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Thanks for the info! I remember when they switched to those awful plastic boxes. They didn't even stack well on a shelf and were fairly fragile, where a cardboard box can take a dent or two, the plastic would just break. I collected just about everyone of their "collectible" beer, tobacco, meat packing and others, like Old Dutch Cleanser, Gerbers and other reefer and box cars in the '60s and '70s. Unfortunately my ex was responsible for me selling the lot in order to set her free,. if you comprehend. I've since picked up some at swap meets (TM freight cars, not ex wifes), and they still are amongst my favorite freight equipment because they are lower in height than the one-size-fits-all 'blue box' kits, and they are of seldom modeled prototypes seen today. Pictures taken in the '40s and '50s make it very obvious that not all boxcars and reefers were alike, and in fact, it must have been quite a challenge for a trainman to walk the roofs from one car to the next, due to the great differences in height from car to car. Toss in a tall 50' or 60' furniture or automobile box car and it really looks extreme. There was a diverse mix of wood-sheathed, outside-braced and various steel-sided cars, incl the X29 cars, that were prevalent during these years. Of course, most of the biilboard cars were probably not prototypical, and most billboard-type advertising on freight cars was, in fact, outlawed in the '30s. I recall that TM had arch-bar trucks under many of their wood sided cars, and they had to be replaced if the cars were to be used in interchange service in the '40s and beyond. If I recall correctly, their extensive offering of MOW equipment was patterened after the much older wood construction "Silver Streak" HO kits. I still have two complete sets stashed away somewhere. I believe Walthers had offered those, as well as TM's 55 ton hoppers, incl some w/ raised sideboards. Again, thanks to everone for background info. BILL
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