BLMA - 11014 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, PS-2-CD 4000 - Great Northern - 71754

Model Information: BLMA first released this model in October of 2009. This was the first appearance of this prototype in N Scale. This model is an excellent example of the company's willingness to push the boundaries of N Scale rolling stock. The brake detail, metal roofwalk and body-mount couplers along with the metal wheels helped set a new standard for N Scale when this model came out. The early BLMA releases feature MTL body-mount couplers whereas the Atlas releases use Accumate couplers. See a video of this model here on YouTube.

Features: Injection-molded plastic body; Fine-scale detail; Checmically etched roof walk and brake platform; Prototypical ride height; Accurately painted and printed; BLMA 100-ton trucks; BLMA 36" metal wheels; Brown knuckle couplers (MTL or Accumate - depending on Brand).

Prototype History: The PS-2CD 4000 cubic foot covered hopper was produced by Pullman-Standard between 1962 and 1964 in the company’s Butler PA shops. These cars led a very long service life, with some remaining in revenue service throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico until the early 2000s. One of the most distinctive Pullman covered hoppers, this common 90/100-ton car was mostly used in grain, malt, fertilizer, and similar bulk services. Here is a Pullman builder photo of a B&O PS4000.

These cars were built during a transitional period for covered hopper design. It was a time when customers were regularly using 40-foot boxcars for bulk commodity movements, and the inefficiencies of hand-loading and unloading boxcars were becoming issues for customers and railroads alike. Customers wanted faster loading and unloading processes, and railroads wanted the cars back sooner. The PS4000 was one of the first successful bulk commodity designs. The most common production version of these cars featured distinctive round hatches on the roof of the car.

Road Name History: The Great Northern was born in 1881 with the consolidation of several railroads of the northern plains under the leadership of James J. Hill. By 1893, the mainline from the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River to Seattle was complete.

The GN had two distinctly different characters. The eastern half was a largely flat, grain producing region serving cities like Fargo, the Twin Cities, Grand Forks, Duluth, Sioux Falls, Sioux City and even Winnipeg in Canada. The east end also included the iron ore rich regions of Minnesota. Half of North Dakota was blanketed by GN branchlines (21 in all) serving every imaginable grain elevator.

The western half is the mountainous portion that most people identify with Great Northern. This included crossing the northern Rockies and the even more difficult Cascade ranges. Cities on the western half included Billings, Butte, Helena, Havre, Spokane, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. In 1931, a connection to the Western Pacific was completed from Bieber north to Bend, Oregon. This line was disconnected from the rest of the Great Northern. They used trackage rights on the Oregon Trunk and SP&S to bridge the gap. The Cascade Tunnel, the longest on the continent at 7.8 miles, wasn’t completed until 1931. Construction included a massive sluiceway and hydro-electric power station to feed the electrified line through the tunnel and several miles of railroad on either side. This replaced the original Cascade Tunnel which was a third as long but 500 feet higher up the mountain. That replaced the original route that was another 700 feet higher, had 4% grades and 50 miles of snowsheds. All told, Great Northern had about 8,300 route miles.

The steam era was especially unkind to the Great Northern. They seemed to go out of their way to make their locomotives ugly. Belpaire fire boxes were the norm (made famous by the Pennsylvania, made hideous on the GN.) Headlights were often mounted just above center giving them a spinster look. Cab fronts were often at odd angles. The tender coal bunkers were often taller than the engines. But it wasn’t just aesthetics. GN had a knack for buying the wrong engines for the job. 150 Prarie type 2-6-2’s were so unstable at speed that they were busted down to branchline duty almost straight away and none survived after about 1930. Their first 4-8-2 Mountains built for passenger and fast freight were such a disaster, they were rebuilt into 2-10-2’s. Many railroads had built Mountains out of Mikes but no one had ever started with a Mountain and had to build something else from it. The first 2-6-6-2’s were so under-powered, the boilers were used to make Mikados instead. They did manage to build the largest, fastest, and most powerful Mikados in the country however. Their articulated fleet included 2-6-6-2, 2-6-8-0 (later rebuilt into Mikes), 2-8-8-0, 2-8-8-2 types as well as a pair of Challengers originally delivered to SP&S. Many engines were dressed up with green boilers and boxcar red cab roofs.

For the first generation of diesels, GN bought like many large railroads did: a sampling from everyone. Cab and hood units from EMD and Alco and switchers from EMD, Alco, and Baldwin populated the roster. GN’s first generation geeps and SD’s were delivered with the long hood as the front. This included their GP20’s which had high short hoods and the long hood as the front. Aside from an early black scheme for switchers, the GN fleet was delivered in Omaha Orange and green with yellow piping.

Beginning with the arrival of GP30s in 1962, the paint scheme was simplified by dropping the bottom orange band and the yellow piping. For the second generation, General Electric replaced Alco as a supplier of new road engines.

In 1962, some GN freight cars began to appear in Glacier Green which ran along side the vermilion paint adopted in 1956. In 1967, they went for a major shift. Sky Blue, white, and dark gray were joined by a new version of the Rocky the goat logo. There was talk that this would become the paint scheme for Burlington Northern. The GN name and logo was painted on a steel panel bolted the the hand railings of hood units, making it easier to remove after the merger. For whatever reason, they went with green, black and white, a version of which was simultaneously being tested on the Burlington Route. In 1970, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Spokane Portland & Seattle, and Burlington Route merged to form Burlington Northern.

Brand/Importer Information: BLMA Models was founded in July of 2000 to bring Z, N, and HO Scale products of superior quality and originality to the model train community. At BLMA Models, we understand that quality and accuracy count in producing realistic scale models. Our passion revolves around accuracy, diversity, innovation and satisfaction to prototype model railroaders by providing exceptional products and service that goes beyond your expectations.

BLMA was acquired by Atlas Model Railroad in January of 2016.