Model Railroading > Atlas HO 52' FMC 5503 box cars question

Atlas released this 52-foot (not 50-foot) boxcar models with three railway schemes. Among them, AMC (blue) and LPN (orange) are IPD box cars? Does anyone know how to identify IPD?

http://archive.atlasrr.com/HOFreight/arc-ho5503boxcar.htm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/18 06:42 by BN7023.

IPD = Incentive Per Diem, this refers to a program that awarded higher per diem payments to railroads investing in new or rebuilt boxcars in the 1970s. A lot of banks and venture capital chased this, focused heavily on financing new boxcars owned by leasing companies and then leased to primarily shortline railroads, resulting in a lot of boxcars painted for otherwise obscure small railroads running around. This, the IPD refers to the program under which these cars were built and operated rather than anything unique with the cars themselves.

I have some discussion of how the program worked on my McCloud Rails site at the following:

http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails/Equipment/Boxcars.html

Hope this helps!

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

Posted from iPhone

The AMC and LPN cars I don't think are true IPD cars, as that means they are free rollers earning the per diem.

The AMC cars had When Empty Return to AMC stenciling as their fleet supported the lumber mill located in Martell.

The LPN cars were gone by 1981(?) and went to STMA, where STMA used the cars to support Potlatch lumber loads.

Chris

First an FYI...  The Atlas models have misprint on the logos of the LPN cars...   Prototype had "We Love Oregon & the Great Northwest" logo...   Atlas model says "Great Northeast". 

The LPN prototypes went to St Maries RR (STMA) about mid-1980s.  They kept the orange and same car numbers but the We Love Oregon logos were painted over and LONGVIEW PORTLAND & NORTHERN patched over with SAINT MARIES RIVER RAILROAD.

Amador Central (AMC) prototypes went to new owner of those reporting marks - Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi RR - when Georgia Pacific reassigned the cars to the southeast (likely early 1990s).  They lost the original AMADOR CENTRAL logos, faded a bit, but kept the AMC marks and same car numbers.

Thank you everyone. Athearn is great!

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BN7023 Wrote:
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> Thank you everyone. Athearn is great!

Athearn did get the slogan right, but the LPN 52000 series cars were 52' double door FMC boxcars like the new Atlas model...