SP B-50-15 Steel Sheathed 40' Boxcar

A Folsom Locomotive Works product, fulfilled directly by Folsom Locomotive Works — an exceptional N scale 3D printed model of the Southern Pacific B-50-15 Steel Sheathed 40’ Boxcar, available in three historically distinct decal variants: SP Express, SP Overnight Prewar, and SP Overnight Postwar.

The B-50-15 has one of the more interesting prototype histories in the Southern Pacific's freight car fleet. These cars began their lives as single-sheathed wooden boxcars — a construction method common in the early twentieth century in which a wooden frame was covered with a single layer of exterior sheathing, lighter and cheaper to build than all-steel construction but increasingly obsolete as the railroad industry modernized. Rather than retire the cars outright, the Southern Pacific's mechanical department undertook a significant rebuild program, re-sheathing the cars in steel to extend their service lives and bring them up to a more modern standard — a practical and economical approach that was characteristic of the SP's long tradition of maximizing the useful life of its equipment.

What makes the B-50-15 particularly interesting as a modeling subject is its use in passenger train express and overnight service — these rebuilt boxcars were assigned to carry express freight, mail, and perishable goods in the head-end consists of Southern Pacific passenger trains, running on passenger train schedules to provide fast, reliable delivery across the SP's vast network. The three decal options capture the car across different eras of this service:

• SP Express — lettered for Southern Pacific express service, representing the car in its role carrying high-priority freight in passenger train consists.
• SP Overnight Prewar — lettered for the SP's Overnight express freight service in its prewar configuration, one of the Southern Pacific's premier fast freight and express offerings connecting major California cities.
• SP Overnight Postwar — the same service in its postwar lettering scheme, reflecting the updates to SP's express car markings in the years following World War II.

This product is produced and fulfilled by Folsom Locomotive Works. Please allow a few weeks for 3D printing and shipping.