Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Modeling

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Minneapolis & STL USRA Box Car 51372

A Duluth South Shore & Atlantic (DSS&A) USRA double sheathed Box Car kit produced for the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society by Accurail had been in my unbuilt kits cabinet since November 2000. The kit with car body assembled in 2001, sat in the unbuilt kits cabinet all these years as the the car was painted yellow with red lettering and lettered for merchandise service. A car that I could upgrade and place in the display case; however, that is full. Therefore, I decided I would finally finish the started build; however, paint and letter it for a USRA box car that could run on my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company (M&N) railroad with a time period of late spring 1955. After review of reference materials and searching decals I had available, I decided the double sheathed box car would become a Minneapolis & St Louis (M&STL) USRA double sheathed Box Car even if by my time period only one or two were left on the M&STL roster.

The prototype car I chose to model and number 51372 was from one of the USRA additional groups purchased after having received the original group, series 22000-22598. Specifically, the additional group was one of 250 cars purchased in 1940 from Hyman-Michaels and placed in series 51000-51398. The USRA design, USRA Specification Number 1003-B, 40 ton double sheathed composite box car features included double sheathed wood sides, six foot side door opening with wood doors, 5/5/5 steel stamped ends, metal roof, and steel fish belly center sill underframe. The cars rode on Andrews trucks.

As for prototype photos, I used a photo of M&STL 25538 for my build. The photo is one I took of the photo in Steam Era Freight Cars Reference Manual Volume One: Box &Automobile Cars (Speedwitch Media, 2006. 2007). M&STL 25538 built in 1940 by Hyman-Michaels was placed in series 25300-25898, the additional group of purchased cars prior to group I chose. The photo I took is included here with permission to use obtained from Ted Culotta.

M&ST L 25538 Courtesy of Ted Culotta
(Click on this or any image to enlarge)

In addition to M&STL 25538 photo, I used the car drawing of a USRA Double Sheathed Box Car in Mainline Modeler (March/April 1980).

USRA Double Sheathed Box Car Drawing

The build of the kit began back in 2001 when the car body was assembled. The underbody frame coupler pockets and truck kingpins were drilled and tapped to accept 2-56 screws. Kadee #148 couplers were inserted into coupler pockets and coupler pocket covers were installed with Walthers #947-1032, 2-56 x 3/16 inch screws. Temporary Accurail ARA Cast Steel with spring plank trucks with InterMountain 33 inch metal wheels were installed with Athearn #99002, 2-56 x 1/4 inch screws. A car weight was cut from .040 sheet lead and installed on the underbody floor side with Permatex Clear Silicone Adhesive. With the sheet lead weight added the car weight was 3.8 ounces. Kit brake components were installed. The underbody was airbrushed in 2001 with Floquil Black #F110013 (no longer manufactured) and installed in the car body.

Underbody installed in car body.

On the assembled car body lettering removal was done first. Using a scratch brush with nylon bristles and 91% isopropyl alcohol the red lettering including DSS&A herald, reporting marks, number 10085 and words “merchandise service” were removed.

Car body lettering removed.

Once lettering was removed, all molded on grab irons and drop grab iron ladders were carved off. On the B end the brake step, brake shaft and brake wheel installed in 2001 and painted Floquil Rail Box Yellow #R33 ( no longer manufactured) were left undisturbed.

Molded on grab irons and
grab iron ladders removed.

New drop grab irons and drop grab irons for ladders bent from Tichy Train Group (Tichy) #1101, .010 diameter phosphor bronze wire (PBW) were installed.

Wire drop grab irons and
drop grab grab iron ladders installed.

After grab iron and drop iron ladder install on the B end, the molded on longitudinal running board brackets were cut off and replaced with Yarmouth Model Works #220, etched running board braces. Brake step brackets and a retainer valve from Tichy AB set #3013, were installed. A retainer line and brackets, Tichy #1100, .008 diameter PBW, install followed.

B end upgrade parts installed.

Now on the roof, the removed lateral running board grab irons were replaced with wire ones bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW. For roof corner grab iron legs, Yarmouth Model Works etched eye bolts without shoulder were used.

Roof grab irons installed.

Next, the molded sill steps were cut off. New sill steps were bent from Detail Associates #2524 brass flat .010 x .030 bar stock and installed in #76 drilled holes.

Brass sill steps installed.

The install of sill steps completed the car body upgrade except for uncoupling levers so into the paint shop the car went. In the paint shop the car body was airbrushed Vallejo/MicroMark Model Air Box Car Red X29015X2. When paint was dry the car body was airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish 70.510 to provide a gloss decal base.

Car body airbrushed Box Car Red.

Once paint was dry the upgrade of the underbody, normally completed prior to being placed into the paint shop, was done. On the underbody the install of detail parts was done as follows:

Brake cylinder lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 8 strip styrene
Floating lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 6 strip styrene
Piping from air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101 .010” PBW
Piping from brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW
Brake rods, Tichy #1106 .0125” PBW
Brake rod clevises, MEK Goop (plastic melted in MEK)
Chain, Tichy #8334, black 40 links per inch
Train line, Tichy #1103, .020 diameter PBW
Dirt collector, scrap plastic rod, reworked

Under body upgrade details installed.

To finish the underbody, the underbody and all added detail parts were brush painted Vallejo/MicroMark Tarnished Black X29022X2.

Under body brush painted.

With the underbody finished it was back to the car body to apply decals. Decals used to letter the car came from a M&STL Mark Vaughan set made for him by Rail Graphics (no longer available).

Decals were soaked off in distilled water and applied to the car body where MicroScale Micro Set had been applied with a brush. After the decal was applied in the Micro Set and positioned the edges had MicroScale Micro Sol applied. Any excess solution was sucked away with the torn edge of a paper towel. Again when dry, car body sprayed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish 70.510 to better hide edges of decals and protect decals during handling. Again when dry, the car body was sprayed with Model Master Acryl, #4636, flat to protect decals and provide a flat finish for weathering when applied.

Decals applied.

Once underbody detail parts install was finished, install of uncoupling levers was done. Uncoupling levers were bent from Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW. Uncoupling lever brackets used were eye bolts bent from Tichy #1101 .010 diameter PBW. In the photos below the uncoupling lever after initial install had too drastic angle. It was changed later.

Uncoupling lever installed.

Uncoupling lever install changed.

Before weathering was done, trucks were changed. Accurail ARA cast steel with spring plank #164 trucks were removed and Accurail Andrews #166 trucks were installed. Trucks prior to install were brush painted with Vallejo/MicroMark Model Air Tarnished Black X29022X2.

Andrews Trucks installed.

Before putting M&STL 51372 in service on the M&N, the car was weathered with Pan Pastels. Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1 was applied with a large makeup brush on the entire car body and underbody. Burnt Sienna Shade 740.3 was applied to the springs with sponge tip.

Car weathered with Pan Pastels.

Minneapolis & St Louis USRA design double sheathed box car 51372 was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.” A car card was made for M&STL 51372, the final step to put the a car in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad.

M&STL 51372 spotted at Anchor Glass

I want to say, “Thank You”, to Ted Culotta for letting me use a photo I took of photo of M&STL double sheathed USRA Box Car 25538 in Steam ERa Freight Cars Reference Manual Volume One: Box &Automobile Cars (Speedwitch Media, 2006. 2007) on this blog.

Thank You for taking time to read my blog. You can share a comment in the section below if you choose to do so. Please sign your comment with your name if you choose to leave one. All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear. Please share the blog link with other model railroaders.

Lester Breuer

Plymouth, Minn.

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Great Northern Box Car 9681

Upon looking into my unbuilt car kits cabinet I again saw Westerfield resin one piece body kit 10453 that built into a Great Northern (GN) Truss Rod Box Car in the 9000-9999 series with 1948 lettering. Why had I purchased a box car kit of a built car having truss rods? I was thinking a truss rod box car would not be in service on the prototype or my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company in a time period of late spring 1955. It was time to refresh my memory.

I pulled the kit, opened the box and pulled out the history (data) and instruction sheets in the kit. A review of the longevity chart of GN steel underframe box cars in the history sheet quickly provided the answer. The chart showed the GN box car 9000-9999 series had 290 cars in service as of 1/1955. Knowing 290 GN cars existed in 1955 made it easy to decide why purchased and now to build this kit.

The prototype earlier built truss rod box cars rebuilt in 1925 were considered new cars and renumbered into the 9000-9999 series. The wood double-sheathed box cars with new tongue-in-groove wood sheathing had Murphy corrugated steel ends installed. On the doors braces were installed. The cars were equipped with a Murphy XLA roof with wood running board. On the underbody a steel underframe built by the Streator Car Company consisting of steel channel center sills and needle beans attached to them was installed while retaining the truss rods of the original design. The queen posts for eight truss rods were attached to the channel needle beans. The rebuilt cars rode on ARA cast steel trucks.

In addition to the data in the kit history (data) information regarding the prototype came from an article, GN Truss Rod Box Cars, in the October 1991 issue of Mainline Modeler. And, Modeling HO Scale Great Northern 9000-9999 And 28000-28499 Series Boxcars in the June 2025 issue of The GNRHS Modelers’ Pages. Prototype photos appear in both articles.

Stan Style Collection owned by Bob Kelly
Courtesy of Rich Remiarz
(click on this or any image to enlarge)

In addition to kit instructions and photos, a GN car diagram and a drawing in Mainline Modeler were used for the build. GN car diagram tells us steel ladders were installed; however, as you can see in the GN 9690 photo and other photos reviewed, drop grab iron ladders remained on some cars.

GN Car Diagram Courtesy of Rich Remiarz

Mainline Modeler October 1991

The build of Great Northern double sheathed truss box car to be numbered 9681 began by removing flash from most resin castings and other detail parts and placing them in a box for the build.

Kit Parts

With parts ready for the build, the fitting the underbody via sanding into the one-piece-body was done. When removing material from the underbody it is best to attempt to remove the same of amount of material from both ends and sides. A neat feature in the interior of the car body is molded underbody supports.

Car Body

Once the underbody fit into the car body kit bolsters and cover plates were installed. Kadee #262 coupler boxes with Kadee #148 couplers inserted were installed with 2-56 screws in drilled and tapped holes. Channel center sills were cut to size and installed between bolsters. When cutting center sills to fit between bolsters it very important to divide amount in half and remove half from each end. If not done this way, the location marks for attaching needle beams to channel center sills will not be in the correct location. Needle beams, consisting of two pieces, an angle and top, were glued together to create a channel and glued in correct location with channel side facing the center of car..

Underbody couplers and underframe parts.

After CA used to form and install needle beams was fully cured, the holes for mounting the kit provided queen posts were drilled. And, trucks with InterMountain 33” metal wheels sets were installed.

Needle beam holes drilled for queen posts.

Now the underbody was placed; however not glued, into the car body to allow work on the car body. Not necessary to work on the car body; however, my preferred method. Not until the underbody details and truss rods are installed near the end of the build will the kit weight be installed and the underbody glued into the car body with CA ( adhesive used for assembly and adding of parts unless another adhesive specified).

Car ready for install of details.

On the roof the kit running boards were installed using Yarmouth Model Works #220 etched running board braces (not in kit) for laterals and longitudinal ends. Roof grab irons were bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW and installed with a Yarmouth Model Works (YMW) eye bolt without shoulder for corner leg (not in kit).

Running boards with YMW
etched mounting brackets..

Next B end work was started. Brake shaft step and brake shaft fascia bracket provided in the kit were installed. Brake shaft, Tichy Train Group (Tichy) #1102, .015 diameter phosphor bronze wire (PBW) was installed. Retainer valve, resin in kit, and retainer line and brackets, Tichy #1100, .008 diameter PBW, were installed. And, a placard board in the kit was installed.

B end detail install started.

Now on the underbody knowing the CA used to install needle beams was fully cured, the queen posts provided in the kit were installed in the needle beams.

Queen posts installed on needle beams.

When needle beam installation was finished a train line, Tichy #1103, .020 diameter PBW was installed in holes drilled with a drill made with .032 diameter hard (piano) wire. The center sill extension to fill the gap between the bolster and coupler pocket was made with Evergreen #272, I Beam. The Evergreen I Beam is slightly larger than the kit installed channel center sill so later it was trimmed to matching size with a single edge razor blade. And, basic AB brake components were installed:

Brake cylinder, Athean with installed piston cut off K-brake in kit
Air reservoir, Detail Associated #6227
AB valve, resin in kit
Mounts for brake components, resin in kit

Basic brake components installed and
channel center sills extended beyond bolsters.

It was back to the B end to install grab irons and grab iron ladders, bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW. And, the grab irons and grab iron ladders on the sides were installed. The brake wheel, Tichy in kit, also installed.

Grab irons and Grab iron ladders installed.

Once grab irons and grab iron ladders install were finished, underbody work was done as follows:

Brake cylinder lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 8 strip styrene
Floating lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 6 strip styrene
Floating lever pin plate, parts box
Piping from air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101, .010” PBW
Piping from brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW
Brake rods, Tichy #1106, .0125” PBW
Brake rod clevises, Tichy turnbuckles #8021 and MEK Goop (plastic melted in MEK)
Chain, Tichy #8334, black 34 links per inch
Dirt collector, cut off K-brake in kit

With brake details completed the truss rods were strung next. The holes for the truss rods were drilled with #71 using the molded depressions on the underbody as called for in the instructions. The kit turnbuckles and monofilament line was used to make the trusses using a weave method. Several knots were tied in the monofilament line and heated with a lighter to get a large melted knot. The other end of the monofilament line was inserted into a hole on the inside of the car near the side sill (either end works) and pulled through until the melted knot was at the starting hole and CA applied. A kit turnbuckle was slid onto the monofilament line and the end of the line inserted into the hole for the truss rod on the other end of the car and pulled taut allowing the monofilament line to rest on the queen posts with the turnbuckle in-between the queen posts. CA was applied to the exit hole on the inside and where the monofilament rested on the queen posts. The monofilament line was now inserted into the hole for the next truss next to the truss just finished and the same process was used to complete the next and remaining trusses. The chosen method to make truss rods does not have the turnbuckle opening open which can be done if one chooses. A method to do so is explained in the kit instructions.

Truss rods installed.

After trusses were finished the kit provided weight was installed over the monofilament line used for the trusses with Permatex Clear Silicone RTV Adhesive Sealent. Once the Permatex was set the underbody was glued into the car body with CA and final details on the car body were installed as follows:

Doors, kit
Upper door stop, kit
Door handles, molded on replaced with wire bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW
Sill step, A-Line #29000, on left end of car viewed from the side
Sill step, A-Line #29000, with added bent step to create a double step
Uncoupling levers, bent from Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW
Uncoupling lever brackets, eye bolts bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW

Final car body details installed.

After final details were installed the car was placed on a digital postal scale showing a car weight of 4.2 ounces (above National Model Railroad Association recommended weight of 3.8 ounces).

Great Northern double sheathed truss rod box car was ready for paint. In the paint shop the car body was cleaned with a cotton makeup swab dipped in 91% isopropyl alcohol. When the car body was dry it was air brushed with Vallejo Surface Primer Grey 73.601.

Vallejo Surface Primer applied.

When the primer coat was dry, the car body was airbrushed with a mix of Vallejo Model Color mix of Mahogany Brown 70.864, 50% and Burnt Red 70.814, 50% to make GN Box Car Red.

Again when dry, the car body was airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss Medium 70.470 for a gloss base for the kit decals. After drying overnight, decals were applied. Kit provided decals were applied. Before decal application the decals were reviewed and the number 9681 chosen for the built GN box car. Photo of GN 9690 (above) was used for decal location.

Decals were soaked off in distilled water and applied to the car body where MicroScale Micro Set had been applied with a brush. After the decal was applied in the Micro Set and positioned the edges had MicroScale Micro Sol applied. Any excess solution was sucked away with the torn edge of a paper towel. Again when dry, car body sprayed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish #70.510 to better hide edges of decals and protect decals during handling.

Clear coat being applied after paint and decals.

The car underbody was hand painted Vallejo/MicroMark Tarnished Black #29022X2.

Underbody hand painted.

Before putting Great Northern truss rod box car 9681 in service, Pan Pastels were used to weather the car. Pan Pastels Netural Grey Extra Dark 820.2 was used on the roof and rest of the car body. A small brush was used to apply color over car body and especially over safety appliances on car body. A triangle sponge applicator was used to apply the Netural Grey Extra Dark along door guide and roof edges. In addition, Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1 was applied lightly over the roof with a large make brush. A large makeup brush without any Pan Pastel color was used to blend all color added with the small brush and sponge applicator.

GN 9681 weathered with Pan Pastels.

Great Northern truss rod box car 9681 was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.” A car card was made for GN 9681, the final step to put the a car in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad.

GN 9681 spotted at Hiawatha Elevator
in Little Chicago, Minnesota

I want to say, “Thank You” to Rich Remiarz for providing photos and his article to help with build of Great Northern double sheathed truss rod box car 9681.

Lester Breuer

Plymouth, MN