Pacific Western Rail Systems - 1-N1 - Container Car, Single Well, Thrall Lo-Pac 48 - TTX Company - 3 numbers

Specific Item Information:
In 1979, CN opened its new Brampton Intermodal Terminal (BIT) to service the Greater Toronto Area. Additional track capacity was added in the 1980s, but a significant increase in capacity was required soon after to meet the explosive growth in container movements forecast for the 1990s. In 1994, CN completed a $20 million upgrade that included new loading tracks, container staging areas, and a seven-lane entrance/exit gate. The completion of the expansion project coincided with the 15th anniversary of the terminal, creating a unique opportunity for CN to invite its customers to tour the expanded facility. As part of the celebration, a specially decorated container, #CNRU 290094, was used in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
PWRS was commissioned by CN to reproduce this unique container in miniature as part of a commemorative gift set to be given to customers attending the ceremonies. Only 200 sets were ordered by CN. These gift sets were the every first products ever produced by PWRS! They were recently discovered in PWRS' warehouse basement, and are being made available exclusively on PWRS' website.
Each set includes a Walthers N-scale Thrall Trailer-Train Double-Stack Platform, two Deluxe Innovations smooth-side 48'containers (one decorated in the traditional CN Laser paint scheme, and one copy of the special commemorative container # CNRU 290094), as well as a short section of Kato pre-ballasted track for use as a desk display, if desired. Each unit sold will also get a copy of an original photo of the prototype container.

Model Information: Model introduced by the end of the 1990's (single cars and 5-articulated car sets). These ready-to-run models feature authentically painted die-cast metal bodies for maximum weight and performance. Cars come equipped with free-rolling trucks.

Prototype History: Gunderson cars were selling like crazy. So well in fact that Gunderson couldn't keep up with the orders. Thrall wanted in on the business, but couldn't use Gunderson's proprietary design, so they came up with their LoPac 2000 low sided container car. The distinctive rib sides of the Thrall are a ready spotting feature that Thrall cars carry to this day. The Thrall cars were designed to take a 40 foot container in the bottom and a forty footer on top. Some of the cars were equipped with hard points to attach 2 20 footers in each well. All were able to carry a 40, 45, or 48 foot container in the upper position, once the use of IBC's (Inter Box Connectors) became common practice.

The LoPacs were contemporaries of the Twinstack, and sales efforts between the two companies were fevered. The Thrall group reached the lucrative APL company with their car, and snagged a number of sales. They made two distinct versions of the car for APL, and then sold them to other entities. The first was a "normal" well car for use with dry box containers. The second version was a powered version specifically designed to carry reefers. The car was colored red and a generator was mounted at one end. Extension cords were strung from the generator to each individual container to provide power to the reefer units mounted there. The Thrall braking arrangement on this car is the same as the Gunderson on the twinstack- one brakewheel at the B end. In later versions, there is a brakewheel painted orange at both the A and the B end. This arrangement indicates the longer 48 foot wells and dual braking system installed on the more recent production. Thrall has remained a force in Intermodal railroading with their more recent all purpose well car, continued 5 unit production, and many many spine cars. Their most recent product in the intermodal world is a three unit car capable of carrying 53 foot containers in the upper and lower positions of each well.

Road Name History: TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train until 1991) is a leading provider of railcars and related freight car management services to the North American rail industry. TTX's pool of railcars (over 220,000 cars and intermodal wells) is ideal for supporting shippers in the intermodal, automotive, paper & forest, metals, machinery, wind energy and other markets where flatcars, boxcars and gondolas are required.

Owned by North America's leading railroads, TTX's free-running pools provide fungible assets that minimize total empty miles, further lowering costs and minimizing risk for the industry, helping the railroads conserve their capital for other critical infrastructure needs. Customers easily recognize TTX's bright yellow cars as a consistent, high quality, well-maintained fleet that serves many transportation needs.

Brand/Importer Information: PWRS Retail strives to provide the highest level of customer service resulting in the highest level of customer satisfaction.
PWRS Retail Ltd. is a model railroad store, and we also do a lot of special runs.