Formed in 1974 as a subsidiary of Trailer Train Company (now TTX), Railbox was created to tackle a long-standing problem in North American railroading: the inefficient movement of boxcars. Under the Interstate Commerce Commission’s car-routing rules, a railroad that received a foreign boxcar for unloading had to send it back to its home road as quickly as possible, usually empty, even if there was a paying load available in another direction. The result was a nationwide shortage of boxcars in the places they were actually needed.
Railbox’s answer was a shared pool of cars that could move freely over any participating railroad. With the bold slogan “Next Load, Any Road!” emblazoned on bright yellow cars, Railbox symbolised a new approach: cutting down on empty backhauls and keeping traffic fluid across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
The company quickly assembled a large fleet of 50ft cars from builders including American Car & Foundry, Pullman-Standard, FMC, and Pacific Car & Foundry. Early cars carried the big black Railbox logo alongside the stylised “X” arrow emblem that represented free movement. Both single-door (RBOX) and double-door (ABOX) designs were built, and over time, variations in door type, dimensions, and details reflected the multiple manufacturers involved.
For a time, the yellow Railbox cars were everywhere — clean, modern, and instantly recognisable against the fleets of worn-out boxcars owned by struggling Class I railroads. They became icons of the “per diem” era of the late 1970s, when short lines and private companies also rushed to build cars for daily lease revenue.
By the 1980s, recession, deregulation, and the rise of intermodal traffic cut into the demand for general-service boxcars. Portions of the Railbox fleet were sold or transferred to shareholder railroads, and the big logo began disappearing under patch paint and new ownership marks. Yet the concept endured: Railbox laid the groundwork for today’s TTX-controlled TBOX and FBOX high-cube fleets, which continue the principle of pooled equipment moving wherever it’s needed.
- RBOX cars are usually single 10′ doors
- ABOX cars are usually double door with one plug door
- RBOX 16700-16917 BFF 1-4/76 class XWF10
Railbox 50′ RBOX boxcars with early-scheme, large Railbox logo: 1974
• Railbox 50′ ABOX boxcars with early-scheme, large Railbox logo: 1978-79
• Railbox 50′ ABOX boxcars re-painted with small Railbox logo: 1996
• TTX 60′ TBOX high-cube boxcars; post-Railbox acquisition with TTX logo (no Railbox branding): 2002
• TTX 50′ FBOX high-cube boxcars; post-Railbox acquisition with TTX logo (no Railbox branding): 2003
RBOX – exterior post, single door XM boxcars built in the mid 1970s to early 1980s by FMC (XFF20 and XFF99), Pacific Car & Foundry (XCF10, XCF11, XCF20, XCF20A), Pullman Standard (XPF11, XPF11A, XPF20, XPF20A, XPF20B), Berwick Forge and Foundry (XWF20), American Car and Foundry (XAF20, XAF20A, XAF20B, XAF20C) and some other manufacturers (XEF88, XGF88).
ABOX – same as the RBOX but with a 4′ plug door to the left of the sliding door, built by FMC (XFF30, XFF30A) and possibly by Pacific Car & Foundry.
Pullman Standard 5277
| RBOX | 10000-10599 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06829, Oct-74 to Feb-75. | XAF10 | |
| RBOX | 10600-10999 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06832, Jan-Feb 1975 | XAF10 | |
| RBOX | 11400-11999 | American Car & Foundry Industries, Lot 11-06834, Apr-Nov 1975 | XAF11 | |
| RBOX | 12400-13399 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06638, Nov-75 to Feb-76. | XAF11 | |
| RBOX | 14000-14999 | Pullman-Standard, PS 5077, Lot 9794, Jan-Mar 1975 | XPF10 | NARC (Athearn 50 Foot PS Single Door) |
| RBOX | 15000-16499 | Pullman-Standard, PS 5077, Lot 9831, Aug-Dec 1975 | XPF11 | NARC (Athearn 50 Foot PS 5277) |
| RBOX | 17700-19499 | FMC, Lot 17635, Sep-75 to Feb-76 | XFF10 | Atlas 50 Foot FMC 5077 |
| RBOX | 19733-19999 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 2506, Nov-Dec 1975 | XCF10 | |
| RBOX | 20000-20399 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 2612, Apr-May 1976 | XCF11 | |
| RBOX | 20400-20899 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 2755, Dec-77 to Feb-78. | XCF11A | |
| RBOX | 21000-21599 | Pullman-Standard, PS 5077, Lot 9832, Apr-Jun 1976. | XPF11A | |
| RBOX | 30000-30499 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06849, Feb-Mar 1978 | XAF20 | |
| RBOX | 30500-30623 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 9976, Oct-Nov 1978. | XPF20 | |
| RBOX | 31000-32249 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 1017, Dec-78 to Mar-79. | XPF20 | InterMountain 50 Foot PS 5277 |
| RBOX | 32250-32849 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06854, Jan-Mar 1979. | XAF20A | Atlas Boxcar 50 Foot ACF Single Door |
| RBOX | 32850-33599 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 1028, May-Jun 1979. | XPF20A | |
| RBOX | 33600-34099 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06857, Aug-Sep 1979. | XAF20B | Atlas Boxcar 50 Foot ACF Single Door |
| RBOX | 34100-34999 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 2973, Feb-Apr 1979 | XCF20 | |
| RBOX | 35000-35749 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 1029, Jun-Jul 1979. | XPF20 | |
| RBOX | 35750-36249 | American Car & Foundry, Lot 11-06861, May-Jul 1980. | XAF20C | Atlas Boxcar 50 Foot ACF Single Door |
| RBOX | 36750-37749 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 1063, Mar-Apr 1980. | XPF20B | |
| RBOX | 37750-38749 | FMC, Lot 18025, Apr-Nov 1980 and Jun-81. | XFF20 | Athearn 50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar |
| RBOX | 39000-40249 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 3008, Jan-Apr 1980. | XCF20A | |
| RBOX | 40250-40749 | Berwick Forge & Fabricating, Lot 42000, Apr-May 1980. | XWF20 | |
| RBOX | 42750-43349 | Pacific Car & Foundry, Lot 3018, Aug-Oct 1980. | XCF20A | |
| RBOX | 43350-43459 | Pullman-Standard, Lot 1100A, May-Jun 1980. | XPF20B | |
| ABOX | 50000-50399 | Pacific Car and Foundry, Lot 2863, Jun-Jul 1978. | XCF30 | Athearn Boxcar 50 Foot FMC 5077 |
| ABOX | 50400-50999 | FMC, Lot 17906, May-Jun 1978. | XFF30 | Athearn Boxcar 50 Foot FMC 5077 |
| ABOX | 51000-52449 | FMC, Lot 17950, Dec-78 to Apr-79. | XFF30A | Athearn Boxcar 50 Foot FMC 5077 |
Epilogue
Railbox was more than just a fleet of yellow boxcars — it was an experiment in how to move freight more efficiently across an industry still tied down by outdated regulations. For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the big Railbox logo and “Next Load, Any Road!” slogan were a familiar sight from coast to coast. They stood out against the backdrop of rust-streaked, tired cars owned by bankrupt Class I railroads, symbolising a rare moment of modernisation and optimism in an otherwise difficult decade for American railroading.
Although many of the original cars were sold off, repainted, or scrapped as the per diem boom collapsed and intermodal traffic reshaped the industry, the legacy of Railbox lives on in TTX’s TBOX and FBOX high-cube fleets. The principle of shared, pooled equipment that could go “any road” has become the norm.
For modellers, Railbox cars are essential for setting the scene on any 1970s through 1990s North American layout. Whether factory-fresh and bright or patched, weathered, and mismatched, they tell the story of a transitional period in freight railroading. A single RBOX or ABOX on a train is enough to place a layout firmly in that colourful, experimental era.