N Scale 4-Bay Cylindrical Grain Hopper - Great Northern #171021
First developed in the late 1960s, the Cylindrical Hopper was both unique in appearance and enjoyed better structural integrity than the available alternatives of the time. While the type saw modest success in the United States, it was the amount purchased by Canadian interests that led to its widespread use. Due to aging rolling stock with limited capacity, Canadian wheat farmers were experiencing supply-chain issues in getting their goods to market. To help rectify this, the Canadian Government purchased a whopping 13,000 cars between 1970 and 1990 for shared use between Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While more were purchased by individual railroads, it was these government-sponsored cars that turned heads, thanks to their vibrant red, orange, and blue paint schemes, proudly advertising Canadian wheat and the provinces it was grown in. Today, many of these cars remain in service, and thanks to the sheer number produced, they can be spotted in both unit trains and on mixed freights across North America.
Features include:
- Silver Series® rolling stock – fully assembled
- highly detailed painted bodies with precision graphics
- blackened, machined-metal wheels with RP25 contours
- body-mounted E-Z Mate® Mark II couplers
- non-magnetic, blackened-brass axles with needlepoint bearings
- Celcon® trucks
- added weight for optimum tracking performance
- N Scale 1:160