Box Cars

Below are links to the various reports that show all of the S-scale box cars ever produced. Click whichever report gets you to the information that wish to find. The bottom of this page has additional references that might be of interest.

Contact person: Webmaster

1. By Model Manufacturer
   Entries are sorted by manufacturer, then by road name, and then by type of box car.
2. By Model Manufacturer ID
   Entries are sorted by manufacturer, then by the product ID, and then by road name and road number. This report is handy if you know the manufacturer and the product ID.
   This report is limited to entries that have a known manufacturer ID set.
3. By Road Name
   Entries are sorted by road name, then by model manufacturer, and then by type of box car.
4. By Type
   Entries are sorted by the box car's type, then by road name, and then by model manufacturer on the final pages.
5. By Gauge
   Entries are sorted by wheel gauge, then by manufacturer, and then by type of box car. The final pages have the entries sorted by the box cars' road names.
6. By Model Introduction Year
   Entries are sorted by model year, then by manufacturer, and then by type of box car. The final pages have the entries sorted by the box cars' road names.
   This report is limited to entries for which the model introduction year is known.
7. By Material
   Entries are sorted by the dominant material from which the model (especially its body) is made, then by manufacturer, and then by type of box car. The final pages have the entries sorted by the box cars' road names.
   This report is limited to entries for which the dominant material is known.
8. By Photo
   A mini photo album of sorts, this report shows the primary photo for each entry. Click on a photo to see that model's details and possible additional photos. The photos are sorted by road name, road number, and then by manufacturer. This is a huge page, so it may take some time to load.
   This report is limited to entries that have at least one photo set.
9. Missing Photos
   This report lists all of the entries for which we do not, yet, have a photo. If you have this model and can take a photo of it, please contact the webmaster.
10. All Entries
    This report lists all entries in one page, and you can click on an entry to see its model information.
11. All Entries (text only)
    Entries are sorted by model manufacturer, type, road name, road number, model year, and product ID, all on one page (no details, no photos). This is handy for when you just want a basic list of what has been produced.
12. Downloadable Text File
    Entries are sorted by model manufacturer, manufacturer ID, road name, road number, type of box car, gauge, model year, product type, and finish. Note: To import or open this file in a spreadsheet software application, use the hat, ^, character as the column separator (see the "6" key of your keyboard). Most spreadsheet applications will let you pick the separator or delimiter; if not, open the file with a text editor and replace all "^" with a character of your choice, and then try it again.

Report Definitions

These definitions, in alphabetical order, may clarify some of the terms used in the reports linked-to above:

• Finish
  Where the "|" (vertical bar) is used in the text, it indicates that the model was available in more than one finish, where each finish format is separated by the "|" symbol.
• Gauge
  "AF": for models that come only with A.C. Gilbert-style or -compatible wheels and couplers.
  "S": for standard-gauge (4'8-1/2" rail-spacing) models that come with either no wheels and couplers, with scale wheels and/or couplers, or with "hi-rail" wheels and couplers but have scale wheels and couplers included in the box.
  "Sn3", "Sn2", "Sn42": for the various narrow-gauge rail spacings.
  
• Prototype Height
  This is the interior height of the car, as marked on the car's data decal, which may not reflect the actual size of the scale model's height.
• Prototype Volume
  This is the interior volume as marked on the car's data decal, which may not have a bearing on the scale model's interior volume.
• Prototype Year
  If the real-world introduction year of a car is not known, then we indicate the year printed on the model, if shown. Note that the model's year number may indicate a built-new, rebuilt, or re-packaged date, whichever is later.
• Road Name
  The railroad name (prototype, freelance, or fictional) for which the model was decorated by the factory, or, if undecorated, for which the model was specifically designed. If no road name is listed, then it is a generic model.
• Road Number
  If the model was factory-decorated with a road number, it will be listed. If the model was released with more than one road number but otherwise is identical, then each road number is listed on the model's final page, but not listed as a separate entry. If the road number is shown with a series of question-marks, then that indicates that a road number was released but we don't know what it is. Each series of question-marks represents one unknown road number, thereby indicating the total number of unique road numbers with which we know the model was released.
• Style
  The overall configuration of the box car. There are over 60 of them in our S-scale models!

Additional External References

Click the red header text for the external web site, listed here in alphabetical order; the sentence below it provides a high-level description of what you will find on that web page.

• 1932 ARA Box Car
  Atlas' N-scale product page provides information about the 1932 ARA box car design.
• 1937 AAR Box Cars
  Detailed information about all of the railroads that had these box cars.
• 1937 AAR vs. PS-1
  Modelers discuss the visual differences between the 1937 AAR-design of the box car and the later Pullman-Standard PS-1 design of the box car. Additionally, AAR had rectangular panels for their roofs, whereas PS-1 used narrow ribs. AAR had Dreadnaught ends with tapered ribs, while the PS-1 had equally-sized ribs and six small bumps just under the roofwalk.
• "ARA Standard Box Cars of 1932"
  Published by Speedwitch Media, Ted Culotta's thoroughly revised book covers all aspects of the 1932 ARA box car. New as of April 2024.
• B&O Sentinel Service Box Cars
  Information about the B&O's "Sentinel Service"-painted box cars. The service was a car-tracing method the B&O employed before the introduction of computers to the railroads.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume One: Single Sheathed Box & Automobile Cars"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book highlights many cars photographed in the late 1930s into 1940 in southern California.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume Two: Double Sheathed Box & Automobile Cars"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book highlights many cars photographed in the late 1930s into 1940 in southern California.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume Four: Steel Box Cars"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book covers unrebuilt steel box cars as photographed in California.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume Five: Steel Automobile Cars"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book covers unrebuilt steel automobile cars as photographed in California.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume Seven: Rebuilt Box & Automobile Cars"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book covers cars rebuilt from wood or composite cars into all-steel cars as photographed in California.
• "Focus on Freight Cars, Volume Nine: Single Sheathed Box & Automobile Cars 2"
  Published by Speedwitch Media this book features single-sheathed box and automobile cars and features images exclusively from medium format negatives.
• InterMountain's Modified AAR 1937 Box Car
  This product review of an HO-scale model provides a wealth of prototype information about the the Association of American Railroads' influence on box car design, which also impacted the post-WWII 40-foot box car design, as well as the Pullman-Standard PS-1.
• Intermountain HO Box Cars
  While this page is purely for HO-scale modelers, it does provide a nice listing of all the variations of box car models (and, besides, Intermountain was created by the one of the guys who had created S-scale's Pacific Rail Shops).
• Fowler Box Cars
  Fowler was the Canadian Pacific's chief engineer and was instrumental in the design of the single-sheathed 36-foot box car design. He started the Fowler Car Company shortly after inventing the design.
• "Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Volume 35"
  This issue covers the 1937 AAR box cars.
• "Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Volume 36"
  This issue covers the improvements made to the AAR, 40-foot, steel-sheathed, wood-lined box cars.
• Steam Era Freight Cars
  This web site provides a wealth of prototype information and photos about pre-modern freight cars.
• The Evolution of the 1937 AAR Box Car
  Protocraft, an O-scale manufacturer, provides prototype information about the post-1937 box car design.
• USRA Freight Car Assignments
  Information about the box cars built for the various railroads during World War I under the United States Railway Administration.
• Wikipedia
  Some basic information about the USRA box cars.
• Wood Box Cars
  Covers information about the single-sheathed (a.k.a. externally-braced) and double-sheathed wooden box cars from pre-WWII.