Description

FAST FREIGHT LINES

The Fast Freight Line system was developed as a precursor to national interchange in the 1860s. It was an agreement between multiple railroads to share a pool of specifically marked cars that could run over their networks. The Vanderbilt family of Fast Freight Lines was one of the most successful and prolific examples, operating a fleet of brightly painted boxcars across much of the United States.

THE NEW YORK CENTRAL AND HUDSON RIVER’S 1876 STANDARD HARRISBURG BOXCAR

In 1876, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad contributed a standardized boxcar design to the Vanderbilt Fast Freight Line family. Six examples wearing different paint schemes were placed on exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition that year. Built by the Harrisburg Car Company, these cars were lettered for Red Line, Blue Line, White Line, Merchants Despatch, Grain Line Transit, and Hoosac Tunnel lines. Zenith Model Works currently offers decals for the Red, Blue and White Line cars, and we will add the other three sometime in 2023.

Instructions:

Sheet One Instructions

Sheet Two – History