Commemorative Box Car

Brown Box Era HO-Scale Electric Trains

Commemorative Box Car

There are six cars that make up TYCO's Commemorative State Box Car series. The car used is the 50' plug-door box car, which is cataloged as model number 339 in its most basic offering. This set of six was cataloged in 1975-76 and 1976 only. The images shown are taken from those catalogs. Notice the steps are open on these examples, the samples I possess all feature filled-in steps. I assume both likely exist and I've simply not run across the 'open-step' version yet.

The choice of states does not appear to make any specific group. With only six, they certainly are not representing the original thirteen colonies. Perhaps TYCO had plans to produce more and interest or sales did not materialize for this series. In the late '70s, Mantua offered a set of cars similar to this group with each lettered for a state of the union. Some collectors may confuse them with this set, but note that only the six below make up TYCO's mid 1970's collection of Commemorative State Box Cars.

Georgia

Georgia

(No.363-D)
(1975 and 1976)

New Hampshire

New Hampshire

(No.363-E)

(1975 and 1976)

TYCO Commemorative Box
Car

New York

(No.363-F)

(1975 and 1976)

North Carolina

North Carolina

(No.363-C)

TYCO includes its North Carolina Box Car in two concurrent product catalogs (1975-76 and 1976). The first image is from a TYCO catalog and shows the car with the open-step tooling. The second image providing a look at the state related information also shows that the car was issued with the filled-in or closed-step tooling.

TYCO Catalog and eBay auction images

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

(No.363-B)

(1975 and 1976)

Rhode Island

(No.363-A)

(1975 and 1976)

Commemorative Box Car Set

3-pack State of Union Cars

(No.57)

Though TYCO refers to the 363-numbered series as Commemorative Box Cars, in its 3-pack set they are called State of Union Cars. The catalog notes that the set included three assorted examples from the 363-series, so there may be variation in the contents of these sets. The retail is listed at $8.50 for the set in both the 1975-76 and 1976 catalogs.

TYCO catalog image