Micro-Trains - 109 00 310 - Flatcar, Depressed Center - Illinois Central Gulf - 940601

Specific Item Information: Built in 1954 by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, this depressed center fl at car with Commonwealth 6-wheel freight trucks made it to the Illinois Central Gulf roster and was used to transport bulky and heavy industrial loads, such as large dimensional loads, electrical transformers, and construction equipment, with the depressed center allowing for a few feet of additional vertical clearance. Illinois Central Gulf was formed after the merger of Gulf, Mobile & Ohio and the Illinois Central in 1972. Eventually, Canadian National purchased the railroad in 1998.

Model Information: This model was first released by Micro-Trains in February of 2001. It is somewhat different from most MTL toolings in that 1) Most of the body is die-cast metal as opposed to injection-molded plastic and 2) The car runs on 3-Axle freight trucks (Buckeye). Some releases of this model come with loads. Typically these loads need to be assembled and/or painted by the customer. The loads typically represent large and/or heavy items that would be too cumbersome or heavy to be transported by a traditional 50' fishbelly flatcar. Examples of these loads are include: heavy transformers, pipes, girders and large vehicles. The depressed center was specifically designed to make sure the load would be able to make it through standard-height tunnels. Although most fo the body is made from a die-cast metal frame, the ends of the main platform are made from plastic which snaps on to the metal underframe.

Prototype History: A flatcar (US) (also flat car (US) or flat wagon (UIC)) is a piece of railroad (US) or railway (non-US) rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair (or rarely, more) of bogeys under each end . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.

Depressed center flat cars are of a special construction having the portion of floor extending between trucks depressed to provide necessary overhead clearance for lading.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: On August 10, 1972, the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (reporting mark ICG).
In 1988 the railroad's then-parent company IC Industries spun off its remaining rail assets and changed its name to the Whitman Corporation (which became PepsiAmericas in 2000 and was acquired outright by PepsiCo in 2010). On February 29, 1988, the newly separated ICG dropped the "Gulf" from its name and again became the Illinois Central Railroad.
On February 11, 1998 the IC was purchased for approximately $2.4 billion in cash and shares by Canadian National Railway (CN). Integration of operations began July 1, 1999.

Read more on Wikipedia.

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