Price: $27.95 to $29.75
Manufacturer
Micro-Trains Line Co.
351 Rogue River Pkwy.
Talent, OR 97540-1200
www.micro-trains.com
Era: 1970 to present
Road names: Norfolk Southern (post-1982 company), BNSF Ry. (buffer service), CSX, and General American. Two road numbers per scheme.
Comments: A General American Transportation Corp. 4,180-cubic-foot- capacity Airslide covered hopper is the latest addition to the Micro-Trains product lineup. The model has a one-piece injection-molded plastic body, etched-metal crossover platforms, separate hatch covers, and a see-through plastic running board. The plastic underbody is a one-piece casting with molded brake appliances and discharge outlet cover plates. The Airslide piping is separately applied.
General American used three different body styles on the 4180 Airslide covered hopper, which was produced from 1965 to 1980. The Micro-Trains car is based on the final version, produced between 1970 and 1980.
The Airslide covered hopper is used to transport granular, dry, and powdered materials. Examples include sugar, flour, cement, and PVC resin.
The Micro-Trains Airslide covered hopper closely matches dimensions published in the 1980 edition of The Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia (Simmons-Boardman). One minor error is that the car uses 33″ plastic wheelsets, but should have 36″ wheels. This can be corrected with plastic wheelsets from Micro-Trains or metal versions from Fox Valley Models.
Our sample is lettered for Norfolk Southern. The gray paint is smooth and evenly applied, and all of the lettering is legible under magnification.
I tested the car in a train on our Red Oak project layout from 2015. The car negotiated the 13″ radius curves and Peco no. 6 medium turnouts while being pushed and pulled without incident.
Micro-Trains has done a great job re-creating the final version of General American’s 4,180-cubic-foot capacity Airslide covered hopper. The prototype has been a workhorse for more than four decades, and on some railroads the cars are getting a new lease on life as buffer cars on crude oil trains.
