Price: $39.98
Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
5601 W. Florist Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
www.walthers.com
Road names: TTX (DTTX reporting marks with and without “Forward Thinking” slogan under modern TTX logo) and Northwestern Oklahoma (two road numbers). Three numbers per scheme unless noted.
Era: 2008 to present
Comments: A second intermodal car has been added to the WalthersProto series of HO scale freight cars. The Gunderson rebuilt 40-foot all-purpose well car features die-cast metal construction, etched-metal see-through running boards in plastic frames, wire grab irons, and weld lines on the body.
Our sample is decorated as DTTX no. 455643. The prototype started life as a 48-foot car built in 1994 (part of the DTTX 427000 through 427293 series) and was operated in a drawbar-connected three-unit set.
In 2008, the car was shortened by removing eight feet from the middle. During the rebuild, the fifth-wheel hitches were also removed. After rebuilding, the car was reassigned to the DTTX 455000 through 455881 series. It operates as a stand-alone car.
The Walthers model closely follows prototype data published in the January 2016 Official Railway Equipment Register (IHS Maritime & Trade, 2016). A few items were omitted, such as the grab irons on the ends and the lift rings on the sides.
Empty, the well car weighs 4.2 ounces, which is 1 ounce too light per National Model Railroad Association recommended practice 20.1. The body-mounted Proto-Max couplers are at the correct height. The 33″ metal wheelsets are correctly gauged.
The car operated smoothly in a train on our Wisconsin & Southern project layout, navigating the no. 5 turnouts and 30″ radius curves without incident. I tested 20-and 40-foot containers in the well, and both fit fine.
Kudos to Walthers for releasing the 40-foot version the Gunderson rebuilt well car. The car, along with the 53-foot version I reviewed in the April 2016 issue, will make great additions to any modern-era intermodal train.
