American Model Builders, Inc. is located in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been
in business since 1984. They carry approximately 360 items in a variety of
scales. They offer laser-cut wood structure kits and detail parts, as well as
pre-masked acrylic passenger car sides with laser-cut door openings and grab
iron holes The Covered Barge was the Rail-Marine equivalent of the Railroad
Boxcar. Many of the United States' "Eastern" Railroads maintained huge
"Railroad Navies". The NYC, PRR, LV, CNJ, Erie, DL&W, NH and others all had a
variety of craft on their rosters, everything from Railroad Harbor Tugboats,
to Stick Lighters, Scows, Floating Livestock "Yards" , Station Floats, Car
Floats and Ferries. There were even Floating Grain Elevators, which to the
inexperienced are some of the most ungainly water craft imaginable. Many of
these barges roamed the Northern East Coast, from Maine, southward to the
Carolinas, all carrying Railroad Freight. Large concentrations of activity
could be found in Portland, Maine and Philadelphia, with the biggest operation
centered around New York City. Railroad Tugs pushed, pulled and maneuvered all
these craft from the piers of New York and New Jersey, and up the Hudson
River. The historical records of tonnage moved by the Rail-Marine craft are
astonishing. In most cases, this "tonnage" was called "lighterage" by the
rail-marine folks. Lighterage was, simply put, just about anything the
railroad navies hauled from one freight dock to another. Many times Barges and
Stick Lighters were tied up alongside ocean going ships in order to load the
lighterage on board, often, as the ship was imminently ready to sail. Freight
was transported this way from the late 1800s up until the 1960s. The
"Inspiration" for our line of Rail-Marine Kits was a two part article, written
by Don Spiro, that appeared in the December, 2002 and January, 2003 issues of
Railroad Model Craftsman. For any model railroader who is not aware of the
aspects of Rail-Marine operation, an incredible surprise awaits them as there
was an interesting variety of equipment used, not to mention the interaction
between railroad navies and their respective land based counterparts. For
those who already know the "treasures" of this fascinating world, AMB
hope to provide you with the largest variety of high quality Rail-Marine
models to be produced. We also hope that our kits will find their way to the
workbenches of the "uninitiated" modelers and that they, too, will discover
the Rail-Marine World.