Freight Cars

This section looks specifically at the freight cars that would have been seen in New England around 1983. By that time, the region’s railroads were handling a mix of home-road and pooled equipment, with cars from across North America appearing in daily service. The emphasis here is on the types of cars that actually ran through the area in that period — their design, use, and how they shaped the traffic mix.

Local & Regional New England

The core short lines and regionals of New England, handling everything from potatoes and paper to marble, lumber, and bridge traffic. These are the home-team roads whose cars you’d expect to see daily in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in 1983.

  • Bangor and Aroostook (BAR) – Northern Maine’s railroad, hauling potatoes and paper; its blue fleet and red-white-blue “State of Maine” boxcars became familiar far beyond New England.
  • Boston & Maine (B&M) – Serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont; its blue boxcars and patched fleet were still common as the road slid into Guilford control in 1983.
  • Central Vermont (CV) – Linking Vermont with Quebec under Canadian National (CN) ownership; CV boxcars were a staple of newsprint and lumber service throughout the region.
  • Delaware & Hudson (D&H) – Running through upstate New York and into Vermont; boxcars and covered hoppers made the road’s reach felt well beyond its territory.
  • Green Mountain (GMRC) – A Vermont line between Rutland and Bellows Falls; modest freight business in stone and aggregates, better known for its tourist trains.
  • Lamoille Valley (LVRR) – Northern Vermont’s winding route; handled grain, feed, and lumber with a small fleet that occasionally strayed into wider interchange.
  • Maine Central (MEC) – The backbone of Maine freight service; yellow boxcars, pulpwood flats, and paper traffic defined its image in the early 1980s.
  • North Stratford (NSRC) – A tiny New Hampshire line; paper and forest products from local mills made up nearly all of its traffic.
  • Providence & Worcester (P&W) – Active across Rhode Island and southern New England; strong in aggregates and chemicals, with brown freight cars that roamed far.
  • Vermont Railway (VTR) – Vermont’s main north–south carrier; bright red boxcars for marble, stone, and lumber were its signature on trains across the Northeast.

Northern Connections

Railroads that linked New England’s traffic to Canada and beyond. These were the cross-border carriers and their close affiliates, whose cars often showed up in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

  • Canadian National (CN) – Canada’s largest railway, its red boxcars and distinctive “wet noodle” logo were everyday visitors in northern New England.
  • Canadian Pacific (CP) – Long a bridge route into Vermont and Maine, CP cars in Action Red or earlier schemes were widely seen.
  • Clarendon and Pittsford (C&P) – A Vermont short line tied to CP and D&H limestone traffic; its covered hoppers were a familiar regional sight.
  • Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific (DWP) – A CN affiliate linking the Upper Midwest to eastern Canada; its cars often strayed into New England via CN connections.
  • Grand Trunk Western (GTW) – CN’s US affiliate; blue GTW cars were common in interchange all across the Northeast.
  • Quebec Central (QC) – Serving southern Quebec with CP ties, QC equipment occasionally reached across the border into northern New England.

Private & Industry Fleets

  • ADM / UELX
  • Allied Mills (TLCX)
  • Ashley, Drew & Northern (ADN)
  • Berlin Mills (BMS)
  • Boise Cascade – In addition to MDW-marked cars tied to the Rumford mill, Boise had its own reporting marks that wandered into New England.
  • Cargill
  • Engelhard
  • General American Marks (GACX)
  • Georgia-Pacific
  • Great Northern Paper
  • International Paper
  • Minnesota, Dakota & Western – Maine Paper Service, a group of MDW cars assigned to the Boise Cascade mill in Rumford. IIRC some even had “return to…” stencilling on the cars. The MD&W was owned by Boise.
  • Scott Paper – Based in Maine, with pulpwood and paper cars frequent in regional service.
  • St. Regis Paper – Operated mills in Maine and New Hampshire; its cars were a regular sight.
  • W. H. Shurtleff Co.

Bridge-Line & Visiting Class I’s

  • Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF)
  • Burlington Northern (BN)
  • Chessie System (Baltimore & Ohio B&O, Chesapeake & Ohio C&O, Western Maryland WM)
  • Conrail (CR, plus Penn Central PC / Erie Lackawanna EL heritage)
  • Family Lines (Seaboard Coast Line SCL, Louisville & Nashville L&N, Clinchfield CLINCH)
  • Illinois Central Gulf (ICG)
  • Kansas City Southern (KCS) – Not especially common, but their cars did turn up in the Northeast.
  • Milwaukee Road (MILW)
  • Missouri Pacific (MP)
  • Norfolk & Western (N&W)
  • Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (PFRP)
  • Soo Line (SOO)
  • Southern Pacific (SP/SSW)
  • Southern Railway (SOU)
  • Union Pacific (UP)
  • Western Pacific (WP)

Per Diem & Leasing

  • Ashley, Drew & Northern (ADN)
  • Buffalo Creek (BCK)
  • Columbus & Greenville (CAGY)
  • Green Bay and Western
  • Marinette, Tomahawk & Western (MTW)
  • North American Car Co. (NAHX)
  • Railbox / USLX / TTX
  • Sabine River & Northern (SRN)
  • St. Lawrence & Raquette River (NSL)
  • Tuscola & Saginaw Bay (TSBY)

Misc

International Service Freight Cars

Modelling

Freight Car Upgrades

  • Trucks
  • Wheelsets
  • Body-Mounted Couplers
  • Weight
  • Era-Specific Details
  • Applying Decals
  • Custom Cargo Loads
  • Weathering

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I would love to hear from anyone who may have any more information on NAHX “Maine Marine Products, Inc.” of Portland, Maine branded cylindrical hoppers.

CRDX (Chicago Freight Car Leasing) 5105 (and others?) Mirro Craft Box Car

Archer Daniels Midland ADMX

ADMX series 80056-80165 built by American Car & Foundry Feb-1981 to Mar-81.

“Early one morning in September 1983 the local out of Danville Junction crossed the Androscoggin River bridge between Auburn and Lewiston, about to arrive at the Lewiston Upper yard on the “Back Road” mainline. Chopnose GP7 number 593 is in the lead, with historic repaint GP7 number 572 trailing, as the still water of the diversion canal provides a nearly perfect reflection.”

  • Atlas – 50 000 073 – Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow – Archer Daniels Midland – 80117
  • Atlas – 50 000 074 – Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow – Archer Daniels Midland – 80165

Kaolin

  • Engelhard Tank Cars (ACFX)
  • Freeport Kaolin (ACFX)
  • Georgia Kaolin Company, Inc. Tank Cars (ACFX)

Newsprint

  • DWC (403018)
  • CN (400350,400357,400382,400418,400522,400599,401082,404028)
  • CNIS (413020)
  • CV (402327,402353)
85000-85499XMBoxcar5007/1969-1/198950.711.09.05100NSC5-8/69Stl. Cush. underframe, nailable stl. flr. & ends, stl. lining, lading strap anchors. re#CP 85000-85499, some re#CP 79990-79999 /70-/75.
85500-85634XMBoxcar1351/1975-1/198350.611.010.05111NSC3-5/75Stl. Stl. lining, lading strap anchors. re#CP 85500-85634 /78-/83.
85635-85734XMBoxcar1001/1978-1/198350.611.09.05111NSC9-10/77Stl. Cush. underframe, stl. lining, lading strap anchors. re#CP 85635-85734 /78-/83.

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My N Scale Freight Car Roster

  • AAR Type Codes
  • AAR Loading Gauge
    • PLATE B: Unrestricted interchange service standard adopted in 1946. Revised 1972, 1983, 1988.
      PLATE C:  Limited interchange service standard (will clear 95% of total rail mileage) adopted in 1963: revised 1983, 1988, 1991.
    • EXW –
      EXH – Height of the car at the sills.
      EW – Width of the car at the sills, excluding ladders and grab irons.
      EWH – Height of the car including running boards.
      IL – Inside Length
      IW – Inside Width
      IH – Inside Height
      CUFT – Cubic feet capacity
  • Boxcars
  • Incentive Per Diem (IPD) Boxcars
  • Railbox
  • Woodchip Cars
  • Covered Hoppers
  • Flat Cars
  • Gondolas
  • Open Hoppers
  • Tank Cars
    • Tank Car, 20.9K, General Service (Rapido)
    • Tank Car, Single Dome, Acid (Athearn)

Car Components

  • DL&W – Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
  • L&HR – Lehigh and Hudson River Railway
  • http://rr-fallenflags.org/bar/bar.html
  • http://rr-fallenflags.org/mec/mec-frt.html
AAR TypeDescription
XIInsulated box car with side door or side and end doors, wholly or partially insulated. No ventilating devices or refrigeration.
XMGeneral service box car with side door or side and end doors

https://www.opsig.org/files/resources/AARFreightCarCodes.pdf

AAR Interchange Rules by Year

1966, 1st April: Federal ban on running boards (roof walks) for new cars delivered. CFR Title 49 Subtitle B Chapter II Part 231 Section 231.27.
1966; 1st October:  Federal ban on running boards for new cars delivered 
1966: New freight cars ordered after 4/66 or delivered after and with low hand brakes.
1967, 1st January: High-mount hand brakes prohibited on new cars.
KarTrak ACI (Automatic Car Identification) was introduced.
1970: Initial proposed date to require ACI labels in interchange. Cast iron wheels are banned from interchange. AAR mandates ACI labels to be installed no later than 1970.
1972: Final date for ACI labels required in interchange. AAR recommends single-panel COTS stencils for new & rebuilt cars. Roller bearings are required for all cars with 6-1/2″ by 11″ journals.
1974: All cars with an axle loading greater than 55,000 lbs must have roller bearings. Running boards (roof walks) are to be removed from all cars (later extended to 1983). Two-panel COTS stencil is required by FRA for all cars.
1978: White dot/yellow dot wheel inspection begins. ACI labels no longer required for interchange.
1979: ACI labels no longer required for interchange.
1981: White dot/yellow dot wheel inspection ends
1982: 01/01/1982: Third version of COTS introduced. Walkways are banned on boxcars/reefers in interchange.
1983: Running boards outlawed on all boxcars/reefers.

More Information

  • Wilson, Jeff. Freight Cars of the ’40s and ’50s. Kalmbach Books, 2015.