MTH Premier 40′ Double Sheathed Box Car – RCA (2nd Run)

Description

  MTH Custom Run / MTH Special Run

The double wood sheathed boxcar was legacy of the USRA. The federal government took control of the U.S. railroad system in 1917. Acting under the Wartime Powers Act, President Woodrow Wilson nationalized the railroads when they proved unequal to the task of moving massive amounts of men and materiel for the Great War in Europe. The agency that ran the trains was the United States Railroad Administration, or USRA, and one of its chief accomplishments was the building of nearly 100,000 freight cars of five standard designs, to relieve equipment shortages.  By the time the last cars were delivered in 1920, 25,000 single-sheathed cars had been accepted by 22 railroads and 24,500 of the double-sheathed design by 24 railroads. Very few roads rostered both types. The USRA designs proved durable enough that many cars served through the next World War and years beyond, rolling alongside their newer all-steel brethren.

The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was founded on October 17, 1919. Formed by General Electric, Westinghouse, AT&T, and United Fruit to keep long-distance radio and communication assets under American control after World War I. It grew to a massive electronics, entertainment and broadcasting empire. It’s few who have not seen its iconic dog mascot Nipper listening to “his master’s voice.” An innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. In the early 1920s, RCA was at the forefront of the mushrooming radio industry as a major manufacturer of radio receivers.

(Photos are of the 1st run box cars)

FEATURES

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
• Stamped Metal Floors
• Metal Wheels and Axles
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
• Needle-Point Axles
• (2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Detailed Brake Wheel
• Separate Metal Handrails