As we have mentioned before, artwork we present in our product announcements is usually a first draft. We then use the time while collecting pre-orders to refine and confirm the artwork. Most of the time, the changes are hardly noticeable such as getting numbers right in the dimensional data. This time, we had a couple of notable changes:
With the help of the Illinois Terminal Historical Society we learned that the “I” and “T” had red drop-shadows. We were also able to clean up the cursive “llinois” and “erminal” and get the shop dates correct. Production is now well underway on this run.

Features: 

► Friction bearing or roller bearing trucks as appropriate for each road name
► Fully molded air tank and valve with piping, slope sheet braces
► Body mounted brake hose detail
► Separate brake cylinder, rod and lever detail (a first on an N scale open hopper!)
► Body mounted magnetically operating couplers
► Coal load
► Diecast slope sheets and center sill
   and injection molded plastic sides, ends and hopper doors

All runs will be available in multiple road numbers (a single and one of each of the multi-packs gives you one of each road number available.)

Offset side 70 ton 3-bay hoppers first appeared in the late 1920s but by the late 30s they had evolved into the AAR standard design seen here. They were built in large quantities by many builders until the mid-1960s. Many remained in service into the 1990s.

  For most railroads,the transition era of the 1950s meant the transition from steam to diesel operation. For the Illinois Terminal, transition meant much more. ITC moved from being an electrified interurban line with significant freight traffic (and some steam power) to being an all diesel powered all-freight line. Also during this period, some major Class One carriers in the St. Louis area (B&O, C&EI, CB&Q, GM&O, Litchfield & Madison, IC, NKP, Frisco, and Wabash) jointly purchased the ITC to provide a neutral terminal railroad in the St. Louis area. The Illinois Terminal mainline ran northeast from St. Louis to Springfield where the line split for Peoria, Bloomington, Decatur, and Danville. In total, the ITC operated more than 400 route miles in Illinois. In 1981,the Illinois Terminal was merged into the Norfolk & Western. This road name will be available in 6 road numbers.

Reserve Before September 30,2010

For February 2011 Delivery