Hubert's - HN5509 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, Gunderson 5200 - Norfolk Southern - 456724

Model Information: This model was first created by E&C shops. The tooling was sold to the LBF Company and in turn when they went out of business in 2009, the model was passed on to Hubert's Model RR Mfg Group. They are available in both single and double door varieties.

Prototype History: Built in the late sixties and early seventies, the Gunderson 5200 is a classic-looking boxcar with modern appeal and can still be seen around today (albeit usually not in the best of shape!). Constructed near the end of the internal post, double sheathed box car era, the straight sill and centered YSD 8ft doors lends itself to clean modern symmetry on a car with vintage aesthetics. These cars road on ASF 70 Ton Ride Control or Barber 70 Ton S-2 trucks. They were used by the BN, SP and SP&S.

Road Name History: The Norfolk Southern Railway (reporting mark NS) is a Class I railroad in the United States; began in 1982 and 1990. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 36,200 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada from Buffalo to Toronto and over the Albany to Montreal route. NS is responsible for maintaining 29,000 miles, with the remainder being operated under trackage rights from other parties responsible for maintenance. The common commodity hauled on the railroad is coal from mines in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The railroad also offers the most intermodal network in eastern North America.

NS is a major transporter of domestic and export coal. The railroad's major sources of the mineral are located in: Pennsylvania's Cambria and Indiana counties, as well as the Monongahela Valley; West Virginia; and the Appalachia regions of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In Pennsylvania, NS also receives coal through interchange with R.J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines at Cresson, Pennsylvania, originating in the "Clearfield Cluster". NS's export of West Virginia bituminous coal, begins transport on portions of the well-engineered former Virginian Railway and the former N&W double-tracked line in Eastern Virginia to its Lambert's Point coal pier on Hampton Roads at Norfolk. Coal transported by NS is thus exported to steel mills and power plants around the world. The company is also a major transporter of auto parts and completed vehicles. It operates intermodal container and TOFC (trailer on flat car) trains, some in conjunction with other railroads. NS was the first railway to employ roadrailers, which are highway truck trailers with interchangeable wheel sets.

The Norfolk Southern Railway's parent Norfolk Southern Corporation is a Norfolk, Virginia-based parent company. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated on July 23, 1980 in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbols NSC. The primary business function of Norfolk Southern Corporation is the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States. The corporation further facilitates transport to the remainder of the United States through interchange with other rail carriers while also serving overseas transport needs by serving several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. As of October 1, 2014 Norfolk Southern Corporation's total public stock value was slightly over $34.5 billion.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Hubert's Model Railroad Mfg Corp group was located in Roseburg, Oregon and then Cincinnati, Ohio. Frank Hubert purchased the toolings of the LBF company (a.k.a. USA Plastics), that itself succeeded to E&C Shops, both founded by Fred Becker. Hubert had been one of Becker's partners in LBF/USA Plastics. Later, when Hubert's operation folded by the end of 2007, the toolings were acquired by InterMountain.
Like its predecessors, Hubert's released every road name with 12 to 48 different road numbers, offering the cars in 6- or 12-packs.