Micro-Trains - NSE MTL 12-85 - Flatcar, Heavy Duty - Union Pacific - 50022

Specific Item Information: The Space Shuttle is made up of three components. There is the Shuttle itself, which returns to earth after the mission. There is the external fuel tank, which stays up in space after launch, and there are the Solid ROcket Boosters, which attach to the side of the Assembly, and can float back to earth after they perform their launch assist. The train consists of the carriers of those boosters. Each booster is made up of a stack of 4 booster sections, a top cone, and a bottom thruster assembly. They ride on special cars from the plant of Morton Thiokol (now ATK Launch Systems) in Utah to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cars are oversize, so always travel with a clearance gauge car to assure they do not get stuck under a bridge along the way. The train stopped running after 30 years of service in 2011.

Road Name History: The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and employs 42,600 people. It is also one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.

Read more on Wikipedia and on Union Pacific official website.

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: N Scale Kits (American Freight Cars) is a UK-based manufacturer of American N scale freight car kits.

Masterpiece Models manufactures and sells high quality resin assembly kits. Featuring kits for a variety of interests including WWII, Vietnam, Sci-fi, and aircraft bases. The company is located in Vancouver, WA, USA.

Commissioner Information: The N Scale Enthusiast Society (previously known as The N Scale Collector until 2011) was established by Wick Brandon, as a sole proprietorship and was a stand alone company until Wick passed away in 2000. The company has been owned by Micro Trains Line since then.

Wick was the founder of TexNRails and he established NSE right after he sold the pioneering N Scale retailer to the Herz family, and the store moved to Florida. Wick and Lea moved their family from Texas to Bakersfield California, and the entire operation was run from his home in Bakersfield. George Johnsen, the current Chairman, came on board as Associate Editor starting with the third issue of the magazine, and the growth of the organization hasn’t stopped. Wick and George did the first convention in Medford in 1993, and added staff and advisors as the organization grew. Wick held the first auction for the NSE in 1995.

The NSE mission statement reads: “This organization is dedicated to the preservation of the history of N Scale Model Railroading, and the railroads they represent.”

They do:
- Special Run Cars
- Regular Auctions of "collectable" Cars
- Annual Conventions
- Bi-Monthly Magazine