The American Civil War created the need for many different rail cars. Photos in the National Archives were the inspirations for this kit. Early house cars were smaller than those that came later, and did not have the usual truss rods of the larger cars. No ladder nor roof walks, but a crude step and grab iron is featured on each end for roof access.

Details varied from car to car, but the sparse lettering stayed the same. It consists of a simple three-digit number on the right side and nothing else.

Length over end beams is a scale 25' and the 'house' is just over 21 scale feet long. Leaving off the trucks and couplers would make it an interesting storage shed.

The model features laser-cut wood with hardware in plastic and lost-wax brass. Less trucks, couplers, and decals. The O scale model is shown in the photos.

#29524       HO Scale USMRR Early House Car                   $ 24.95

#19524         O Scale USMRR Early House Car                    $ 39.95