Home
By The Numbers
Walthers Freight Car Timeline
1400 Series Stoughton 45/102 Trailer
1450 series Stoughton 53' Van Trailers
1600 series 32' Van Trailer
1650 series 40' Trailer
1900 Series Stoughton 48' Semi Trailer
2000 series 40' Double Sheathed Wood Box Car with Dreadnaught Ends
2050 series X-29 Box Car
2100 Series 40' Single Sheathed Box Car w/Dreadnaught Steel Ends
2120 series 40' Wood Box Car w/Grain Doors
2150 series 40' Single Sheathed Box Car with Double Sheathed Ends
2200 series 40' Double Sheathed Wood Box Car with Wood Ends
2250 series 40' Double Sheathed Wood Box Car with ARA Steel Ends
2300 series 40' Wood Reefer
2400 series 1910-25 40' Wood Reefer w/Wood Ends
2500 series 40' All-Steel Reefer
2550 series General American Meat Reefers
2570 series 40' Steel Meat Reefers
2600 series 42' Flat Car
2900 series 42' Bulkhead Flat Car
2650 series 40' Single Sheathed Box Car with Braced Ends
2700 series 40' Double Sheathed Box Car -Early w/Braced Ends
2750 series Stock Car with Steel Ends
2800 series Stock Car with Wood Ends
2950 series 36' 50-ton Offset Side Hopper
3000 series 36' 50-ton Ribbed Side Hopper
3050 series 36' Wood Chip Hopper
3100 series 40' ARA Steel Box Car w/Wood Roofwalk
3200 series 40' Plug Door Box Car
3250 series 65' Mill Gondola
3300 series 40' Plug Door Reefer
3350 series Stock Car with Slatted Open Ends
3450 series 50' North American RBL Smoothside Box Car
3500 series 40' AAR Steel Box Car
3600 series 50' North American Plug Door EP Box Car
3650 series 50' Airslide Covered Hopper
3700 series 40' PS-1 Box Car
3750 series GSC Commonwealth 53'-6" Flat Car
3800 series 40' Gondola
3851 series 50' Cushion Coil Cars
3899 series 55' Cushion Coil Cars w/Round Hoods
3930 series 5-Unit All-Purpose Spine Car
3950 series 75' Piggyback Flat Car
3980 series Front Runner
4000 series 45' Logging Flat Car w/Logs
4100 series 72' Centerbeam Flat Car
4200 series Ballast Hopper
4350 series Bay Window Caboose
4600 series 39' Single-Bay Airslide Covered Hopper
4653 series Dynamometer Car
4680 series 84' Paired Airslide Hoppers
4700 series Waffle Side Box Car
4750 series RBL Insulated 50' Box Car
4800 series 89' Enclosed Auto Carrier
4850 series 89-foot Tri-Level Enclosed Auto Carrier
4900 series 100-Ton Quad Hopper
4950 series 89' Channel-Side Flat Car
5000 series 10,000 Gallon Steam/Diesel Tank Car
5100 series 30' Funnel-Flow Tank Car
5150 series 40' Funnel-Flow Tank Car
5200 series 54' Funnel-Flow Tank Car
5250 series 65' Propane Tank Car
5257 series 65' Anhydrous Ammonia Tank Car
5300 series Bethgon Coalporter Gondola
5350 series Jordan Spreader
5400 series 37' Cement Covered Hopper
5450 series Cryogenic Refrigerated Box Car
5630 series 81' Depressed Center Four-Truck Flat Car
5650 series Scale Test Car
5700 series PS-2 Center Discharge Hopper
5849 series PD Covered Hopper
5850 series 50' Single-Sheathed Double-Door Box Car
5900 series Thrall 53-foot Gondola
6040 series Gunderson 60-foot Box Car
7000 series Thrall All-Door Box Car
7050 series 40' Ortner 100-Ton Open Aggregate Hopper
7100 series Gunderson 50' High-Cube Paper Service Box Car
7150 series 64' Plastic Pellet Hopper
7270 series 23,000 Gallon Tank Car
7450 series 46' USRA Steel Gondola
7660 Series Milwaukee Rib-Side Caboose
7880 series Depressed Center Flat Car
7930 series Fruit Growers Express 50' Mechanical Reefer
9146 series 40' Scrap Gondola
Tim McCoy Wild West Show
The Great Circus Train
53' Single-Unit Well Car
50' Pulpwood Car
Trinity RD4 Coal Hoppers
Greenville Wood Chip Hoppers
Difco Car
Five-Unit Articulated Well Flats
40' Reefer Six-Packs
55' Cushion Coil Car
86' Four-Door Hi-Cube Box Car
60' Double-Door Auto Parts Box Car
P-S 60' Single-Door Auto Parts Box Car
7600 Series SP C-30-1 Wood Caboose
100000 Series Trinity 14K Molten Sulfur Tank Car
910-4900 Series Well Car
5750 Series Russell Snow Plow
Site Notes

1983

The World of HO Scale - 1984 A Walthers Catalog & Reference Manual, available in the fall of 1983, did not include specifics on the new freight cars coming to the Walthers HO-scale product line. The catalog did boast, "the line will include 35 different body styles, including boxcars, wood and steel reefers, stock cars, hoppers, gons, flat cars, and maintenance of way equipment." If you wanted a sneak preview, a few pages beyond the Walthers announcement in the 1984 catalog was the final appearance of Train Miniature of Illinois. The four pages devoted to Train Miniature's freight car kits in '84, included the notice: All Train Miniature Kits will be discontinued when sold out.

Freight car kits from Walthers at this time included the company-owned Silver Streak and Ulrich lines. Reviewing the Silver Streak and Ulrich offerings, one sees the change that the former Train Miniature toolings brought to the Walthers line. The Silver Streak and Ulrich kits were constructed of metal and wood flat stock components. They required a fair amount of craftsman-skill to put them together. Given the age of their designs, even assembled properly, the Silver Streak and Ulrich models were not a rivet-counter's delight. The Train Miniature kits, with their plastic parts and simplier construction, were an advancement to the Walthers line. These level of quality and easy of assembly of the new kits put Walthers in similar league with Athearn and Roundhouse in the hobby industry.

1984

The World of HO Scale - 1985 A Walthers Catalog & Reference Manual, which would have been first available in the fall of '84, marks the introduction of the former Train Miniature kits in the Walthers product line. All were offered in kit form only and all retailed for $4.95 each.

Two freight cars (36' 50-Ton Hoppers and 40' Stock Cars) offered in five variations make up this original group. The hoppers would sold two ways: 36' 50-ton Hopper with Offset Sides and 36' 50-ton Ribbed Side variations. The Stock Cars came three ways: 40' Stock Car with Wood Ends, 40' Stock with Slatted Open Ends, and 40' Stock Car with Corrugated Steel Ends.

The former Train Miniature toolings were not the only Walthers HO-scale freight car kits found in the 1985 catalog. Walthers offered a plastic flat-stock 50' Insulated Box Car kit. The "Tongue-In-Cheek" Modeling line, which included the Jail Box Car; Impact Test Car; and the Oscar and Piker, still held two pages in the annual catalog. These items are considered by this site's survey to be of the prior era of production offerings and are not included in detailed coverage here.

Below you'll find two Walthers magazines advertisements from the time announcing the new freight cars for 1984. You may click on either ad to open a larger version for better viewing.

1985

The World of HO Scale - 1986 A Walthers Catalog and Reference Manual, published in the fall of 1985, saw an expansion of five new freight cars, plus a group of kits sold under the Maintenance of Way banner. This group has its orign in the defunct Train Miniature line. All the new 1985 additions were offered in kit form only. The freight car kits all retailed for $4.95 each. Retail prices on the Maintenance of Way collection of kits varied from $4.95, up to $6.50 each.

The 1985 new Walthers freight car kits included, the 40' Steel Reefer; 40' Single Sheathed Box Car with Double Sheathed Wood Ends and 40' Single Sheathed Box Car with Braced Ends; 40' Double Sheathed Box Car offered with Wood Ends, 40' Double Sheathed Box Car with ARA Steel Ends, and a 40' Double Sheathed Box Car with Dreadnaught Steel Ends; X-29 Steel Box Car; and a 40' Plug Door Box Car.

Back for their second year in the Walthers catalog was the 36' 50-ton Hoppers and the 40' Stock Cars. The flat stock 50' Insulated Box Car survives, along with Walthers "Tongue-In-Cheek" collection. A 40' General Service Gondola flat stock plastic kit is present in the 1986 catalog. This gondola kit was introduced in the 1984 catalog. Though flat stock in design, this model notes being injection-molded plastic, which makes it an odd hybrid of sorts. It is using the older flat stock design, but is made of more modern plastic. One might speculate that the Silver Streak/Ulrich design was being considered for further future production with a switch from metal to plastic components. The ex-Train Miniature toolings set the standard going forward for late '80s and beyond Walthers construction design. Walthers also catalogs an Athearn 40' Box Car kit lettered for P&LE service, sold as a Walthers exclusive offering.

1986

The World of HO Scale - 1987 A Walthers Catalog and Reference Manual, published in the fall of 1986, saw the introduction of the 40' Double Sheathed Box Car -Early with Braced Ends (932-2700 series); the 40' ARA Steel Box Car w/Wood Roofwalk (932-3100 series); the 40' AAR Steel Box Car w/Steel Roofwalk (932-3500 series); 40' PS-1 Box Cars (932-3700 series); 1910-1925 40' Wood Reefer w/Wood Ends (932-2400 series); 1925-1950 40' Wood Reefer w/Dreadnaught Ends (932-2300); 50' Airslide Covered Hopper (932-3650 series); 40' All-Steel Gondola (932-3800 series); 42' Flat Car w/Stakes (932-2600 series); and 42' Bulkhead Flat Car (932-2900 series).

Please note that this site was created for use by those with an interest in HO-scale model trains. The author is not affiliated with, nor representing Walthers in any way. Images presented are obtained from a variety of sources. Many are Walthers images used to promote its products and thus are owned and copyright by Walthers. I do not have items available for sale, nor do I have information regarding repair or replacement parts, etc. This site is intended for your enjoyment and information only. Thank You.