40' Mather Box Car

Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern  FTDDM&S 14007

High Quality Model Of An Inexpensive Prototype!

From the 1920s through the 1950s, when freight car manufacturing and leasing were largely the province of big corporations like General American and American Car & Foundry, the Mather Company remained relatively small, privately owned and presided over by its namesake, Alonzo C. Mather.

Using proven designs and off-the-shelf components, his company cranked out utilitarian cars using a minimum of specialized components or machine tools.

The hand-built cars were cheap to build and maintain, so the company flourished because its cars could be leased at very competitive rates.

Because railroads couldn't afford new cars from the major builders, the Mather Company's shops built or rebuilt many box cars for lease during the Depression.

These cars remained in service through World War II and, updated with AB air brakes and more modern trucks, many of them lasted through the 1950's and into the 1960's, by which time the Mather Company had been acquired by the North American Car Co.

With their distinctive Mather construction and sheet metal Mather Patent roofs, they could be seen all across the North American railroad network.

• Laser quality painting and printing
• Scale size handrails and grab irons
• Correct trucks
• Metal RP-25 wheels
• Magnetic knuckle couplers
• Correct weight for optimum operation
• Suitable for steam and transition eras

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