Model suggestion - ACF 1958 cf covered hoppers

[nkalanaga]

Any manufacturer looking for a prototype, from the late steam/early diesel era, to produce in N scale might want to consider the "ACF" 1958 cu ft 2-bay covered hopper, the common "cement hopper" of the period.

These were built by ACF, P-S (before they designed the PS-2), General American, and probably others, but they all seem to look alike, with the channel posts at the bolsters, and the triangular side cutouts.  Many roads, including the CB&Q, NP, and MILW, built their own copies, often with solid sides.  They could be seen almost everywhere, from before WW II to the early 1980s, usually hauling cement, or similar materials.

There have been three models made that I know of, only one of which might be considered "in production".  The first was by Arnold/Rapido.  I never actually saw this one, but they also marketed it, without the roof, as an "operating hopper car", which I did buy.  It could be unloaded automatically, with a proper ramp, but the one I bought, way back when, didn't look right, so I put a roof on it.  Other than being a little too long, it's a surprisingly good reproduction, especially for the early days of N scale.  Spookshow says these seem to have been introduced in the 1980s, and presumably only sold through Walthers, but I've always thought mine was older than that.

Then came the Deluxe Innovations model, which they got from V-Line.  Most of mine are from the original maker.  The proportions are good, but they're not the most detailed, definitely a basic model.  Neither of these seem to be available today, and both companies are apparently out of business.

Kato made a nice model of a copy, with the solid sides, but doesn't seem to be interested in selling them.  The one pair I have, in CB&Q, are well done, but Kato chose an unusual black paint scheme.  It's prototypical, but not "typical" of the CB&Q, which probably didn't help sales.  The clip-on trucks are hard to change, which is another disadvantage, but that doesn't make much difference, as it's almost impossible to find one anyway.

So, here's a car that was very common, had few major variations, and could be sold in many roadnames.  With a little extra work, both side variations could be made, and either one should be a good seller, if the cars were readily available.  Most of the roads chose simple lettering, and decals are available for many, so even those modeling minor owners could easily paint their own.

Any takers?

[cfritschle]

The first was by Arnold/Rapido.  I never actually saw this one, but they also marketed it, without the roof, as an "operating hopper car", which I did buy.  It could be unloaded automatically, with a proper ramp, but the one I bought, way back when, didn't look right, so I put a roof on it.  Other than being a little too long, it's a surprisingly good reproduction, especially for the early days of N scale.  Spookshow says these seem to have been introduced in the 1980s, and presumably only sold through Walthers, but I've always thought mine was older than that.

I have a Revell/Rapido N Gauge Microtrains version of the Arnold Rapido 2-bay covered hopper that I purchased in the late 1960s or very early 1970s.  I still have the box it came in.  The label on the end reads "N-2557 CEMENT HOPPER / Chicago & Northwestern / Made in West-Germany"

It also has a price tag the reads SPECIAL $1.39. 

[bbussey]

Kato last released the model 18 months ago, so they haven’t abandoned the model. It’s unlikely that another manufacturer will tackle the prototype with an active model in the scale. Your best option is to convince Kato to tool the open side variation. But of note is that if the demand for the prototype was overwhelming, the model would be released more frequently.

[Mark5]

The first was by Arnold/Rapido.  I never actually saw this one, but they also marketed it, without the roof, as an "operating hopper car", which I did buy.  It could be unloaded automatically, with a proper ramp, but the one I bought, way back when, didn't look right, so I put a roof on it.  Other than being a little too long, it's a surprisingly good reproduction, especially for the early days of N scale.  Spookshow says these seem to have been introduced in the 1980s, and presumably only sold through Walthers, but I've always thought mine was older than that.

The Arnold Rapido car is definitely 1960s tooling.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Mark5]

If you want eight of them, the Kato are easy to find. 

https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/kato-n-1064650-2-bay-covered-hoppers-acf-8-car-set

[learmoia]

Our LHS just sold 30 Katos for $3 each...

The issues with the Kato's is that they did 1 run in pairs.. and nobody bought them (at the time).. It has taken years to sell out the first run.
The price, clip on trucks didn't help either.

I got a few to see if I can make ballast hoppers and the design doesn't lend itself to that at all (it has an inner and outer side wall).
Body and roof is one piece.
Under frame end ends is another piece.. but the under frame has side walls that extend to the top of the car.

(I really hope MTL designs their PS2 with a removable roof and to accept ballast doors)
 

[thomasjmdavis]

I bought 6 (3 pairs) of ATSF cars when they first came out- so I feel like I've done my part.  I recall reading a review at the time, and deciding they were close enough to a Ga-?? to make me happy. I considered the 8 pack of a couple years ago, but don't really need 8 more for any reason I can think of, and more particularly, do not need those particular paint schemes, or the bother of having to figure out which ones are good for 1955-56 (the planned layout).  Apparently a lot of folks agree with me, if MBK still has 26 sets available (as I write this).

On the other hand, the MBK price (I put a set in the cart just to see) works out - if I read it right and did the math- to less than $11/car, which is less than what some folks on eBay are asking for old Roco tooled boxcars.  Might be almost worth it to buy some to re-paint and letter in other roadnames.  Or buy the set and trade them with your friends to get the roadname you prefer, and then re-number.

I also have a couple of the V-line/Di cars, and a V line kit still in the bag.

Our LHS just sold 30 Katos for $3 each...

Hmmm....maybe I need to move after the real estate market gets back to normal.  That sounds like my kinda hobby shop. 

 

[Missaberoad]

Fwiw, Kato modeled all the interior bracing on their ACF cars.
All you have to do to make a convincing open side car is cut out the triangles...

The latest 8 pack release is still the original run! Kato must have made a million of them 

[wazzou]

The latest 8 pack release is still the original run! Kato must have made a million of them 

You could even say they are the RDC of freight cars.

[reinhardtjh]

Fwiw, Kato modeled all the interior bracing on their ACF cars.
All you have to do to make a convincing open side car is cut out the triangles...

I bought all 4 available C&O cars a number of years ago after seeing an article somewhere about doing just that.  The C&O all had the open side if I remember correctly.  Of course, since I got them I have decided to move my C&O era back to 1947-ish and now all 4 are too new. 

Nevermind.  Got crossed and was thinking of the PS-2.  The Kato 1958cu ft hoppers are the C&O LO class built in 1937/38. 50 cars (400-449) with another 200 similar cars built by GATX in 1946.

[spookshow]

I'm not sure where I got the idea that the Arnold cars came out in the 80's. Looking at my Arnold catalogs now I see that they were available all the way back in '68/'69. So, I've corrected my web page.

Thanks,
-Mark

[nkalanaga]

Mark5:  Thank you for the picture!  It looks like the covered version didn't have the operating hopper doors, as there's no lever for them.

Mine still does, since all I did was build a roof, replace the body bolsters, and add KD trucks and truck-mounted couplers.  (I still have a LOT of trucks that predate the KD/MT split)

As others have said, Kato made the one run, and no other roadnames since then,  They just keep readvertising the same cars.

But, I guess we'll never see a widely available version, as long as Kato still has a pile.  And yet, we have four companies making 2-bay Center Flows, that I know of.

[thomasjmdavis]

While doing a bit of research on the ATSF versions (Kato got it right- the closest ATSF version is a Ga-67, also quite similar to several other classes), the SFRHMS review referenced a 25 year old article in Railmodel Journal (Nov '95 p.31 - available on the Trainlife site)  by Bill Pierce on upgrades for the Loco-motives/V-Line/Deluxe versions, as well as the 90s era version of the PS-2 by Atlas.  The SFRHMS review suggested using that as a guide for upgrades to the Kato as well.  Granted, it is an older article, so there may be additional resources available nowadays, but thought it might be helpful.

http://magazine.trainlife.com/rmj_1995_11/

There is a second article in the same issue (p 52) devoted to photos of PS-2s, a handy guide for folks who are looking to detail those models.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'm not sure where I got the idea that the Arnold cars came out in the 80's. Looking at my Arnold catalogs now I see that they were available all the way back in '68/'69. So, I've corrected my web page.

Thanks,
-Mark

There WAS a model of the car that came out in the 80s though. Was that the same one that became the Deluxe car?

[Missaberoad]

There WAS a model of the car that came out in the 80s though. Was that the same one that became the Deluxe car?

V line and later Loco-motives, deluxe did eventually acquire them...

I'm so conflicted by these cars, the tooling is definitely sub par, but deluxe did some awesome schemes on it...