AZL - 91352-1 - Flatcar, 73 Foot, Centerbeam - Arkansas-Oklahoma - 29424

Specific Item Information: Centerbeam flatcars, centerbeams or center partition railcars are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, wallboard, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal I-beam, often in the form of a Vierendeel truss, sometimes reinforced by diagonal members. They must be loaded symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other to avoid tipping over.

Prototype History: Centerbeam flatcars, centerbeams, center partition railcars or commonly referred to as lumber racks are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, wallboard, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal I-beam, often in the form of a Vierendeel truss, sometimes reinforced by diagonal members, but originally in the form of stressed panels perforated by panel-lightening "opera windows", often oval, egg-shaped or rectangular. They must be loaded symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other to avoid tipping over.

Road Name History: This company was launched in 1996 by the Donoley family to operate a 73 mile line from McAlester to Howe and a 36 mile line from Oklahoma City to Shawnee, all in Oklahoma. Howe is just 7 miles from the Arkansas border so having Arkansas in their name isn't too much of a stretch. Both lines had been segments of Rock Island's Choctaw Route from Memphis to Tucumcari. Shortly after the Rock Island closed in 1980, MKT took over operation of these lines, followed by Union Pacific after their merger. In addition to these routes, AOK provides switching services to an automobile logistics facility in Midwest City, Oklahoma. You might get the impression that AOK owns many thousands of freight cars due to the ubiquity of those reporting marks but in fact Arkansas-Oklahoma leases their AOK reporting marks to Greenbrier Leasing. This is done because there are differences in how cars with railroad reporting marks and cars with private owner reporting marks (which end in X) are billed for movement when empty.

Read more on the company website.

Brand/Importer Information: AZL is the leader in North American Z scale locomotives and rolling stock. Since 2000, AZL has released a vast variety of freight, passenger and locomotives. AZL continues to push the boundaries of Z scale with amazing details and incredible performance. No matter if you are looking to run steam, or the most modern diesels, AZL has something for you.