Micro-Trains - NSC 98-06 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, ACF 4650 - GATX Corporation - 74507

Specific Item Information: "Caspo". Only 300 made.

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: GATX Corporation (NYSE: GMT) is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe. In addition, GATX leases locomotives in North America, and also has significant investments in industrial equipment. GATX derives its name from its primary reporting mark for its North American railcars, "GATX". The mark itself was derived from GATX's prior corporate name, General American Transportation Corporation. Since all non-railroad owners of railcars must append an "X" to the end of their mark, GAT became GATX. The General American Transportation Corporation became GATX Rail Corporation, a unit of the GATX Corporation, on January 1, 2000.

GATX mainly applies the GATX mark to tank cars, although the mark has been used in other examples such as with hoppers; GATX's primary freight car marks are GACX (for general-service freight cars), GGPX (for coal cars), GIMX (for intermodal cars), GPLX (for plastic pellet cars), GMTX and LLPX (for locomotives), and GPFX (for pressure-differential cars). GATX also owns a number of other marks, including GABX, GAEX, GFSX, GOHX, GSCX, IPSX, and TRIX. Many GATX cars carry a large "GATX" logo in the upper right-hand corner of the car regardless of the reporting mark they carry; this logo is applied for marketing reasons and does not have any operational significance.
GATX engages in both full-service and net leasing of railcars. In a full-service lease, a GATX-owned mark is applied to the car, and GATX maintains the railcar and pays for any required property insurance and property taxes. In a net lease, the lessee applies its mark to the car, and the lessee pays for any required property insurance and property taxes. Often, on a net-leased car, there is no evidence of GATX ownership, although some net lease cars carry a GATX logo.
The most common type of car in the GATX North American fleet is the tank car; other major car types include covered hoppers, open-top hoppers, and gondolas. GATX invests in nearly every type of railcar operated in North America. In Europe, tank cars also make up GATX's largest fleet, but unlike in North America, GATX's European fleet includes substantial quantities of intermodal cars which are owned in a GATX joint venture called AAE Cargo. In contrast, GATX's North American intermodal car fleet is relatively small. This is true of most North American operating lessors; historically the bulk of the industry's intermodal investment has been made by TTX Corporation, which is jointly owned by North America's Class I railroads. X Corporation, which is jointly owned by North America's Class I railroads.

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