Brooklyn Locomotive Works - 65203-B3 - Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, Cylindrical - North American Car - 455218

Specific Item Information: BLT: NEW 11-78

Model Information: These models are available in two different configurations - "Trough" hatches or "Round" hatches. Prior to their more recent "Ready-To-Run" state, they were available in kit form. Intermountain doesn't actually specify a prototype for this model, but it appears to be based on an NSC (National Steel Car) 4750 cf hopper.

Prototype History: ACF introduced their roundish cylindrical hoppers in the early 1960s. The cars differed greatly from the ribbed sided hoppers of the era. They have been made in 3-bay and 6-bay variations. These cylindrical hoppers were superseded on ACF’s production line by the Centerflow in 1964, a revolutionary design that influenced later covered hopper types. In the late 60s or early 70s Canada came out with 4-bay covered hoppers that appear to be derived from ACF’s pre-Centerflow cylindrical hoppers. These cars were used by CN, CP and various smaller Canadian shippers. There is some question as to why the Canadian builder based their design off the older cylindrical and not ACF’s newer Centerflow. It was likely a patent issue and copying it could have triggered legal action against the Canadian builders. There are also certain structural design differences between the cylindrical and centerflow cars and perhaps the decision to copy the cylindrical was based on the greater volume capacity of the cylindrical design.

Road Name History: The successful North American Car Company of Chicago, was incorporated in 1907. It grew and expanded, proving that the railcar leasing business could be quite profitable if well managed. North American was active in all the normal specialties of shipper lines, even including poultry. The company later became involved with the production of their own cars. They designed, produced and marketed tank cars, hoppers and boxcars. North American Car Corp. was based in Chicago, Illinois at 222 South Riverside Plaza.

In 1986 GE Railcar Services Corp. acquired the assets of North American Car Corp. GE acquired ~35000 railcars and 14 maintenance units in North America at a cost of $420 million. North American Car, a unit of Tiger International Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Los Angeles in December, 1984. NACC had been Tiger International's only profitable unit.

Brand/Importer Information: Brooklyn Locomotive works is a hobby shop that is located in Manalapan, New Jersey. Pete A. Postel founded BLW in 1979. They specialize in N Scale although they claim to cover other scales as well. In addition to serving as a volume discounter with competitive pricing for N Scale hobbyists, Brooklyn Locomotive works also often works with various manufacturers to create their own line of branded special runs. These special runs are usually only available through their retail operation (online or storefront). They also worked for a limited time in the early 1980s as a custom decorator. They bought undecorated kits from Micro-Trains and painstakingly custom painted and decaled a series of cars for collectors.