Official Rendering to come.

    North American Railcar Corp. will produce the 4257 Cu Ft. National Steel Car 3 bay (Based on the Saskatchewan Potash (POTX) seventh version) potash hopper (in GRVS livery) for The Great River Valley System (GRVS) N-Trak club of Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota area.  The club has about 40 members and meets monthly in various locations around the Twin Cities. 

    The GRVS is one of the most active N-Trak clubs in the country with 12 to 18 shows a year promoting model railroading and supporting various charities.    

     The profit from the sale of these highly detailed potash hoppers will be used by the club to further model railroading in the Upper Midwest.

This would be a fantastic addition to any train and supports a great N-Trak Club! 

Special Notes: 

• This car will have space to add 4 additional decal numbers that the end user can apply.  Now you can have multiple GRVS Club cars with different numbers.

     First introduced in 1999 by National Steel Car, this car is seen in large numbers across Canada and the United States in Canpotex and POTX livery. It was developed specifically to address the need for additional rail transport capacity caused be the growing Potash market.

    Though the car is the latest design, it has less capacity than the Hawker Siddeley style cars used during the 1970 - 1990's. However it makes up for this in a shorter car length of only 47 feet versus the Hawker Siddeley style cars at 59 feet. This allows a train of these cars to carry more Potash then a train of comparable length made up of the Hawker Siddeley style hoppers.

    These car operates at a gross rail load of 286,000 pounds, the current maximum limit. However, they are actually designed for a gross rail load of 315,000 pounds. They are currently produced with 100 ton nominal capacity trucks to suit present 286,000 lb. gross rail loading. If the maximum weight limit is increased, these cars can be upgraded with 125 ton trucks allowing for maximum cargo capacity going forward. 

    These cars are currently operated in large numbers by both Canpotex and the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, and in smaller numbers by other operators. To date, over 7,000 have been produced in seven versions. These cars are seen on a daily basis traveling across the Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, BNSF, CSX, NS and Union Pacific rail networks.

Modeling use for prototype accuracy:

Version 7 Car Prototype Features:

• Car length of 47 feet
• Car capacity of 4275 cu. ft.
• Round roofwalk tread pattern
• Long cross roofwalk panels between short side roofwalk panels
  
• Raised roof hatches
• 12 running board supports
• 9 side panel sheets
• Full length side sills
• Non-wraparound ladder rungs
• Rounded shape gaps between hopper bays
• Barber S2 DH braced trucks

Features:

• Fully researched and prototypically accurate details
• Many separately applied detail parts, including photo etched brass and lost wax metal castings
• Accurate painting and lettering, including correct graphics, fonts and locations per prototype
  
• Micro-Trains Body Mounted couplers
  
• High performance trucks and metal wheelsets for reliable operation
• Properly weighted for smooth tracking and superior performance

More Information

    For more information about the National Steel Car Potash Service 3 Bay Covered Hopper and their use by Canpotex & PotashCorp, including prototype videos & modeling notes, click on the links below:

NSC Potash Service Hopper Guide

Canpotex Hopper Reference Page

PotashCorp Hopper Reference Page

     Order cut off date December 30, 2016