Micro-Trains - 120030 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, USRA Steel Rebuilt - Lehigh & New England - 8484

Prototype History: By the beginning of WWII, the majority of the classic USRA double-sheathed box cars and their clones were rebuilt with steel sides. More rebuilds followed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. By late 1948, close 14,000 of the original 24,500 USRA double-sheathed cars had been rebuilt with quite a degree of variation including the end, door and underframe. These steel side rebuilds were far more popular than their single-sheathed counterparts.

Road Name History: The L&NE appeared in 1895 from the reorganization of earlier bankrupt lines in the area. The L&NE is parallel to and just northwest of the Lehigh & Hudson River. The line began in the Allentown-Bethlehem area of Pennsylvania, and ran northeast through a corner of New Jersey to Campbell Hall, New York (just west of L&HR’s terminus in Maybrook.) Total mileage was just under 220.

Primary traffic was anthracite and cement with a bit of slate traffic for good measure. Unlike the L&HR, L&NE never developed into much of a bridge carrier but generated much more traffic on line.

The steam fleet included the following wheel arrangements: 0-6-0, 0-8-0 (both standard cab and camelbacks), 2-8-0 (both standard cab and camelbacks), 2-8-2 and 2-10-0. The 0-8-0’s were the last camelbacks built for service in America. In 1949, the Lehigh & New England completely dieselized with Alco FA-1, FB-1 sets and RS-2’s (set up for long hood forward operation.)

By 1960, the anthracite business had all but disappeared and the local cement industry was in a steep decline. Mileage had fallen to 177. The L&NE’s parent company, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, saw the writing on the wall. Even though the railroad was still solvent, they applied to abandon it. Jersey Central took over 41 miles of line on the south end and the rest of the Lehigh & New England was abandoned in 1961. L&NE became a paper railroad under CNJ to operate those 41 miles. During the early 70s build up to Conrail, a portion of that remaining line was transferred to Reading. Both segments became part of Conrail in 1976.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide