Price: $33.95
Manufacturer
ExactRail
251 W. River Park Drive, Suite 300
Provo, Utah 84604
www.exactrail.com
Era: 2004 to present
Comments: It’s not all flatcars and intermodal for the TTX Corp. The freight company’s vast fleet includes thousands of 6,275 cubic foot, 50′-6″ boxcars, such as the prototype for this new ExactRail N scale model. Built by TrinityRail, the prototype no. 505347 was part of a 200-car lot delivered to TTX in 2004. The car is commonly used in paper service.
The model’s dimensions match those of a diagram included with TrinityRail sales literature.
The molded detail on the ExactRail car matches the prototype diagram and photos. The side and end rails are molded into the body shell. However, the corner steps and brake wheel are separate parts.
The car’s underside is as highly detailed as the body. The center sill, crossbearers, and floorboards are molded in the proper locations. The brake gear is separately applied, including the reservoir, triple valve, and brake cylinder. The brake rods and piping also are separate details.
The car is decorated as it appeared upon delivery in 2004. The TTX logo is sharply printed and opaque. All the reporting marks and warning stencils are legible under magnification. Even the FBOX reporting marks and car number are in the correct italic font. All the decoration matches photos of the prototype that I found online.
The model is available in 48 different road numbers, all from the same 505200 to 505399 car lot.
The yellow body color looks like that of the prototype with sharp separation lines between the white on the ends and silver on the roof. The orange delineator lines are also correctly placed along the bottom of the car sides.
The car weighs 1.1 ounces, which is correct per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1. The body-mounted knuckle couplers are mounted at the correct height per NMRA standard S-2.
Pressed on plastic axles, the car’s low-profile metal wheels are in gauge according to NMRA standard S-4.2. The wheels are chemically blackened, which helps dull the metal’s shiny look. Painting the wheel faces would make the parts look more realistic.
With a detail level that rivals many HO scale cars, these N scale boxcars are standout models of a common prototype found all over the North American rail system.
