Manufacturer
ExactRail
251 W. River Park Dr., Suite 300
Provo, Utah 84604
www.exactrail.com
Road names: RTIX – RTI RR Services (2 versions); Burlington Northern; Chicago & North Western; SEPX Southwestern Electric Power Co.; Union Pacific; and undecorated.
Era: 1979 to present
Comments: Modelers looking for an accurately detailed HO scale car that’s appropriate for a modern-era unit coal train should check out this FMC 4000 gondola from ExactRail.
During the 1970s many railroads started hauling low-sulfur western coal in long unit trains made up of high-side gondolas with rotary couplers. These cars could be dumped without uncoupling. Utility companies bought large fleets of these gondolas from FMC Corp. and other builders. Many of these cars are now used to haul scrap metal or railroad ties.
The ExactRail model matches a prototype diagram in the 1997 Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice (Simmons-Boardman) The model’s body and frame are plastic with well-defined molded details. The frame casting includes realistic narrow coupler boxes. Kadee no. 5 magnetic knuckle couplers are mounted at the correct height per National Model Railroad Association standards. The cast-metal floor provides much of the car’s 4 ounce weight, which is .3 ounce too light according to NMRA RP-20.1.
The car rides on ExactRail’s rigid frame American Steel Foundries (ASF) 100-ton Ride Control trucks. It has RP-25 contour metal wheels and needle-point metal axles. All of the wheelsets are in gauge.
Our sample was smoothly painted, and its lettering was clearly printed (even the small data was readable).
Midwestern modelers will want trainloads of these well-done unit coal train cars. – Jim Hediger, senior editor
