The Prototype - Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad class X26 is an externally-braced 40-foot boxcar built near the end of World War I. These cars could carry up to 100,000lbs (50 tons). The PRR had 9,900 of these wood-paneled cars of which 3,500 were rebuilt in the late 1940's with steel side panels and reclassified as "X26c".

(#564287, source: Steam Freight Cars web site)

The Model

The model shown below of road number 44824 is by S-Helper Service, Inc., part number 01839. The detail is excellent and it appears to be a very accurate model. The car has the correct Andrews 2D-F3 trucks, which are actually sprung. The doors slide open. The model weighs 5.7oz (160g), which is very close to the recommended NMRA standard for this size car. The circle-keystone logo is correct for the era I model.

References

• Steam Freight Cars web site has at least one other photo.
• PRR Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, Vol. 2, page 33.
• X26 classes and its sub-classes.
• Side profile diagram.