Manufacturer
Atlas O
378 Florence Ave.
Hillside, NJ 07205
atlaso.com
Road names: BNSF (post-2005 herald), Chicago & North Western, Family Lines (Louisville & Nashville reporting marks), Illinois Central Gulf, Illinois Terminal, Soo Line. Also available undecorated.
Era: 1972 to present
Comments: O scale modelers can add modern-day grain hauling to their railroads with these Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot capacity grain hoppers from Atlas O. The models are part of the Trainman line, but they still have a lot of details, such as see-through running boards, sharp printing, and sprung trucks with rotating bearing caps.
Pullman-Standard built more than 54,000 of these three-bay, 18-exterior-post hopper cars starting in 1978. Atlas O offers its versions in six paint schemes from the early days of the car (such as the Illinois Terminal, which was merged into the Norfolk & Western in 1982) to the present day (BNSF, with modern herald and conspicuity striping).
The model’s major dimensions match diagrams printed in the 1990 Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia (Simmons-Boardman). The photo of a Soo Line hopper accompanying that drawing resembles Atlas’ Soo Line model, right down to the car number.
Our sample came equipped with body-mounted die-cast metal magnetic knuckle couplers, and its blackened metal wheelsets were in gauge. Atlas says the car will run on curves of 36″ minimum radius.
In addition to the running boards, the molded plastic brake wheel is also separately applied. The plastic ladders are molded in place and fairly thick. Neither the roof hatches nor the hopper doors open.
Smooth-rolling wheels and a crisp paint job make this car a worthy addition to modern O layouts.
