Asheville, North Carolina: Tangent Scale Models is happy to announce our fourth all-new freight car for 2023, the Pullman-Standard Southern Pacific (SP) Lines 40’6” Box Car with 10’0” Height and 7’ Doors. These distinctive-looking box cars are distinctive looking due to their seven-foot door openings and 10’0” height! Today, we are releasing these 1950-1953 built prototype models with several detail variations, most notably the door types on the model. We have not forgotten about you transition and early-diesel modelers! This is not a pre-order announcement — the cars are available right now!
After World War II, Southern Pacific and subsidiary railroads SSW and T&NO embarked on an aggressive program to upgrade their aging 40-foot box car fleet to move lumber, paper, and other products. While other railroads were buying “modernized” boxcars, such as the infamous welded “PS-1s”, SP and its subsidiaries purchased a massive fleet of more than 19,000 new boxcars. These cars were different: they were riveted, and had 10’0” inside height instead of 10’6” inside height. While SP and subsidiaries initially ordered cars with 6-foot door openings, they settled on larger 7-foot door openings, built by Pullman-Standard, for the majority of the fleet. No layout is complete without these unique postwar 7-foot door boxcars, including railroads far from SP lines. While groups of these cars were rebuilt, repainted and restenciled over the years, examples remained in their as-built appearance (although repainted) through the 1970s.
The Tangent Scale Models Pullman-Standard SP Lines “Postwar” 40’6” Box Car continues the design and operational standards set by previous models in the Tangent product line. The distinctive look of the 40-foot boxcar with 10’0” height and 7-foot door openings is what sets this Tangent model apart from the 40-foot boxcars you already have. The Tangent PS “Postwar” 40-foot boxcars include appliance variations accurate for specific paint schemes, including different doors, door tracks, side and end ladders, brake systems, handbrake and brake step details, and running boards. Our boxcars include “near-scale” draft sill with beautifully-rendered side “key” detail, plus correct ASF 50-ton A-3 Ride Control trucks. Finally, our scale replicas operate as well as they look, equipped with free-rolling CNC-machined wheels and Kadee® scale couplers, meaning our models are truly ready-to-run.
Our July 2023 release includes these four paint schemes – and four undecorated options – available for purchase today!
– Southern Pacific (SP) Brown B-50-28 Delivery 1950+ replicates the original Southern Pacific scheme as applied when these cars were new in 1950. It features the horizontal Southern Pacific Roman-style stenciling, plus the iconic “Southern Pacific Lines” logo painted in black. The details on the car include a Youngstown door, Apex running board and brake step, 8 rung side and end ladders, an accurate Universal handbrake housing, and a Miner handbrake. Our Southern Pacific original paint replicas are available in your choice of 12 different road numbers – and keep in mind this was SP’s most prolific 40’ box car type. Collect them all! SKU 23120
– Texas & New Orleans (SP-T&NO) Brown B-50-32 Delivery 1953+ replicates another original paint scheme, this time for Southern Pacific’s Texas and New Orleans subsidiary. Delivered in 1953, these cars shared many stenciling features of the 1950 SP-delivered cars. These cars include the horizontal Southern Pacific Roman-style stenciling, but stenciled up high. These cars also include the iconic “Southern Pacific Lines” logo painted in black and white. The details on the car include a 5-panel Superior door, a Morton style running board and brake step, 7 rung side and end ladders, an accurate National-Peacock handbrake housing, and a Peacock handbrake. Our SP-T&NO original paint replicas are available in your choice of 6 different road numbers – and keep in mind this was SP Line’s most prolific 40’ box car type. Collect them all! SKU 23121
– St. Louis Southwestern (SSW) Brown Delivery 1951+ shows off another original paint scheme, this time for Southern Pacific’s St. Louis Southwestern (“The Cotton Belt Route”) subsidiary. Delivered in 1951, these cars featured the sharp “Blue Streak Fast Freight” lightning bolt graphics “underneath” the classy “Cotton Belt Route” herald, proving that the transition era really was a high point in railroad graphic design! The details on the car include a 7-panel Superior door, a Morton style running board and brake step, 8 rung side and end ladders, an accurate Universal handbrake housing, and a Universal handbrake. Our Cotton Belt original paint replicas are available in your choice of 12 different road numbers – and keep in mind this was SP Line’s most prolific 40’ box car type. Collect them all! SKU 23122
– Southern Pacific (SP) Brown Repaint 1960+ offers a “repainted” Southern Pacific car that is more “modern” for the 1960s/1970s modelers. 1960s modelers need a “mix” of original painted cars and these, but 1970s modelers need these. The details on the car include a Youngstown door, a Morton style running board and brake step, 8 rung side and end ladders, an accurate Equipco handbrake housing, and a Equipco handbrake. Our Southern Pacific modernized paint replicas are available in your choice of 6 different road numbers – and keep in mind these served late into the 1970s in this scheme. SKU 23123
– SP Brown RTR Unlettered 5-Panel Door offers a “canvas” for modelers to use decals and weathering to build their own one of a kind models! The details on the car include a 5-panel Superior door, a Morton style running board and brake step, 7 rung side and end ladders, a National-Peacock handbrake housing, and a Peacock handbrake. We offer these cars in partnership with ICG Decals, who provide SP-appropriate decal sets custom-made for these cars. SKU 23105
– SP Brown RTR Unlettered 7-Panel Door offers a “canvas” for modelers to use decals and weathering to build their own one of a kind models! The details on the car include a 7-panel Superior door, an Apex style running board and brake step, 8 rung side and end ladders, a Universal handbrake housing, and a Universal handbrake. We offer these cars in partnership with ICG Decals, who provide SP-appropriate decal sets custom-made for these cars. SKU 23106
– SP Brown RTR Unlettered Youngstown Door offers a “canvas” for modelers to use decals and weathering to build their own one of a kind models! The details on the car include a Youngstown door, Apex running board and brake step, 8 rung side and end ladders, a Universal handbrake housing, and a Miner handbrake. We offer these cars in partnership with ICG Decals, who provide SP-appropriate decal sets custom-made for these cars. SKU 23107
– Undecorated KIT “PS 40’6″ Postwar w 7′ Door” gives the kit builders a little bit of love. We get it — sometimes you just want to build your own model, paint a scheme we have yet to offer, or weather your car prior to decaling to preserve the stenciling. This unpainted kit handles our new 40’6” Postwar carbody and includes all three of our 7-foot door options in the box, along with all running board, ladder, door track and power brake options. The kit includes our beautiful ASF 50-ton ride control trucks. You supply your own favorite couplers. SKU 23100
All of these models – and prototype images – can be seen at www.tangentscalemodels.com !
The Tangent Pullman-Standard SP Lines “Postwar” 40’6” Box Car is a state of the art, dimensionally-accurate scale replica that was tooled to Pullman-Standard plans and verified with field measurements. Our model comes with highly accurate “true-to-life” colors and “hyper-accurate” lettering including exact stenciling, fonts, and lettering placement. Our Pullman-Standard SP Lines 40’6” models offer a multitude of detail variations to replicate the 1950-1953 “Postwar” Pullman-Standard offerings. We make the best cars money can buy in HO scale. A quick synopsis of our era and railroad-specific detail variations include:
• Dimensional accuracy – designed from actual Pullman-Standard blueprints and verified with field measurements
• Highly correct “true to life” colors
• “Hyper-Accurate” lettering including exact fonts and lettering placement
• Extremely realistic “bracket grab irons” and ladder assemblies
• 7 or 8 rung side and end ladders
• Beautiful diagonal panel roofs
• “See through” running boards and crossover platforms (in both Apex and Morton combinations)
• “Near scale” draft gear
• Genuine Kadee® scale couplers
• Separate flexible rubber air hoses
• Three 7’ door options (Youngstown, 5-Panel Superior, 7-Panel Superior)
• Two door track options
• Side tack board types/sizes and locations
• Six prototypically-accurate brake stands (Ajax, Universal, 2 Equipco versions, Miner, National/Peacock)
• Six possible handbrake “brake wheel” options (Ajax, Universal, Equipco, Miner, Peacock, Modern) National/Peacock)
• New ASF 50-ton A-3 Ride Control trucks
• 33” wheels, with front and back detail and accurate tapered axles
• Separate truck brake beam parts
• Recommended age 14 years and older
Don’t miss out on the Tangent Scale Models Pullman-Standard SP Lines “Postwar” 40’6” Box Car with 10’0” Height and 7’ Doors – one of the most-prolific car types on North American rails! With accurate roadname and era-specific details, genuine Kadee couplers, and all-metal wheels, we provide you with a high-value model that will provide you with years of enjoyment and curb-appeal. These are 40-foot box cars tooled in the current era and they look spectacular. Pricing for all RTR models in this release is $52.95, with quantity discounts for direct purchases from Tangent Scale Models.
That wraps up our update for today, and thank you for supporting the family-owned businesses in our industry!