Reading boxcar 19028

QUICK FACTS

Model: RDG class XLL (later CR class BR62A) 60’ auto parts boxcar
Built: December 1972
Builder: Berwick Forge & Fabricating, Berwick, PA
Past Railroad Owners: Reading, Conrail, CSX Transportation
Current Owner: TOYX, Inc.

Boxcar No. 19028 was built in December of 1972 by Berwick Forge & Fabricating at their plant in Berwick, Pennsylvania as Reading Company (RDG) No. 19028 (class XLL). The 60-foot boxcar was originally designed to convey auto parts, such as prefabricated doors and panels, between automotive assembly plants. This boxcar was conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976 as CR 279820 (class BR62A). It was again transferred to CSX Transportation on June 1, 1999 and re-lettered NYC 279820. In the late 2010s, it was stored pending disposition in Toledo, Ohio.

In December of 2020, CSX Transportation donated this historic boxcar to be used for Operation Toy Train’s annual Toys for Tots train and historic display in Port Jervis. It was moved to Port Jervis on December 12, 2021.

The car was repainted to its original Reading green in October of 2022 and was partially lettered. The remainder of the Reading lettering will be applied in 2024. This car represents the thousands of similar boxcars that traveled through Port Jervis regularly from the 1970s through 1990s. Many of these cars were used to haul automobile frames and other large parts to and from the Ford plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, with entire trains full of these boxcars rolling through Port Jervis daily.