Kato USA - 106-6143 - Container Car, Articulated Well, Gunderson Maxi-Stack I - TTX Company - 750977

Model Information: This model provides stable operation with or without container loads due to Kato's new innovative heavier material steel compound plastic used for the construction of the well cars. Each container has a magnet and a metal plate to hold it securely to the well car bottom or to the top of the lower Kato container.

Each 5-well MAXI-I set includes ten removable 40-foot containers, all of which are interchangeable with our other container sets or MAXI-IV Well Cars. The packaging is designed for the separated storage of the articulated unit, providing ease and security when not in use. The MAXI-I has resilient plastic connectors between the wells that allow for easy connecting and disengaging for both operation and storage.

Prototype History: Like its cousin, the Gunderson Maxi-Stack IV, the Maxi-Stack I is a multi-unit well car designed to carry two stacked intermodal shipping containers. While its base well is 40', it can accept larger containers such as 45', 48' and even 53' in the top position, making the car a versatile addition to a railroad's intermodal services. The Maxi-Stack I is a five-unit well car, unlike its 53' cousin Maxi-Stack IV that is a three-unit car, giving each car a greater capacity even though the individual wells are a smaller size. Introduced in 1988, the Maxi-Stack I is still available in Gunderson (now GBX) catalog in a modernized version as of the early 2020's.

Road Name History: TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train until 1991) is a leading provider of railcars and related freight car management services to the North American rail industry. TTX's pool of railcars (over 220,000 cars and intermodal wells) is ideal for supporting shippers in the intermodal, automotive, paper & forest, metals, machinery, wind energy and other markets where flatcars, boxcars and gondolas are required.

Owned by North America's leading railroads, TTX's free-running pools provide fungible assets that minimize total empty miles, further lowering costs and minimizing risk for the industry, helping the railroads conserve their capital for other critical infrastructure needs. Customers easily recognize TTX's bright yellow cars as a consistent, high quality, well-maintained fleet that serves many transportation needs.

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)