirrups in specific NP styles Durable rubber air hoses and metal corner stirrups 50t trucks with metal wheels and axles Highly detailed welded Stanray R3-4 ends uniquely used by the Brainerd Shops Distinctive 8 run long style ladders on sides and ends Researched accurate lettering, from the smallest stencils to the nuisances of the Monads so distinctive of the day Kadee ”Scale” Whisker couplers