Micro-Trains - 099 53 270 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, Evans 4780 - Farmrail - 1003

Specific Item Information: Part of 993 02 140 Farmrail 5-pack

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: Farmrail is one of several lines to be born from the 1980 shutdown of Rock Island. Beginning operations in 1981, Farmrail has a “t” shaped system running from Erick to Weatherford on one axis and Westhorn to Elmer on the other with the junction in Clinton, all in western Oklahoma. The total mileage is 186 (putting it between Columbus & Greenville and Bessemer & Lake Erie in relative size.) The Erick to Weatherford line is owned by the Oklahoma DOT with Farmrail being the designated operator.

They run the line with one SW7, one GP7, four GP9’s, and eight GP10’s. All geeps have had their short hoods lowered and carry a paint scheme that would be right at home on a carton of eggs. Nearly all of the units are named after Native-American tribes. Farmrail’s sister railroad Grainbelt runs parallel to the Westhorn – Elmer line but to the east. In recent years, Farmrail and Grainbelt have been picking up used GP38’s (in a couple of varieties) to help with heavier trains. Traffic supporting the oil business has either been substantial or absent – depending on the market price for crude at any given time.

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