SP B-50-16 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-50-16 Steel Sheathed 40’ Boxcar, representing the car as rebuilt in the late 1930s when the SP re-sheathed the original 1927 wood-sheathed carbody in steel. Available in three decal variants: SP Express Service, SP Prewar Overnight Service, and SP Postwar Overnight Service.

The B-50-16 began its life in 1927 as a wood-sheathed boxcar — a construction method combining a steel underframe with wooden exterior sheathing that was already becoming obsolete as the industry moved toward all-steel construction. In the late 1930s, the Southern Pacific's mechanical department undertook a rebuild program, re-sheathing the B-50-16s in steel to extend their service lives, improve durability, and bring them closer to the all-steel standard that was becoming universal in American freight car construction. This model represents the cars in that rebuilt configuration — the same carbody as the B-50-16 Wood Sheathed (also available from Out of the Box Models), but transformed by a decade of SP shop work into a more modern and longer-lived car.

The rebuilt B-50-16s were assigned to express and overnight passenger train service, carrying high-priority freight, mail, and perishables in the head-end consists of Southern Pacific passenger trains on accelerated schedules across the SP's vast network. The three decal options capture the car across its express and overnight service career:

• SP Express Service — the car in general Southern Pacific express service, carrying high-priority shipments in passenger train head-end consists across the SP system.
• SP Prewar Overnight Service — lettered for the SP's celebrated Overnight express freight service in its prewar configuration, connecting major California cities on passenger train schedules for next-morning delivery.
• SP Postwar Overnight Service — the same service in its updated postwar lettering, reflecting the changes to SP's express car markings in the years following World War II as the railroad modernized its passenger and express operations.

Together with the SP B-50-16 Wood Sheathed listing, this model tells the complete story of a single car design across its full life — from its 1927 wood-sheathed origins through its late 1930s steel rebuild and into decades of express service on the Southern Pacific's passenger trains.

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