Athearn's 40 foot hi-cube boxcar

Athearn's 40 foot hi-cube boxcar Athearn 40 foot hi-cube boxcar...
Athearn makes a 40 foot hi-cube boxcar that is based loosely on a western prototype. These cars are not particularly accurate for any class of Chessie boxcar but they are just fine to fill up a train, if strict accuracy is not important to you. They come in B&O only, that I know of. The retail price is $6-7. If you find one, you may want to buy it. There is really no need for the prototype modeler to buy a B&O marked one.

There are no Chessie 40 foot hi-cubes. These are not the most common car on any railroad. Most hi-cube boxcars came in 50 or 60 foot lengths. The 40 foot is a bit unusual. Union Pacific paint is more appropriate for this type of car.

Below is a picture of mine. This type of car is an old car in the Chessie Era so make sure to weather it lots. I rusted the roof and streaked the sides heavily. The white ends let you know it is a hi-cube. I got this car very early in my Chessie modeling. It wears number 19818, that does not correspond to any B&O boxcar number during the Chessie era. Since I have evidence that they were not in the Chessie Era, I have removed this car from the roster.