Search:
Type the text to search here and press Enter.
Separate search terms by a space; they will all be searched individually in all fields of the database. Click on Search: to go to the advanced search page.
Classifieds Only: Check this box if you want to search classifieds instead of the catalog.
Please help support TroveStar. Why?

Atlas - 3308 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, Steel Plug Door - Pickens - 20058

10  of these sold for an average price of: 8.328.3210 of these sold for an average price of: 8.32
Click to see the details
history
Collectors value this item at an average of 8.398.39Collectors value this item at an average of 8.39
Click to see the details
collector
This item is not for sale. This is a reference database.
N Scale - Atlas - 3308 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, Steel Plug Door - Pickens - 20058
Click on any image above to open the gallery with larger images.
Sell this item on TroveStar
Sell
Add a comment about this item.
It will be visible at the bottom of this page to all users.
Comment
Stock Number3308
Original Retail Price$2.25
BrandAtlas
ManufacturerAtlas Model Railroad
Body StyleAtlas Boxcar 40 Foot Plug Door
Prototype VehicleBoxcar, 40 Foot, Steel Plug Door (Details)
Road or Company NamePickens (Details)
Reporting MarksPICK
Road or Reporting Number20058
Paint Color(s)Blue
Print Color(s)White
Coupler TypeRapido Hook
Wheel TypeNickel-Silver Plated Metal
Wheel ProfileDeep Flange
Release Date1977-01-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeBoxcar
Model Subtype40 Foot
Model VarietyPlug Door
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era III: Transition (1939 - 1957)
Scale1/160
Track GaugeN standard



Model Information: Atlas first released this model in 1976. It was originally produced in their New Jersey factor. It replaced a similar model made by Roco for Atlas from 1967 - 1975. The American-made Atlas tooling was launched with an amazing 24 different road names. In the 1997 Atlas catalog, this model is referred to as a 40' Plugdoor Boxcar. However, the earlier Roco model had been referred to alternatively as a "Reefer" (1967, 1969 and 1971) as well as a "40' Insulated Plugdoor" (1975). Sometime in the 1990s, the tooling was moved to China. From September 2006 onward, this model was considered part of the 'Trainman' product line.
Prototype History:
Plug-Door boxcars are usually insulated and typically carry products such as canned goods that require protection from extremes of temperature but do not require refrigeration. Plug-style doors were normally used to ensure a tight seal in the insulation. Designed for transport of both perishables and large loads, plug doors allowed box cars to be sealed from outside dust and dirt. Cars like these were manufactured during the 50s and 60s.

Whether you consider this a reefer or a boxcar is a matter for angel-pinhead-counters. There seems to be a bit of a blurry line during the transition era between the idea of a steel ice reefer and an insulated boxcar. I guess an ice reefer was meant to hold ice for cooling but I doubt this is a cut-and-dry distinction. Modern "mechanical" reefers are a different breed as they contain a refrigeration unit which quite distinctly sets them apart from "boxcars".
Road Name History:
The Easley-Pickens line was chartered on December 24, 1890, by the South Carolina General Assembly after two failed attempts to build a railroad through Pickens from Easley. The line connected with the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad (later the Southern Railway) and was completed in 1898.

On the railroad's first revenue run, the Pickens Railroad suffered a serious derailment that was caused by a local group of boys that had placed spikes on the rails, in their words, "to see what would happen." No one was seriously injured, but caused the fledgling company a serious financial setback, which operated in the red until 1905.

In its early years, it was nicknamed the "Pickens Doodle" because the train would run backwards to Easley and forward to Pickens, which "looked like a doodlebug," according to area residents. The Pickens Railroad, at the time did not have turning facilities until the line built two wye sections of track at each end of the line years later.

The Southern Railway briefly acquired control of the Pickens around 1910, however, it was reverted to local interests several years later.

In the 1920s, Singer Manufacturing located a sewing machine cabinet plant on the Pickens Railroad. The plant eventually became the railroad's biggest customer and the line was purchased outright in 1939 by Singer. In 1927, the Appalachian Lumber Company built a network of logging lines in the upper portion of Pickens County. By 1939, it too was also acquired by Singer and organized under the Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company. Passenger service was discontinued in 1928 as better roads were built in the region.

In 1959, The Singer Company consolidated its sawmill and cabinet operations with the woodworking operations from Arkansas and the Craftsman power tools from New Jersey to the Pickens location. In 1963, Poinsett Lumber and Manufacturing Company announced that the Pickens Railroad was for sale. James F. Jones of North Carolina purchased the line for approximately $50,000.[1] Jones built a new enginehouse and established a carshop for rebuilding and renovating railroad cars. Jones sold the Pickens in 1973 to Philadelphia-based National Railway Utilization Company (NRUC), which expanded the carshop to build new freight cars.

In the early 1990s NRUC became Emergent Group and sold the railroad to CLC-Chattahoochee Locomotive Corp., which renamed the railroad Pickens Railway Company, according to the Federal Register, 1 May 1996. On April 2, 2013, Pickens Railway pulled the last train to Easley because of lack of business. The final run was pulled by Pickens #9502 and CLCX #12132. The last train ended an era of over 100 years of running to Easley.
Brand/Importer Information:
In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.
Manufacturer Information: 'Atlas Model Railroad' represents the New Jersey manufacturing facility for Atlas brand model railroad products. Atlas also imported European made models in their early years and those items will be noted as having manufacturers set appropriately. In the 1990s Atlas moved all their toolings to China.
Item created by: gdm on 2017-03-24 11:44:59. Last edited by CNW400 on 2020-06-02 20:42:23

If you see errors or missing data in this entry, please feel free to log in and edit it. Anyone with a Gmail account can log in instantly.