CS-1 34' Boxcar
Built early to mid-1890s
| SP Atlantic Lines CS-1 34' Boxcar Built early to mid-1890s | |
| In the early 1890s, the Southern Pacific's 'Atlantic Lines' subsidiaries - including the A&NW, the GH&SA, the GWT&P, the LW, the ML&T, NYT&M, and the T&NO - ordered their first "common standards" 34' boxcars from the Ensign Manufacturing Company in Huntington, West Virginia (no, the name of the town was not a coincidence). These "CS-1" cars (a later designation) measured 34' on the inside, featured left-opening Wagner doors, and had the 'wraparound' grab irons so typical of SP rolling stock in the Huntington era. The design was successful enough that in the mid-1890s more cars with identical superstructures were built by Pullman and by the railroad's own Sacramento shops (these SP-built cars were technically classed as CS-5 and CS-6), making for a total Atlantic Lines fleet of around 1500 CS-1/5/6 cars. Other southwestern railroads which bought boxcars built to the CS-1 design included the San Antonio & Aransas Pass, the Houston East & West Texas, and the Internacional Mexicano. The sheer number of these CS-1/5/6 cars built meant that from the mid-1890s on, they were a common sight not only in the South and Southwest, but also in interchange service all over the country. Most of the Atlantic Lines CS-1/5/6 cars were still around to be upgraded to meet the new safety requirements which became law in 1911, but the last of them were retired by 1925. For more information on these cars, including rosters and photos, see Chapter 5 of Southern Pacific Freight Cars – Volume 4: Boxcars by Anthony W. Thompson. Or click here to see a spectacular Edison film from January, 1898, showing 12 of the cars in a 3-engine, 19-car SP train carrying hops to London. (No, we are not making this up! See if you can read the posters attached to the cars.) Our HO scale SP Atlantic Lines CS-1 34' Boxcar kit features a one-piece resin body designed to make installation of the characteristic wraparound grab irons as easy as possible. The modeler will have to furnish grab irons of his choice, as well as trucks, couplers, and other detail parts. He should also thank Barry McClelland of Railway Recollections for doing yet another outstanding casting job with this kit. Click on these photos for full-size images:
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| Outside Dimensions of Car | Length 34'7", Width 9' over sheathing, Body Height 9'3" from bottom of sheathing to top of roofwalk |
| Siding / Roof | 3" siding / 3" roof boards |
| Lettering | 1890-1892: For early GH&SA, T&NO, LW, and A&NW cars use the Silver Crash Car Works PAINTING DEPARTMENT official lettering set for 'SP Atlantic Lines Early 34' Boxcars (no heralds)' which includes reporting marks for all four roads. $4 if ordered with the kit or $5 without. 1892-1898: By about 1893, most subsidiaries had repainted their cars with the SP medallion carrying the words "SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY" around its perimeter, so for this era use Austin Modeling Associates set #45 for ML&T, LW, T&NO, GH&SA, GWT&P, and NYT&M cars. 1899 to 1909: For these years, when the word COMPANY was absent from the medallion, use AMA set #60 for T&NO and GH&SA cars, or the medallion from set #60 plus reporting marks from set #45 for other Atlantic Lines subsidiaries. ¡Atención Señores! Para vagones del Internacional Mexicano, Austin Modeling Associates tiene el juego nº 33 con el logotipo de la Ruta de Eagle Pass. Precio $4. All the above AMA sets are available from the Silver Crash Car Works PAINTING DEPARTMENT at $4 per set with the kit, or $5 per set on their own. Other sets available directly from Austin Modeling Associates: For mid- to late 1890s A&NW cars use AMA set #26 with the granite & iron route medallion. The A&NW cars were relettered to Houston & Texas Central in 1901, so for 1901-1909 you can letter these cars using AMA set #27 (H&TC with the star medallion). For SA&AP CS-1 cars use AMA set #17 with the Mission Route medallion. All sets $4 each. For HE&WT cars, ask the management at AMA to reprint set #22 (1894-1901) or set #23 (1902-1909). |
| Recommended Trucks | The CS-1 cars' trucks can be modeled by slightly enlarging (and adding two bolts to the top of) the wooden bolsters of Bitter Creek Models T-4 standard arch bar trucks ($7.95/pair incl. wheelsets). |
| Estimated Construction Time | Basic kit: 3 hours including grab-irons and brake wheel Options requiring extra time: underbody brake rigging |
| Kits Available From | Silver Crash Car Works ($27 plus postage) |
