I'll be reaching out to Mr. Muffins trains and against my better judgement I'm going to give Lionel another chance on the Lionel 1942210 Armor Yellow BX-50-31 40' DD express boxcars. I think I'll forego the risk on a 6 car set and just purchase 2. I'm hoping they look nice and color match my 3rd Rail Alco PA and GGD Harriman passenger cars.
My quick assessment:
1.) Pretty sure these are the old Weaver design with Lionel trucks, but LionScale is supposed to be "Special" so I'll reserve judgement until I actually inspect the delivered model.
2.) Union Pacific B-50-25 & B-50-31 Express Box cars were nominal 40' double door cars but for fast package delivery so they were shorter. 8'6" inside. (I believe this is why when looking at proportions in photographs some modelers and manufacturers mistake them for 50' cars.)
3.) For Higher speeds the B-50-25 (9100-9199) had Symington-Gould High Speed Trucks. B-50-31 9200-9209 had Barber Stabilized Trucks, 9210-9219 were equipped with Allied Full Cushioned Trucks, 9220-9229 were equipped with Elsey Trucks. None of the makers will bother with accurate trucks so I'm certain Lionel will deliver them with generic Bettendorf style trucks. I'll live with that. If they come with 100 ton roller bearing trucks I'm going to be angry.
4.) They seem to have gotten the classification correct but the dates wrong. Early scheme cars were B-50-25 & B-50-31. Repainted TTG in 1946, then repainted Armor Yellow in 1952 along with designation change to BX-50-25 & BX-50-31. However, the build dates for the B-50-25 9100 series should be 8/39(9100-9108), 9/39(9109-9189) or 10/39(9190-9199). Build dates for the B-50-31 9200 series should be 2-41(9200-9209), 12-40(99210-9219), 1-41(9220-9229). OM dated for the yellow should be around 12-52.
5.) Double doors should only have the Placard Board on the right hand door, not both.
6.) Photo evidence shows some details varied depending when the cars were in painting or shop.
My Hope:
1.) They look nice, have good build quality, and reasonably accurate details.
2.) Lionel releases them next in the 1946-52 TTG scheme.
Union Pacific Historical Society, as usual, is a fantastic resource.
Specifically The Streamliner Vol. 5 No. 4, which has in depth information, UP build design schematics, numbering and painting details. Also has several high quality and wonderful photos.
