Deluxe Innovations - 712912 - Trailer, Box Van, 53 Foot - Heartland Express

Prototype History: For the longest time, the 48-foot dry van was the de facto standard in trucking, owing largely to older regulations which limited the overall length of the vehicle to 75 feet. Once the length laws went bye-bye in the late 1980s, the industry was quick to adopt the now-ubiquitous 53-foot vans - room for thirteen rows of pallets, plus a foot of leeway to make sure the doors could close easily. 53' are the longest that can go anywhere. Just checked with Caltrans for one of my projects and they said in CA 53' is max without special permit. Some states allow 57' (yep, they are out there, and they are BIG), but most will only do so by special permit. Truckers and shippers continue to push for 57' everywhere, along with double/triples (2 53' or 53' + 28' or 3 - 28'), plus heavier load limits. Watch out; if 57' and heavier loads become permissible everywhere, plus double/triples, large amounts of intermodal will disappear back to the roads.

Box vans are known as such for their rectilinear proportions. Their simple design makes them easy to manufacture and maintain.

Road Name History: Heartland Express is a national truckload carrier with a regional focus, operating out of 9 hubs around the country.

Brand/Importer Information: DeLuxe Innovations is a "wholesale manufacturer" of model trains. We manufacture scale replica train models and sell them to hobby shops and distributors worldwide. 2013 marked the 20 year anniversary of DeLuxe Innovations brand trains. There are over 25 body styles in our product line and all of the cars in our single and multi-car packs have different road numbers. DeLuxe Innovations, Inc. is owned by Dave Ferrari, founder of Squeak N Products. We are located in Midland Park, New Jersey. When Dave purchased the business it was located in Burbank, California which would have been a bit of a long commute so the move to the East Coast was planned. Our first East Coast location was in Whippany, NJ along the Whippany River.

The business was started in 1993 by George Johnsen and Roberta Liebreich in Burbank, California. They had a philosophy that just wouldn't allow using a coal car as a "stand in" for a woodchip car, or printing any and all boxcar paint schemes on a PS-1. Starting with the release of the first ever etched metal parts for a ready to run car (1994's Twinstack's metal walkways) through the full dimension underframe and etched metal roofwalk (1996's 1944 AAR Boxcar) to the challenging RoadRailer system (2000), our products have been accurate to target the modeler or enthusiast.

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