Micro-Trains - 093 00 100 - Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, ACF 4650 - Sid Richardson - 4010

Prototype History: Production of the 4650-cubic foot 3-bay cars began in 1964. ACF built 2504 examples at Huntington, WV, between 1964 and 1972. The ACF 4650 c.f. 3-bay hopper was the same height and width as the 5250 c.f. 4-bay car but several feet shorter in length (and only had 3 bays!). Some railroads that were not concerned about having the larger plate C clearance 4650cf cars (which could not be used on all branchlines or at all loading facilities) opted for large fleets of 4650cf cars instead of 4600cf. UP and SP were two such railroads (all of the current UP 4600cf cars came from either MP or C&NW heritage).

Hatches: 6 30", 6 20", 3 pressed steel elongated (SP, SSW, 3 piece pressed steel continuous or 4 piece FRP continuous. Outlets: Several types of bolted or welded on outlets are used. Uses: Grain, soda ash, platic pellets. Trucks: 77 ton friction or roller bearing. 86 had 100 ton roller bearing.

Road Name History: Sid W. Richardson, a successful oil wildcatter with wells in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana, founded Sid Richardson Company in 1947 to enhance the value of his newly discovered Keystone Gas Field in West Texas. A year later he formed Sid Richardson Carbon and Gasoline Co. when he purchased a channel black plant in Odessa, Texas. In partnership with his nephew, Perry R. Bass, he began a sustained period of expansion. While the Odessa plant eventually closed, the company became a leading manufacturer of oil furnace carbon black by building plants in Big Spring, Texas (1961) and Addis, Louisiana (1968). This was followed by the purchase of the Borger, Texas plant (1986). In addition to these manufacturing facilities, a research center was built in Fort Worth, Texas (1972) and a pilot plant in Big Spring, Texas (1982). Sales, Customer Service and Technical Service are located in Akron, Ohio. Corporate headquarters are located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.

Sid Richardson Carbon & Energy Co. has demonstrated a proven record of steady and successful growth through continued expansion and process/product improvement. Two of the manufacturing facilities produce 55 MW of electricity through cogeneration and exports approximately 50% to the deregulated market. Today, the company provides an annual production capacity in excess of 970 million pounds (440 thousand metric tons) of furnace carbon black, including over 40 grades of ASTM and specialty carbon blacks to more than 80 companies.

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