Rapido HO-Scale Magor 54' Flatcar 1953+ Pre-Order

At the height of the Korean War, the US Army required a new fleet of rolling stock to transport military hardware across the nation on any railroad. Notably, a large order for 650 cars was placed with the Magor Car Corporation to handle the heavier and larger tanks and other military equipment of the era. Delivered between April and July 1953, the Magor fleet came in at 54’ and weighed in at around 36 tons with a 100-ton load carrying capacity. Features included a wood deck and heavy steel frame construction along with 6-wheel buckeye trucks.

The DODX Flatcars quickly proved invaluable in service and would go on to enjoy very long careers on the rails. Delivered with the USAX reporting marks and numbered 38016-38665, these cars would find work transporting all sorts of equipment including the latest tanks, APCs, navy gun turrets and even locomotives such as the Army’s own GE 80 tonners.  

Over time there were several changes to the Magor fleet. Starting around 1961, the fleet began receiving new DODX reporting marks, though this was a long conversion and there were USAX lettered cars in service as late as 1974. Also, in the mid-60s many would begin conversion to roller bearings in the 6-wheel Buckeye trucks. In addition, several cars in the fleet were also assigned to the Navy and painted silver to signify this assignment. 

After higher capacity equipment entered service in the 1980s, these burly cars were largely withdrawn from service around 1990 with the last of the fleet being decommissioned at the end of the Gulf War in 1991. Due to their sturdy construction, many have been preserved in museums and continue to run today!

MSRP $59.95 NYCSHS Member Price $50.96 and that is 15% off MSRP.