Craig Zeni has been working on an HO scale Speedwitch Media kit for an Erie steel-sheathed box car rebuild. Here are his notes.
The Erie Railroad embarked on a rebuilding program to convert a series of wood double-sheathed box cars to steel-sheathed cars in the early 1930s. The cars had welded plate steel side sheathing and flexible metal roofs installed. They retained the original doors, earlier braced ends, a vertical shaft handbrake, and an interior height of 8-foot, 6-inches. The rebuilt cars were numbered in the 70000-70999 series with 978 listed in the January 1943 ORER. A set of automobile cars was also converted in a similar manner but with a door width reduced to 6-foot. These were placed into the 71000-71567 series with 565 listed in the 1943 ORER. Speedwitch Media kit K121.1 represents the Erie 70000 series of steel sided rebuilds.
