Mehano - 2242 - Open Hopper, 4-Bay Steel - Pennsylvania - 685000

Model Information: This model is a Mehano knockoff of the Roco 40 foot quad hopper. It was imported by Life-Like and Model Power. The Model Power models were also repainted by Aksarben for Eastern Seaboard Models.

Prototype History: The 1960s brought about a growth in car size (and capacity). Railroads that transported coal moved away from the older 2-bay 55-ton USRA standard to newer 90- and 100-ton three bay hoppers. These cars were effective and long-lived. Many railroads swapped out the trucks on these cars to increase the capacity to 100 tons. Many companies produced these, including Pullman, Bethlehem, Evans, Greenville, Trinity and Ortner. The offset side variant of these hoppers carried a little more capacity than their rib-sided cousins.

Road Name History: The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR) was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy," the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U.S. for the first half of the twentieth century. Over the years, it acquired, merged with or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At the end of 1925, it operated 10,515 miles of rail line; in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific or Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of PRR's ton-miles.

At one time, the PRR was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world, with a budget larger than that of the U.S. government and a workforce of about 250,000 people. The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row.

In 1968, PRR merged with rival NYC to form the Penn Central Transportation Company, which filed for bankruptcy within two years. The viable parts were transferred in 1976 to Conrail, which was itself broken up in 1999, with 58 percent of the system going to the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), including nearly all of the former PRR. Amtrak received the electrified segment east of Harrisburg.

Brand/Importer Information: In 1952, the company Mehanotehnika was founded in Yugoslavia, which produced and sold metal and plastic products. The name comes from the name of the first puzzle toys the company made. In June 1953 production started in its own factory.
In 1959 production was moved to a new large production hall in Izola (now in Slovenia). In 1962 a new factory was opened in Materija. In 1971, the production of children's toys was moved to the factory in Materija. Besides under their own name, Mehano trains were often sold under the client's brand name such as Atlas, AHM, Life-Like, Tempo, Tibidabo and Model Power.
In 1990 the company changed its name to Mehano. In 2004 it was acquired by LIVE. In 2010 a new product line for children was launched under the name My First Train. Nevertheless, in 2012 Mehano became insolvent and was taken over by Lemke in Germany.

In the world of N Scale, Mehano products were produced under contract and imported by several other brand names for use in the US. However, a few models were imported with either "MT", "Mehano" or "Tempo" branding.

Manufacturer Information: Mehano is a Slovenian toy manufacturer located in Izola, Slovenija. The company was founded as Mehanotehnika and was producing toys starting in June 1953. They first exhibited at the Nuerenberg Toy Fair in 1959. Mehano produced a number of different locomotives and rolling stock models for the North American market in the 1960s and 1970s. Companies such as Atlas and Life-Like imported a huge variety of their products. Generally they can easily be recognized as they are stamped "Yugosolavia" on the underframe. The company was formally renamed "Mehano" in 1990. Izola today is part of the country of Slovenia since the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Mehano filed for bankruptcy in 2008, but still continued to exist and operate. Since 2012, Mehano products are distributed by Lemke.