B&O Sentinel, 40' boxcar (Athearn)

B&O 466726, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, NEW/BLT 8-45, M-55
Fast freight Service, Sentinel Service, Siding to Siding Dependability
Athearn 40' slide-door box car stock#?, reworked







"Sentinel Service" was a car tracing system with clerks using telegraphs, telephones and paperwork, no computers yet. It started in 1947. At the time about 100 40' boxcars (M-55c) were painted in a promotional scheme as this model, and in 1958-1962 1000 boxcars were painted in bright red oxide with "Sentinel Service Dependability" slogan. (refered to Kbbraden.com, ProtoCraft Decals)
Right is an advertisement on Aug. 1952 issue of the Trains magazine.

On the 1947 issues of the MR magazine, the silver/blue box car models appeared in many manufactures ads, O-scale and HO-scale. Walthers sold the decals. Until present, lot of replicas have been released.
This model, compared with them and prototypes can be confirmed, had black ends instead of silver, and larger dark blue area. Although it is an Athearn blue box model of course, the decorator has been unknown.