Micro-Trains - 099 44 160 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, Evans 4780 - Iowa Chicago & Eastern - 50044

Specific Item Information: Ex- Soo Line

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 IC&E first appeared in 2002 when Washington Corp and Canadian Pacific sold the I&M Rail Link to a subsidiary of the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern. Like its predecessor, the 1,385 mile line was Y shaped with Chicago at the base, Kansas City on the southwestern leg and the Twin Cities on the northwestern leg. There were also 7 major branches, mostly on the northwestern leg in Iowa.

The 83 unit IC&E diesel fleet consisted of: 7 GP9’s 10 GP40-2’s 3 SD40-3’s 63 SD40-2’s

The official paint scheme was the same blue and yellow used on parent DM&E but with the IC&E name on the hood.

Where I&M Rail Link had earned less than stellar income from these lines, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern was quite successful. Parent DM&E began making noises about building into the Powder River Basin. This got the attention of Canadian Pacific who in 2007, offered to buy the DM&E and the IC&E. In 2008, the acquisition was approved. Later that year, with both lines now subsidiaries of Canadian Pacific, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern was merged into the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern. As you may remember, IC&E predecessor I&M Rail Link started as a spin-off of Canadian Pacific. So CP bought lines in 2008 at a premium price that it was happy to be rid of eleven years before.

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