Price: $36.95, $31.95 (undecorated)
Manufacturer:
Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc.
378 Florence Ave.
Hillside, NJ 07205
www.atlasrr.com
Era: 1975 to present
Comments: Well-detailed models of boxcars that appear regularly on both sides of the U.S/Canadian border are available in HO scale from Atlas. Between 1975 and 1980, the National Steel Car Co. of Hamilton, Ont., built more than 1,000 of these modern 50 foot plug-door steel boxcars in three sizes with 5,277-, 5,182-, or 5,111-cubic-foot capacities.
Most of the 100-ton cars went to Canadian railroads to haul roll paper, while the Grand Trunk Western bought 200 of the 70-ton cars for food service.
Atlas introduced these models in January 2014, and they sold out almost immediately, so the original four car numbers and paint schemes have been repeated in this second run. Two new car numbers have been added for each road name.
The models match the prototoype dimensions in the April 1981 Official Railway Equipment Register, and all of them have carbody detailing that matches the specific paint schemes.
A limited run of the unique Grand Trunk Western food service cars is available without the corner posts.
The underbodies have an accurately modeled air brake system and simulated
cushion underframes.
The models have either 70- or 100-ton free-rolling roller-bearing trucks with rigid acetal plastic frames and wheelsets that match the National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA)
Recommended Practice (RP) 25 wheel contours. Atlas recommends a
minimum radius of 22″.
The car weighs 4 ounces, which is 0.5 ounce too light based on NMRA RP-20.1. The car’s Accumate couplers are mounted .020″ below the NMRA standard coupler height.
Atlas offers these superb models decorated for British Columbia Ry.(green), Canadian National (brown), and Grand Trunk Western (blue).
