MOC: "State of Maine" BAR boxcar (7-wide)

[MaineBrickFan]

Hello, all! Happy to present a 7-wide boxcar, which is probably the single most famous contribution my state ever made to U.S. railroads.

BAR "State of Maine" 40-foot boxcar (7 wide) by Patrick Strawbridge, on Flickr

BAR "State of Maine" 40-foot boxcar (7 wide) by Patrick Strawbridge, on Flickr

BAR "State of Maine" 40-foot boxcar (7 wide) by Patrick Strawbridge, on Flickr

(I do intend to add more rungs to the end ladder, so this is not quite final, but close enough since I already took the photos!)

Here is a shot of a restored prototype:

These heated, insulated boxcars were first purchased in the 1950s by the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad to ship potatoes grown in norther Maine throughout the Eastern United States. In the offseason, they would be leased to other RRs for use as general freight cars. As a result, it was not uncommon to see these cars and their eye-catching red, white and blue livery all over the U.S. They are a favorite of a lot of RR models, but I had not yet seen one in Lego.

The basic design of my MOC is patterned after Cale Leiphart's AAR boxcars, with modifications to make them seven-wide and to match the livery and plug doors. This is also my first MOC using my "purist" trucks, which were inspired by the well-known PennLUG/Railbricks design and some experiments by Matt Csenge.

C&C welcome!

[v6TransAM]

That is kick big behind.

Beautifully translated into the world of Lego, nice job.

[Hrw-Amen]

Really good translation of this rail car into LEGO.

[Slick Willie]

At first glance, it looks just like my O-Guage State of Maine Boxcars that we have running around our track.

It has great eye catching colors for any train layout, and your stickers are spot on.

Great job!

[cgarison]

Very nice build. The colors are great and the decals really pop. Great work!

[zephyr1934]

Great build, the handles on the door and the roof are some of my favorite details

Hello, all! Happy to present a 7-wide boxcar, which is probably the single most famous contribution my state ever made to U.S. railroads.

Hey, what about all those BL2's??? (grin)

[brickbuilder711]

Love it! won't forget the HO Scale Life Like model. Well done and highly detailed.

[Commander Wolf]

I think you should try to put something over the hubs of the wheels on the bogies. If you ask me, that bearing bit is really distinctive on 'Murrikan bogies.

As usual I'm going to ask: how did you make the decals? Did you print them yourself or get it done professionally?

[MaineBrickFan]

Thanks everybody for the kind words!

Hey, what about all those BL2's??? (grin)

Yes, BAR did have some of those Ugly Ducklings. I mainly model MEC, but these cars would travel across the MEC roads en route to Boston, New York and points south.

I think you should try to put something over the hubs of the wheels on the bogies. If you ask me, that bearing bit is really distinctive on 'Murrikan bogies.

As usual I'm going to ask: how did you make the decals? Did you print them yourself or get it done professionally?

Good point on the bearings. I will make that adjustment. The bars allow a modified 1x1 plate to hang off, so an easy adjustment.

The decals are O-Scale waterslides from MicroScale. I have not even begun to think about creating my own decals. (One thing at a time)

[greenmtvince]

Yes, BAR did have some of those Ugly Ducklings. I mainly model MEC, but these cars would travel across the MEC roads en route to Boston, New York and points south.

My word! Those are hideous! As with all odd ducks of railroading, I love it! I may have to do one of the few B&M ones at some point in the (distant) future.