Ambroid Wood Craftsman Kits

1 of 5000, First Series

There were two different "1 of 5000" series produced. The first series was announced in 1957. A Model Railroader ad in the June, 1957 issue introduced the first car in the series. The last, 12th, car in the series was announced in March 1962. That averages a production of one car every 5 and a half month.

An Ambroid catalog sheet from January 1959 lists the "Special 1 of 5000" kits as number "K-8" and this entry is illustrated with the "1 1/2 Door Automobile Car" in a January 1960 catalog sheet.

Ambroid made the impression that the "1-of-5,000" kits sold out very quickly. The sales manager took out a special ad in Model Railroader when kit #4 was introduced, encouraging modelers to line up and purchase the new kit since all the previous kits were sold out from Ambroid, and there was not going to be any re-runs. This was repeated in the introduction ad of kit #10, where Ambroid claimed that all previous kits were sold out.

Click on the Kit Name to get the detailed description of the kit, Click on the camera symbol to get a picture of the built kit.

Kit #	Kit name	Road	Car Type	Box	Made By	Reissued By	Notes
1	1 1/2 Door Automobile Car	SP	Automobile	GG.	N	N: HB-3	June 1957
2	Von Allmen Pickle Tank Car	GATX	Tank	Ag1.	N	N: HT-1	October 1957
3	Outside Braced Caboose	NCStL	Caboose	Bg Rb	N	N: HC-2	May 1958
4	Vinegar Tank Car (Richter)	RSCX	Tank	Gb Y	N	N: HT-2.	September 1958
5	Outside Braced Reefer	PRR	Reefer	Wd Y	N	N: HR-2	February 1959
6	Western Union Material Car	WUTX	Box	Rg	N	N: M-3	August 1959
7	Mathieson Dry Ice Car	NX	Reefer	Bk.	N	N: HR-3	December 1959
8	50th Anniversary Kit: N&W Wooden Hopper Car Milw. Composite Gondola	N&W MILW	Hopper Gondola	GG3.	N	N: HH-1 N: HG-1.	March 1960, "Birthday Special"
9	A.C.L. Phosphate Car	ACL	Hopper	Bg2	N	N: HH-2.	October 1960
10	Speedy Poultry & Reefer Combination Car	LPTX	Reefer	Cr GG?	N	N: HS-4	April 1961
11	St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Stock Car	StLIM&S	Stock	Ag2	N	N: HS-3.	October 1961
12	NYC Container Car	NYC	Gondola	Ag.	N	N: HG-2	March 1962

The "1-of-5,000"-Kits and their Prototypes

1 of 5000, Second Series

The success with the first series of "1 of 5000" was repeated in 1962, when the Second series of "1 of 5000" was issued. A pre-announcement ad in August 1962 promised another set of 12 completely new and different kits. Each would be a uniquely distinctive car for operating or display. The series was introduced in a September, 1962 Model Railroader ad. I have not seen any evidence of the 11th and 12th cars in the series, and number 10 was probably produced in December 1968.

Click on the Kit Name to get the detailed description of the kit, Click on the camera symbol to get a picture of the built kit.

Kit #	Kit name	Road	Car Type	Box	Made By	Reissued By	Notes
1	US Navy Helium Gas Tank Car	USNX	Tank	GG2.	N	N: HT-3	September 1962
2	Full Door Box Car (SOU)	SOU	Box	L.	N (D)	N: HB-7	October 1963
3	ACF Center Flow Hopper Car, Special "Two-in-one"	UP SHPX	Hopper	R2.	N D		September 1964
4	Riverside Insulated Oil Tank Car	ROTX	Tank	T.	N	N: HT-4
5	70' Pulpwood Car	BAR MEC	Flat	Y2. N	N	N: HF-1	Introduced in April, 1965 and sold in July, 1966. Listed as #2 in the series in the 3,66 review.
6	Southern Railway "Big Boy" Tobacco Hogshead Car	SOU	Box	Gr	N	N: B-8	November, 1965 MR
7	Cushion Coil Car	B&O	Flat	Wd.	N	N: HG-3.	Reviewed in October, 1966 MR.
8	Combine - Work Caboose	-	MOW	Cr	N +?	N: HP-4	March 1967
9	CB&Q Dynamometer Car	CB&Q	MOW	Cr2.	N	N: HM-4	December 1967
10	Triple Decker Dormitory Car	StPM&M	MOW	Cr.	N		December 1968?
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The "1-of-5,000"-Kits and their Prototypes

Acknowledgments

Ambroid is a registered trademark of Graphic Vision, Inc. and is used here with permission.
Ambroid adhesives can be found at Ambroid.com

Model Railroader is a registered trademark of Kalmbach Publishing Co.