Cheap Classics- 8" Boxcars

[daves92camaro]

what about that red rock island "route of the rockies"one....i have one here and i think its really sharp

[fifedog]

I enjoy these cc threads.  Keep up the good work, Papa_D.

[geeppe]

David, what a wonderful video.  I'm sure I have seen it before, but enjoyed it just as much this time.  Everything a post war layout should be, full of operating accessories that operate as designed.  Signals and switches, tower operator, coupling and uncoupling, horns and smoke all worked flawlessly.  A real pleasure to watch.

Graeme

[Papa_D]

Next is the Erie Lackawanna first released in '73.  It was a separate sale item in both ’73 & ’74, and appeared in 9 cataloged and uncataloged sets from ’73 to ’75 making it easy to find at a “cheap classic” price.  There are no variations.  I find this one of the least exciting small boxcars in the MPC/LTI eras.

[dsmith]

alank

Dave,

     Nice video there...and now I am having a little fun...but I think you and I count to 15 differently, as I only count 14 8" boxcars....but as said great video, and as always a great layout..Alan

Alan, you're right, it's 14 boxcars and a caboose.

[alank]

Dave,

     Nice video there...and now I am having a little fun...but I think you and I count to 15 differently, as I only count 14 8" boxcars....but as said great video, and as always a great layout..Alan

[Papa_D]

The next 8” boxcar released in ’72 (uncataloged in ’71) was the 9042 Ford Autolite.  It was a separate sale item in ’72 only.  However it appeared in sets in ’71, ’72, and ’74 – ’76, making it a common and easy to find “cheap classic”.  There are three variations.  Most common is the one shown above.  With its 2 color graphics, I think it is one of the most attractive short boxcars of the MPC/LTI eras. The other two variations all black, and gold/red graphics.  I’ve never seen even photos of either of these two variations, so if anyone reading this post has one of them, please share. 

[dsmith]

Here is a video of 15 of the 8" boxcars running on my 027 layout.  The short ones look great on small layouts.

 

u0Wb DkGLDY

[samplingman]

 I have the dark brown with silver lettering version.

[Papa_D]

The 9041 Hershey short boxcar was first released in ’70 along with the 9041 Wheaties short boxcar. It came in that year in the 1085 Santa Fe Express Diesel Freight Set as well as a separate sale item.  It continued to be offered as a separate sale item in ’71, ’72, ’74, ’75, and ’76, but came in no other cataloged set. There are three main variations, brown with white lettering, maroon also with white lettering, and dark brown with silver lettering, the latter being slightly higher priced.  The photo in the ’76 catalog suggests the maroon version came from at least that year. Previous catalog images appear to be the generic brown version.  Similar to the 9040 Wheaties, early 9041 Hershey short boxcars also came with ARR trucks. All are fairly easy to find and can be bought for under $20 if you’re patient.

The first photo below is an early version with the AAR trucks.  The second shows the small metal bar on the bottom of the operating coupler.  If anyone reading this post has a photo of one of the other variations, please share.  Thanks.

[Papa_D]

Sir James I: I agree that when Lionel changed hands, the folks at MPC used up left over parts where ever possible. The next car chronologically is the 9041 Hershey also initially released in '70. One that I have also has AAR trucks.

cwburfle: You described exactly the trucks on both the 9040 Wheaties and 9041 Hershey that I have; there is a little metal bar on each one. When I post photos of the 9041 Hershey, I'll include a photo of it.

Penny Trains: Thanks for catching the "P", I'll edit my initial email to correct. My first train set from '55 was the 1513S 027 4-Car Freight Set that included the 6014 red Baby Ruth 8" boxcar and the 6015 Yellow Sunoco short single dome tank car. Like a duckling, I've been imprinted with 027 ever since. I've been collecting both the short boxcars and single dome tank cars since getting back into the hobby back in '00. Mike's articles on Cheap Classics have only added to my collecting fun.

jwse30: The MPC/LTI eras provided a wide variety of short boxcars opening up possibilities to collect along several different lines, including the Toys-R-Us. I believe there were a total of 5 different ones released. They are a little bit higher priced on average than the Cheap Classics on Mike's list, but still doable on a budget. Have fun! Great photos!

[jwse30]

These cars are among my favorites too, though I like their postwar counterparts too. The ToysRUs ones are fun to collect, as they made a few different ones. 

A string of these cars pulled by a 2037 is my favorite train.

Here's an assortment of MPC era cars:

J White

[Penny Trains]

Now your'e talkin about my absolute favorite cars of my favorite series!    I've loved the "plug door" boxcars every since my first set which included a white Frisco.  So far though I only have 2 others, a red Bosco and and orange Baby Ruth.  I did have a blue conrail from the 90's, but I sacrificed it to make a body for a Cleveland Union Terminal Rwy. P-1A boxcab electric in the same decade.  Oh well.

Anyhoo, before someone else points it out, the "P" in MPC actually stands for "Products" not "Power".  As far as I know there's never been any link between Lionel and Model Power.

Becky

[cwburfle]

Many of the very early MPC freight cars have postwar style (AAR) plastic trucks. Usually they are made up with fast angle wheel sets, and a plastic uncoupling armature that has a small rectangular bar mounted on the plunger.
Its hard to tell from the photograph, but judging by the appearance of the finish on the wheels, I think they are fast angle wheels with some of the finish worn off.
There are a few cars, that are knownn to have been made with postwar trucks, including postwar sintered iron wheels.  I think the 9150 gulf tank is one of them, but I'd have to check.

[sir james I]

In the early years of MPC they used whatever parts they had found in the old Lionel factories. Thus variations on early MPC that have postwar parts is not unusual.

[Papa_D]

In an earlier posting I went over 8” single dome tank car “cheap classics”. This thread will focus on the 8” long boxcars Mike Connor wrote about in his second article on “cheap classics” that appeared in the November ’94 issue of CTT.  The earliest 8” long boxcar of this style was first issued by Lionel as the 1004 Baby Ruth in ’48.  The last one issued in the post-war era was the orange 6014 Frisco in ’69.  In that year Lionel licensed the rights to produce Lionel trains to General Mills. Thus began the Model Products Corporation (MPC), a division of General Mills, era that covered the years ’70 thru ’85.  In 85 General Mills sold the license to produce Lionel Trains to Lionel Trains Incorporated (LTI).   The LTI era span ’86 to ’95.  All the 8” long boxcars on Mike’s list fall within these two eras.   In order to keep his list to a manageable number, only cataloged 8” boxcars were considered.  As this thread progresses, questions will be raised as to whether or not other 8” long boxcars were cataloged.  Hopefully other forum members will be able to provide insight to help resolve these questions.  Finally, depending on my work travel schedule, I plan to post about one car a week in order of year released.

The first boxcar is the 9040 Wheaties.  The vibrant molded orange and three color graphics makes this a very attractive boxcar.  It appeared in a total of 9 cataloged and uncataloged sets from ‘70 to ‘73  as well as separate sale in ‘70, ‘71 and ‘72.  Not surprisingly it is a fairly easy to come across today and can still be bought for under $20.  It’s interesting to note that in the ’70 catalog it is referred to it as the Wheaties Refrigerator Car; in ’71 catalog as the Wheaties Short Box Car; and in ‘72 catalog as the Wheaties Boxcar. 

The only variation is the earliest ones used AAR trucks. All the remainder used  Symington-Wayne trucks.  The switch in trucks coincided with MPC’s introduction of the new fast angle wheels that self adjusted on curves and the needlepoint bearings that significantly reduced rolling friction. There is no difference in value between the two variations. The remainder of the 8” long boxcars all used the Symington-Wayne trucks. In the photo below the AAR style truck is shown on the left and the Symington-Wayne style truck on the right.