Precision Masters - 1628-2 - Covered Hopper, 2-Bay, 3000 c.f. - Calaveras Cement - 135

Model Information: Precision Masters first released this body style in kit form. Later on, they released the same body as a RTR (Ready-to-Run) model. In 2005, Red Caboose acquired this tooling from PM. Red Caboose released this model in RTR form. Fox Valley acquired the tooling from Red Caboose in 2015. As of 2017, Fox Valley has not yet re-released cars from this tooling, but if they do, likely it will be with body mount couplers and their famous metal wheels.

Prototype History: 3000 Cu.Ft. 2-Bay Hoppers like this one or similar to it have been made by Greenville Car Co., Pullman Standard and Trinity Industries Inc. The first 3000 Cu.Ft. Hopper design first appeared in service in the mid-60s, and can still be found in service by many railroads today. Commodities carried include, but are not limited to, cement, flour, drilling sand, sand, sugar and other 'heavy' commodities. The car can also be used for lighter commodities especially when smaller volumes are being transported and the cost of a larger capacity car is not justified. This design typically features rib sides and top hatches along the central axis with a roofwalk around perimeter of the top.

Road Name History: The Lodi Lumber Company bought one of the first carloads of Calaveras Cement. The first shipment was delivered to Lodi on June 14, 1926, one year after the plant was built on the huge limestone deposit by the Kentucky House trading post near San Andreas.

First, the hilly San Andreas region was known for its role in the Gold Rush. Beginning In the 1920s, its notoriety came from cement. Although less glamorous than gold but still lucrative, huge deposits of high-grade limestone and shale were discovered in the hills near the trading post called Kentucky House, two miles south of San Andreas in Calaveras County.

With the Southern Pacific branch line completed, construction could begin on the cement plant. Ground was broken on May 1, 1925. Just over a year later, the Calaveras Cement Company plant opened with 15,000 guests attending a barbecue. The event included railroad rides and inspection tours of the wet-process cement mill that produced up to 3,000 barrels of cement a day.

Brand/Importer Information: Precision Masters was founded in 1984 by Bob Byers as a part-time operation. Initially the company was focused on producing a new coupler type that was compatible with Kadee/MTL couplers but had more accurate dimensions. After two years, in 1986, PM released their first entry into Rolling stock with the 5-Bay Ortner Open Hopper. Eventually, their product line grew to comprise 11 different body styles.

Bob's goal with the PM product line was to produce an alternative to the current (1980s) manufacturers releases. At that time, Micro-Trains/Kadee was known for excellent quality models with accurate scale details and high quality printing. All the others produced somewhat clunky models with inaccurately scaled roofwalks, brake wheels, stirrups, ladders and other details. The goal at PM was to produce a close-to-Kadee quality model at a lower price point. One of the ways PM accomplished this was releasing their models in 'easy-build" kit form.

Bob sold substantially all of PM's assets to Red Caboose in March of 1998. Fortunately, Red Caboose continued to release these models until they also sold their assets to Fox Valley Models. Again fortunately, we continue to see releases of these excellent quality models via Fox Valley with InterMountain trains helping with distribution.