WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper
Price: $49.99
Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
5601 W. Florist Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
Era: 2007 to present (as decorated)
Road names: Trinity Industries Leasing (gray and black [75th anniversary] schemes), Archer Daniels Midland (gray with modern logo), Bunge North America Inc. (gray), Cenex Harvest States Cooperative (gray), CIT Group (gray with CEFX reporting marks), Incobrasa Industries (green), and VeraSun Energy (tan). Four road numbers per scheme.
Features
• 36” turned-metal wheelsets, in gauge
• Proto-Max metal couplers, at correct height
• Weight: 8.3 ounces, 2.7 ounces too heavy per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1
WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper: A new run of this modern-era freight car is on hobby shop shelves. The ready-to-run cars, based on a 6,351-cubic-foot capacity prototype, feature an injection-molded plastic body; see-through etched-metal running boards and crossover platforms in plastic frames; separate, factory-applied wire grab irons and vibrator brackets; and one of two styles of trough hatches.
Our sample is decorated as Trinity Industries Leasing No. 640624, part of the company’s fleet of lease cars. Trinity 6351 covered hoppers, which debuted in 2001, are used for transporting dried distillers grain, malt, food products, and other light-density agricultural products.
Sales literature from Trinity notes that the high side sills make it easier to reach the outlet gates and vibrator brackets. The round sides make efficient use of the car’s capacity, while the arched roof prevents rain and snow from collecting around the running boards and hatch covers. The continuous trough hatch, fitted with fiberglass hatch covers, make it possible for the car to be loaded while in motion.
The WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper has an injection-molded plastic body; a separate, factory-applied roof, center sills, and bolsters; and freestanding end cages. Most of the car’s 8.3 ounces comes from four screw-mounted weights mounted inside the hopper bays.
The model is neatly painted gray with a variety of stencils on the sides and ends, all legible under magnification. The lettering placement matches a prototype photo of the full-size car I found online. The model displays a load limit of 216500 and a light weight of 69500, while the prototype car shows 216700 and 69300, respectively.
If you model today’s railroad scene, you’ll want to add the WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper to your rolling stock fleet. The prototype cars can be found individually and in groups in manifest freights, and large cuts of them are frequently seen at ethanol plants and other agriculture-related industries.
For more product reviews for the Model Railroader team, visit the Staff Reviews section of our website.
