Micro-Trains - 099 00 220 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, Evans 4780 - Union Pacific - 23249

Specific Item Information: This 3-bay high-side covered hopper is grey with black lettering and runs on Barber Roller Bearing trucks. Built in the late 1960s as part of series 22900-23399, this class CH-90-14 hopper was 4,700 cubic feet in capacity. It was serviced and repainted in late 1992.

Model Information: Micro-Trains first released this model in 2006. It is a model of the Evans three bay covered hopper which was first built in 1966. This tooling has been used to model both Evans 4750 and 4780 prototypes.

Prototype History: Distinguished by its unique Youngstown corrugated roof, the Evans 4780 Covered Hopper is a common prototype with uncommon features. Beginning with the first production order in December of 1976, Evans produced over 4,000 hoppers during the five-year production period. Popular among Nebraska cooperatives and lessees, the Evans 4780 has plied the rails everywhere in North America. Since the late 1970s the 55' Evans 4780 Covered Hopper has been a grain-hauling favorite.

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: 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