Product Title: Atlas 3001628-1 UNION PACIFIC/SP PATCH 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper PREMIER Gray/Black O Scale
Manufacturer: Atlas
Scale: O
Condition: Item Condition: C-9, Box Condition P-8
Operational Status: This item is assumed to be fully operational according to the manufacturer's specifications.
TCA Condition/Grading Standards: C-9: Factory New—Brand New: all original; unused; may evidence factory rubs and the slightest evidence of handling, shipping and having been test run at the factory.
TCA Box Grading Standards: P-8: Like New: Complete and all original. Evidence of light use and aging, additional notations since leaving publisher or manufacturer. Contents of box may be missing.
Photos: Stock
Manufacturer Information:
Although covered hoppers had achieved widespread use by the 1950s, it wasnt until the following decade that they began to carry North Americas grain harvest. Prior to the 1960s, U.S. and Canadian farmers sent their wheat and other grains to market in 40 box cars. The crop was packed in sacks or in cars with disposable grain doors that covered most of the door opening and turned the car into a rolling grain bin. Either way, loading and unloading was labor-intensive and time-consuming.
All that changed with American Car and Foundrys (ACFs) introduction of the Centerflow covered hopper in 1961, followed the next year by Pullman-Standards competitive PS-2CD covered hopper. Prior to the Centerflow, the typical covered hopper was little more than a coal hopper with a roof. Dry products such as salt were loaded through roof hatches and unloaded by gravity through doors in the floor. Like most freight cars of their era, these cars had a center sill. This support beam ran down the middle of the car between the left and right sets of unloading doors, and that led to problems in emptying the car. Typically some of the load would cake or bridge on the center sill, and the car would have to be vibrated to loosen the mess and achieve full unloading. Of course the vibration tended to shorten the life of the car.
The Centerflows key innovation was the elimination of the center sill by relocating the cars main support beams to the bottom edge of each side. This enabled the discharge hopper doors to be located along the centerline of the car, allowing for easier, more complete unloading and banishing the problem of caking on the center sill. In addition, the car sides were curved to allow for more complete filling of the car. Stub center sills at each end provided a place to mount the trucks. The Centerflow was the first larger-capacity covered hopper designed for grain and products of similar density.
By the 1980s, ACFs Centerflow, along with covered grain hoppers from other builders, had spelled the end of the 40 box car in grain service. In addition to grain, Centerflows found work hauling a variety of other light to medium-density dry commodities, including salt, clay, chemicals, phosphates and other minerals.
Features:
- Intricately Detailed Durable ABS Body
- Metal Wheels and Axles
- Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
- Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
- Colorful, Attractive Paint Schemes
- Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
- Needle-Point Axles
- 1:48 Scale Dimensions
- Unit Measures:13 7/8 x 2 11/16 x 3 7/8
- Operates On O-31 Curves (3-Rail)