Description
These 2-Bay War Emergency Composite Hopper cars were built during the Second World War with wood siding and slope sheets at the direction of the War Production Board in hopes of saving as much steel as possible for the war effort. This was especially the case with hoppers that were usually built with copper-bearing steel to resist corrosion. The car sides were built with the Pratt truss design using a combination of vertical and diagonal ribs.
These ready-to-run N scale cars feature: die cast slope sheet-hopper bay-center sill assembly; injection molded plastic sides, ends, and hopper doors; fully molded brake tank, valve and air lines; body mounted brake hose detail; removeable load; body mounted magnetically operating knuckle couplers; close coupling; and Fox Valley Models metal wheels.
Burlington Route built their 1,000 car fleet of 2-bay composite hoppers at their own Havelock, Nebraska shops in 1944. As was their custom, the paint scheme included “Way of the Zephyrs” on one side and “Everywhere West” on the other. Due to the rib arrangement, Havelock made special stencils for the mottos with different lettering angles for each side.
