T
his is the first in an irregular series of columns about
narrow gauge freight cars. Freight cars will be dis-
cussed by type, with references made to who produces
the models of those specific types of cars in the various scales.
Additionally, cars may be presented that are unique to one rail-
road, but the construction methods for scratchbuilding them can
be applied across all modeling scales.
Let’s start with the boxcar. No one really knows when the first
boxcar was built or the reason it was built. Speculation is that
someone had a shipment that would be ruined if it got wet. It
was a simple matter to build a shed-like structure on a flatcar
to cover the shipment, much the way logging companies did to
transport supplies to the camps.
By the time of the Civil War many car companies were in exis-
tence, supplying boxcars and other rolling stock to the railroads.
Over time the standard gauge cars grew in size to first 36’ long,
The Lite and Narrow column
by Larry Smith
A multiscale overview of narrow gauge freight
cars beginning with boxcars ...
Evolution of my Railroad
Ramblings on Narrow Gauge
and Branchline Modeling
The Lite and Narrow Column - 1
MRH-Feb 2014
