It’s a replica of the high-capacity, 87-ton cars built by Greenville Steel Car Co. starting in the early 1970s. Each car can haul 7,526 cu. ft. of wood chips.
This hopper is a whopper – 25 feet longer and 3½ feet taller than a modern coal hopper. It measures a scale 73′-3″ long, 10′-2″ wide, and 16′-2″ tall. All of these dimensions are close to those of the cars in the 150-car group listed in the April 1981 Official Railway Equipment Register . The car has a molded styrene body with well-executed embossed side panels and fine rivet details. A heavy zinc-alloy casting makes up the center sill and fills the concealed spaces beneath the hoppers. This gives the car an overall six-ounce weight which matches the National Model Railroad Association’s recommendation of 1 ounce plus ½ ounce per inch of length.
Separate factory-applied detail parts represent the brake system, hopper doors, and interior bracing.
Triangular interior braces and cross-ties are required to stabilize the car’s high sides. Four wire grab irons are provided for the end sills, but the purchaser must drill no. 80 holes in eight places to mount them.
The model comes with Bachmann E-Z Mate magnetic knuckle couplers mounted in coupler boxes; the lids are secured with small screws. However, the coupler height is a bit low.
Our sample features brass needle-point axles and RP25-contour scale 33″-diameter wheels; the prototype car has 36″ wheels. Substituting scale 36″ wheels improves the appearance and solves the coupler height problem. Our sample cars came neatly spray painted with sharply printed lettering. Three car numbers are available (one on the single car and two different numbers on the two-car sets).
This is an interesting modern HO car for modelers of southeastern railroads. It’s the perfect car to serve a wood chip plant like the one published in the October 2002 issue of Model Railroader.
Price:
single cars, $19.98;
two-car sets, $39.98
Manufacturer:
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
P. O. Box 3039
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3039
www.walthers.com
Description:
Ready-to-run plastic freight car
Road names:
CSX, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Kansas City Southern, Missouri Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Seaboard System, Southern, Union Pacific, and
Undecorated
