InterMountain - 68716-03 - Flatcar, 53 Foot AAR - Chessie System - 9153

Specific Item Information: Date: RPKD 10-73

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: Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and several smaller carriers. It was incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, and it acquired the C&O (which controlled the other companies) on June 15. C&O had been popularly known as "Chessie System" since the 1930s.

The three railroads had been closely related since the 1960s. C&O had acquired controlling interest in B&O in 1962, and the two had jointly controlled WM since 1967.

On November 1, 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation. However, the Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re-painted equipment until mid-1986, when CSX introduced its own paint scheme. The B&O and C&O were not legally merged out of existence until 1987, when the company's official successor, CSX Transportation was founded.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Chessie System was the creation of Cyrus S. Eaton and his prot?g? Hays T. Watkins, Jr., then president and chief executive officer of C&O. A chief source of revenue for the Chessie System was coal mined in West Virginia. Another was the transport of auto parts and finished motor vehicles.

The signature symbol of the Chessie System was its "Ches-C", a large emblem incorporating the outline of the C&O's famous "Chessie" the kitten logo. The Ches-C was emblazoned on the front of all Chessie System locomotives, and also served as the "C" in "Chessie System" on the locomotive's flanks, and on other rolling stock. The Chessie System itself did not own any locomotives or other rolling stock; rather, equipment would be placed on the roster of one of the three component railroads. While all three companies shared a common paint scheme of yellow, vermillion, and blue, actual ownership of the equipment was denoted by the reporting marks C&O, B&O, or WM.

From 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.