Star Line Models Boxcars

[milwrd1]

Last month some interest was noted in the Star Line models. Useable models of the boxcars are hard to find, most of the plastic kit parts (sides, ends and roofs) were susceptable to the plastic warping. An AAR type boxcar was made, here's a couples of photos of the car sides.

Atlantic Coast Line

Santa Fe (ATSF) system map

Canadian Pacific (CP) spans the world

Additional roadnames included: Canadian National (Maple Leaf scheme), Seaboard (Silver Meteor), C&O (Progress), CNJ (Statue of Liberty) and RI (Route of the Rockets). Except for the CNJ scheme, I have never seen any of the other roadnames. Perhaps others could post if they have these kits. The pair of CNJ sides that I salvaged from a severly waterloged kit many years ago were damaged beyond use.

The kits contained:
1. Detailed plastic painted sides (including rivet details and door handles), dreadnaught ends, roof, underframe and roofwalk.
2. Wood floor, end blocks and subroof.
3. Plastic AB brake system with Ajax brake wheel.
4. Preformed steps, grab irons and brass ladders.
5. Trucks and dummy couplers. The early kits included HP trucks, the later kits were without trucks (the box end noted whether the kits included trucks).
6. Detailed instruction sheet.

Not bad for kits first manufactured in 1949 Magnitudes better than the standard HP 550 series boxcars offered at the same time.

[CaTTwoman281]

My husband was able to cobble together a car around the CP Star Line sides a few years ago. If memory serves, the Gold Coast steel boxcar ends and roof matched up almost perfectly.

There was some warping with one side, nothing a little careful counter-bending and reinforcement couldn't fix in our case.

[j p]

Here are my Starline kits. They can be used only as a source of laders and wood parts, The plastic has warped.
Too bad. Maybe the Rock Island car has a chance. The quality of the mold was better than GoldCoast! A Starline car made out of a modern plastic would be more expensive than GoldCoast one, of course.

The worst warping was with CNJ car, someone could find it picture rather disturbing.

Here are the others:

[ctxmf74]

"The quality of the mold was better than GoldCoast! "

I wonder if the molds are still around lost in some old basement or barn? .........DaveB

[milwrd1]

jp

Thanks for posting the photos. I had not seen the Star Line Rock Island, Canadian National, Seaboard or C&O paint schemes.

[milwrd1]

Here are a few more photos of the damaged Star Line kits.
Canadian Pacific

Note the damage to the ends, the ends are actually "curling" away from the body.
Also of note is the later larger style Star Line box.

[railtwister]

"The quality of the mold was better than GoldCoast! "

I wonder if the molds are still around lost in some old basement or barn? .........DaveB

I seem to recall reading that the Star line molds were picked up many years ago by Kadee. Don't know if it's true or not...

Bill in FtL

[ctxmf74]

"I seem to recall reading that the Star line molds were picked up many years ago by Kadee. Don't know if it's true or not..."

I guess if it was many years ago they found something wrong with the molds and couldn't use them? would be great for someone like Kadee to get involved in TT scale, would bring instant cred to idea of a USA TT revival.....DaveB

[j p]

"I seem to recall reading that the Star line molds were picked up many years ago by Kadee. Don't know if it's true or not..."

I guess if it was many years ago they found something wrong with the molds and couldn't use them? would be great for someone like Kadee to get involved in TT scale, would bring instant cred to idea of a USA TT revival.....DaveB

Kadee bought also all molds and production tools from the original Micro Trains. The only thing they used was the trademark. They never produced anything it the Micro Trains' H00 scale (1:150). It was before the N scale was introduced.

[areibel]

I doubt they'd have them, Star Line produced models in other scales as well as TT. They did HO and either O or S, I saw it listed in and old E&H Hobbies catalog from the 50's that I got in a pile of old paperwork. Kadee probably wanted the HO stuff, if they got the TT molds they're probably long gone. If they still exist anywhere they're probably decaying away in a garage in suburban Chicago.