Navs 1970's Canadian 40 and 50 foot boxcars in the works!

[CN9601]

I'm currently working on a large collection of rebuilt 40- and 50-foot Canadian boxcar variants for the sim. The models are by Navs (they're excellent and packed with options), and I now have nearly all of the major CN, CP, ONR, PGE, BC Rail, DWC, and GTW variants completed with the correct prototype details that distinguish each car. The double-door versions are also finished, although they still need weathering and a few minor aesthetic refinements.

These cars are ideal for Canadian routes such as the TS Ruel Sub and Mactier, but they were also commonly seen throughout the United States and even Mexico. I may also create some American paint schemes in the future, and I'm always open to requests.

This will be my first release for Open Rails (ORTS). I'm usually part of the flight simulation community, creating aircraft liveries and airports for X-Plane and MSFS 2024, so trying my hand at ORTS has been a fun new venture.

The release is planned for this fall!

Here are a few preview shots.

Enjoy!
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[CSRX]

These will be perfect for what I need. A lot of the CP cars showed up on the MEC Mountain Sub well into the late 1970's, the CN ones did too actually. I feel like we don't have enough of these cars, even the 50 foot PS boxcars.

[CN9601]

Agreed! They absolutely needed to be done. I'm doing a pair of CV 40 footers as part of the batch that'll fit right into your era and locale.

[charland]

... but the CV never had any 40 foot steel cars.

Paul :-)

[CN9601]

I never thought they did either but then I found this. 1000047625.jpg

[CN9601]

A couple more CP cars nearing completion. Working on both double door and single door variants. They will come with the appropriate door reinforcemt plates and early-late tackboard placement.
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[charland]

Now that's interesting, never seen one before and this one looks like it's in revenue service. 4-78 or 79 so it was on the system while I was going down railfanning. Maybe it was on the south end.

Paul :-)

[CN9601]

Hey Paul,

Its definetly an oddball and one worth adding to the ORTS roster. It does say where in Vermont it operated but its too hard to make out in the photo. Its an interesting one for sure.

[CSRX]

"When empty, return to Swanton, VT"

I *think* there used to be a talcum facility there. Could be wrong.

[charland]

I see by the door there is a "Return to CV Agent XXXXX VT", just can't make out the XXXXX. That means it not on the south end, Brattleboro would be much longer the what is on the car. Just checked "CV in Color" and Northern New England

Swanton, that would fit but who in Swanton would be shipping anything in a 40 foot boxcar in 1978 or 79. From what I remember there were only three customers in Swanton, the flour mill, the Swanton Stone, and a third company just south of the station that received the odd covered hopper.

Paul :-)

Did a search for "CV 40 foot steel boxcar" and found a model of CV 54514 and it said "Return to CV Agent Richford VT"... so north of St Albans... the mystery continues!

Paul :-)

[CSRX]

I wonder if it just means to be returned to the freight agent for CV based in Richford at the old CV/CP interchange point, then from there he can direct that car to wherever needed to be loaded next, whether it's at a talc load out mill, asbestos load out mill, or whatever. Then again, I'm not so sure what was around in the 1970's on the old CV Richford Branch.

[charland]

Hard to say Shawn, I'd think there was a reason to have the car returned to Richford and not just St Albans like the loading point was near Richford.

Paul :-)

[ossie]

AI couldn't answer the specific questions about customers but did say there were 2 of these boxcars in service:

For railfans and model railroaders looking into the roster of the historic Central Vermont Railway (CV), the boxcar carrying number CV 54511 has a specific, albeit short-lived, place in late-20th-century freight history.

Here is the breakdown of what the historical equipment registers show for this particular car: General Specifications

• Reporting Marks: CV 54511
• Class: XM (Standard Boxcar)
• Body Material: Steel
• Quantity in Series: It belonged to a tiny, two-car roster series (CV 54510–54511).

Dimensions & Capacity

• Inside Length: 40 feet, 6 inches
• Inside Height: 10 feet, 6 inches
• Door Width: 7 feet, 0 inches
• Cubic Capacity: 3,898 cubic feet

Roster History & Origin

• Service Window: CV 54511 appeared on the Central Vermont roster in October 1978 and remained active until roughly October 1984, when it was retired or renumbered.
• The Grand Trunk Western Connection: Historical freight car records indicate that CV 54511 was not bought brand new by Central Vermont. Instead, it was acquired second-hand from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW)—specifically from their 515500–515999 series.

Context Note: Because both the Central Vermont (CV) and the Grand Trunk Western (GTW) were corporate subsidiaries under Canadian National (CN), transferring older steel boxcars between lines to fill capacity needs was a common practice during this era.

If you are trying to recreate this car for an HO or N scale model railroad layout, a standard 40-foot steel boxcar with a 7-foot door dressed in typical CV/CN single-line or stacked lettering will get you an accurate prototype representation!

Because CV 54511 carried an XM mechanical designation on its official roster, it was classified as a General Service Boxcar.

Unlike specialized freight cars—such as insulated boxcars for temperature-sensitive food or high-cube cars dedicated strictly to auto parts—an XM car was a general-purpose workhorse. It was not locked into a single contract or captive to one specific factory. Instead, it belonged to the general system pool, meaning its cargo and customers changed from week to week depending on who needed a standard boxcar.

By the time this car entered service for the Central Vermont in the late 1970s and early 1980s, its 40-foot length and standard 7-foot sliding door made it a smaller, aging veteran compared to the massive 50-foot and 60-foot boxcars dominating the rails. However, it filled a crucial niche. What It Typically Carried


Cars of CV 54511’s exact configuration during the 1978–1984 era were primarily used for "clean" manifest freight that required protection from the elements but didn't require specialized loading racks:

• Paper and Pulpwood Products: This was the lifeblood of northern New England railroading. CV 54511 would regularly haul large rolls of newsprint, printing paper, cardboard, or baled wood pulp.
• Bagged Commodities: It was frequently loaded with sacks of flour, sugar, animal feed, or agricultural fertilizer.
• Canned Goods and Dry Groceries: Non-perishable food items moving from manufacturing plants to regional grocery distribution centers.
• Finished Lumber and Building Supplies: Shingles, plywood, or dimensional lumber that needed to stay dry during transit.

The Customers and Routes It Served


While specific daily manifest logs for individual car numbers are rarely preserved, we can pinpoint the types of facilities CV 54511 frequented based on the Central Vermont’s unique geographic footprint:

• The New England Paper Mills: The CV interconnected heavily with lines serving massive paper mills in northern Vermont, Maine, and Quebec. CV 54511 would likely load up at these mills and head south toward major publishing and printing hubs in southern New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic.
• Agricultural Feed Mills and Co-ops: The CV served dozens of rural feed mills and farmers' co-ops across Vermont and Connecticut. This car would drop off bagged grain and feed to support local dairy operations.
• The Broader Canadian National (CN) Network: Because the Central Vermont was a subsidiary of CN, this car didn't just stay in Vermont. It was part of a giant "bridge route." CV 54511 would regularly wander onto the Grand Trunk Western (GTW) in the Midwest or the main CN lines in Canada, hauling manufactured goods out of Michigan auto towns or chemical/industrial products out of Ontario and Quebec, before returning home through the CV's major sorting hubs like St. Albans, Vermont.

[charland]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for that. AI did get one thing obviously wrong: "If you are trying to recreate this car for an HO or N scale model railroad layout, a standard 40-foot steel boxcar with a 7-foot door dressed in typical CV/CN single-line or stacked lettering will get you an accurate prototype representation!"

The real car in the photo is in Larson Green and Yellow, the same paint used on engines and work equipment but not on any other revenue cars, so decals might be a problem unless you find a set that was meant for maintenance of way and stores boxcars.

Paul :-)

[CN9601]

Hey Guys!

Thats a wealth of information! Thanks for the info Pete that helped a lot when it came to accurately letting the car for Open Rails. I might even build one for my Ho Scale layout in the future. I'm still progressing on the project as the deadline still stands for a fall release.

Here are some of the new CP and CN 40 footers cars being tested on home rails! (Lambton Yard in Toronto late 80's)
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Cheers for now,

9601