InterMountain - 68709-05 - Flatcar, 53 Foot AAR - Penn Central - 715945

Specific Item Information: Built: P53 5-73

Model Information: The AAR designed 53-foot flatcar was an extremely successful product as a prototype. Prior to the release of this tooling from InterMountain, the only model of this car was a few small runs of the GHQ/deLuxe Innovations with their 50 ton flatcar. The InterMountain model is the first large production model of this prototype. InterMountain offers three versions of the car: a 50-ton a 70-ton and a bulkhead car. The car features blackened metal wheels and body-mounted couplers. The couplers, however, are unfortunately not MTL models. The underframe is detailed and accurate and grab irons are separately applied detail parts (wire I suspect). The brake wheel is mounted on a wire pole for added durability (though on my sample car, the wheel had broken off the pole...) The stirrups are molded on, but nice and thin. The deck planks and rivet detail all show nicely. The print quality is high quality (as we have come to expect from most post-1990 models).

Prototype History: General Service 53'-6" flat cars were constructed with a welded fish-belly frame. The fish-belly frame provided an optimal distribution of tension and compression forces from the center of the car to the bolsters. In addition, fabricating a welded frame was less labor intensive than an equivalent riveted frame. The welded frame proved extremely durable holding up to really rugged service where the wood deck or the nail-able wood-steel deck would need to be replace couple of times during the life of most cars. These flats commonly found it's way into maintenance-of-way service because they were still in good shape beyond the AAR interchange car-age limit.

A number of builders constructed these flat cars such as the Pacific Car & Foundry (P.C. & F.), Marine Industries (Canada), Pullman-Standard, Bethelehem Steel, and including individual railroad car shops such as the Milwaukee Road and the Southern Pacific.

They were designated as FM by the AAR mechanical people. They carried anything bulky that can't be placed in box cars from tractors to finished lumber.

Road Name History: The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Class I railroad headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1968 until 1976. It was created by the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad was added to the merger in 1969; by 1970, the company had filed for what was, at that time, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

The Penn Central was created as a response to challenges faced by all three railroads in the late 1960s. The northeastern quarter of the United States, these railroads' service area, was the most densely populated region of the U.S. While railroads elsewhere in North America drew a high percentage of their revenues from the long-distance shipment of commodities such as coal, lumber, paper and iron ore, Northeastern railroads traditionally depended on a mix of services.

As it turned out, the merged Penn Central was little better off than its constituent roads were before. A merger implementation plan was drawn up, but not carried out. Attempts to integrate operations, personnel and equipment were not very successful, due to clashing corporate cultures, incompatible computer systems and union contracts. Track conditions deteriorated (some of these conditions were inherited from the three merged railroads) and trains had to be run at reduced speeds. This meant delayed shipments and personnel working a lot of overtime. As a result, operating costs soared. Derailments and wrecks became frequent, particularly in the midwest.

The American financial system was shocked when after only two years of operations, the Penn Central Transportation company was put into bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. It was the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history at that time. Although the Penn Central Transportation Company was put into bankruptcy, its parent Penn Central Company was able to survive.

The Penn Central continued to operate freight service under bankruptcy court protection. After private-sector reorganization efforts failed, Congress nationalized the Penn Central under the terms of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. The new law folded six northeastern railroads, the Penn Central and five smaller, failed lines, into the Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail. The act took effect on April 1, 1976.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: InterMountain was founded in 1985 by Fred Brummet. They got started in the model railroad business by producing O-Scale model kits. They got started in the N Scale business almost a decade later when in 1994 they introduced the 40-23 reefer car in kit form. Later, in 1998, they started producing RTR (Ready-to-Run) models. By the early 2000s, InterMountain phased out kit production in favor of the RTR models.

The InterMountain Railway company is located at 1224 Boston Ave in Longmont, CO. They are a manufacturer of HO, N and Z scale model trains. They have produced kits as well as RTR (Ready-To-Run) models. Their N Scale products include locomotives as well as rolling stock. Their rolling stock lineup includes Boxcars, Hoppers, Tank Cars, Reefers, Gondolas, Stock Cars and Flatcars.

Their locomotive releases have primarily been diesel units, with the one major exception being their series of AC-12 Cab Forward steam locos. Their diesel lineup includes F3's, F7's, F9's, SD40's, SD45's and FT units. They are known for quality and detail. They also release their rolling stock in larger varieties of road numbers than most of the other manufacturers.