Micro-Trains - 094 44 460 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, ACF 4650 - Transportation Equipment - 247124

Prototype History: Production of the 4650-cubic foot 3-bay cars began in 1964. ACF built 2504 examples at Huntington, WV, between 1964 and 1972. The ACF 4650 c.f. 3-bay hopper was the same height and width as the 5250 c.f. 4-bay car but several feet shorter in length (and only had 3 bays!). Some railroads that were not concerned about having the larger plate C clearance 4650cf cars (which could not be used on all branchlines or at all loading facilities) opted for large fleets of 4650cf cars instead of 4600cf. UP and SP were two such railroads (all of the current UP 4600cf cars came from either MP or C&NW heritage).

Hatches: 6 30", 6 20", 3 pressed steel elongated (SP, SSW, 3 piece pressed steel continuous or 4 piece FRP continuous. Outlets: Several types of bolted or welded on outlets are used. Uses: Grain, soda ash, platic pellets. Trucks: 77 ton friction or roller bearing. 86 had 100 ton roller bearing.

Road Name History: Originally formed in 1981, Transportation Equipment, Inc. (TEI) is a privately held Texas Corporation engaged in the leasing, management and operation of railroad tank and covered hopper cars. With a fleet of cars approaching 3000 units, TEI supplies new and existing equipment on both full service and triple net leases serving the oil, petrochemical, food, plastic and agricultural industries across North America. The services provided by TEI are outlined below:

FULL SERVICE LEASING: The full service lease cars are being operated under the reporting marks of TEIX and TEAX. Full-service leases include the maintenance and taxes and insurance that customers would have to pay if they owned or net leased their cars. Generally these cars are leased for three to five year terms.

REMARKETING: The remarketing of railcars refers to matching lessees or owners of surplus cars with shippers having short-term needs. Typically these leases are for one year or less and follow a full service lease arrangement.

MANAGEMENT: In addition to operating its own cars, TEI manages, operates and leases cars for private investors on a third party basis. TEI sells both new and existing equipment to individuals or investor groups and provides leases and management agreements, which outline the responsibilities for the owners, manager and lessees.

FLEET MANAGEMENT: With the invention of "outsourcing", TEI has taken on the responsibility of managing fleets of covered hoppers and tank cars for owners / shippers. These duties could include tracing, maintenance review, repair bill auditing, mileage auditing, bill paying, subleasing, etc.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide