Roundhouse - 8316 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, Berwick - Sabine River & Northern - 5382

Model Information: Boxcar, 50 Foot, Youngstown Single Sliding Door, Rib Side, Without Roofwalk, modeled after a prototype produced by BFF (Berwick Forge and Fabricating). MDC has released this model both in 'kit' and RTR (Read-to-Run) packaging. None of the features on the model actually match the Berwick prototype. Athearn acquired this tooling from MDC in 2004, and has since re-released it more than once. Athearn markets BFF models with both door styles (Pickens and Youngstown) as 'Berwick Boxcars'. The Athearn models feature magnetically operated couplers and are always RTR.

Prototype History: The US government came up with a scheme to create an artificial incentive for railroads to buy new boxcars. If a railroad increased its boxcar fleet it was allowed to charge other railroads (not the customer) more for their daily use. (That's Per Diem). As an example, if the Crab Orchard and Egyptian acquired a fleet of 500 boxcars (up from zero) , and got them loaded on the ICG, it could charge the ICG for their use at an "Incentive Per Piem" rate that more than paid the CO&G's cost of ownership. So new boxcars got pumped into the system while old boxcars sat idle.

To cater to this demand, Berwick introduced its 50-foot boxcar in 1972 and sold the exterior-post car to more than 35 railroads. Though Berwick stopped production in 1982, the boxcars are still commonly seen throughout North America.

Road Name History: SABINE RIVER AND NORTHERN RAILROAD. The Sabine River and Northern Railroad Company was chartered on April 20, 1965. to provide rail service to the Owens-Illinois, Incorporated, linerboard mill subsequently constructed near Mulford in northeastern Orange County. The railroad was projected to run from Bessmay on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway to a connection with the Southern Pacific in Orange County two miles west of the Louisiana border. The capital stock was $1,000,000, and the principal place of business was four miles south of Deweyville in Orange County. Construction of the Sabine River and Northern began at Echo in late 1965, and the segment between Echo and Mulford opened on April 19, 1966. Operation of the 31½ miles began on August 17, 1967, when service was extended to Mauriceville and Bessmay.

The mileage includes 6,800 feet of trackage rights over the Missouri Pacific Railroad at Mauriceville. Between Echo and Mauriceville the Sabine River and Northern constructed a completely new railroad. North of Mauriceville, however, the company laid its track on the abandoned grade of a Missouri Pacific branch line that once ran to Bessmay and Newton. In 1972 the railroad owned five diesel units and one car and reported a net income of $172,000. The Mulford mill and the railroad were acquired by a subsidiary of what is now Temple-Inland, Incorporated, in 1986. Other Temple-Inland facilities in southeast Texas include a Temple-Inland Forest Products Corporation sawmill at Buna and a bleached paperboard mill at Evadale.

The Buna sawmill was served by the Sabine River and Northern. In order to better integrate the three mills in the area and to provide additional outlets for the production of the Evadale facility, the railroad began work on a line to Evadale in June 1988. This eight mile branch, which leaves the main line eleven miles north of Mauriceville, opened on July 19, 1990. The Sabine River and Northern connects with all four major railroads serving southeastern Texas, the Southern Pacific Transportation at Echo, the Kansas City Southern Railway at Lemonville, the Missouri Pacific at Mauriceville, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at Bessmay and Evadale. The Sabine River and Northern transports wood chips from Buna and other Temple-Inland East Texas products bound for Mulford as well as inbound chemicals and other raw materials required for the manufacture of paper. Outbound freight includes finished lumber and paper products. From the Texas State Historical Association

Brand/Importer Information: MDC Roundhouse was founded in California in 1938 and relocated in 1993 to Carson City, Nevada due to statewide restrictions on painting. MDC Roundhouse was a producer of both RTR (Ready-to-Run) and kit versions of N Scale rolling stock as well as RTR locomotives. They entered the N scale market in 1979 with a Thrall Hi-Side Gondola and a Hi-Cube Single Door Box Car. MDC Roundhouse was purchased by Horizon Hobbies in June of 2004, when its owner since 1938 C. H. Menteer retired, and merged into their Athearn line.

Unlike many of their contemporaries which contracted with European firms to produce their products, MDC made their own toolings. They made several popular body styles and produced them for road names that many other vendors (even Micro-Trains) wouldn't touch. This made them popular with modelers. Also, their un-assembled "kits" permitted a lower price point so they were popular with "runners" as well as "modelers".

Of particular interest was the attention given to modern 50 foot steel boxcars. They made some attempt to accurately mold the differences into distinct models to represent each of the major prototype manufacturers products. They have distinct toolings not only for the different products from FMC, BFF and PS, but also multiple models for each of these manufacturers including "standard" vs "Youngstown" doors and "waffle" vs. "rib" sides. In total they produced 13 different versions of the 50 foot steel boxcar.