In June, MicroTrains released the Iowa Interstate Anniversary car. It was inspired by the IAIS locomotive paint scheme and designed to commemorate their 40th anniversary.

After seeing MicroTrains' design, the Iowa Interstate Railroad was so impressed that they requested to use the artwork on a real 40' boxcar, which was proudly displayed at the Iowa State Fair in August 2024. It's a rare moment where art truly comes to life -- below is a photo of the boxcar fresh from the paint booth.

The design has been revised slightly and MicroTrains is releasing item MTL-07400500 as "version 2", for a detailed and accurate prototypical version of the real boxcar.

*Photo courtesy of MicroTrains