Dear Customers:

for some time now we have been working on our next car to produce. That car will be the 5431 cu ft National Steel Car 3 Bay Hopper.

This new car will be the replacement car for all the Cylindrical Hoppers that wher ebuilt in the 1970's, 80's and 90's in Canada to transport Canadian Grains.

Here is some background information on the new car:

 

Grain trains: New railcar models are bigger, and haul more

 

 

1. They’re lighter

The new generation of grain train is not your daddy’s grain train.

There are many differences, but two of the biggest changes are:

• Railways are running longer trains.
• New hopper cars can carry more grain.

Eventually Canada’s government owned fleet of grain hopper cars will be replaced, and when they are, crop movement will become more efficient.

That is because modern grain hopper cars can carry more grain in shorter, lighter cars.

The standard hopper car that was built decades ago can carry a volume of 4,550 cubic feet, weighs 62,000 lb. and is about 60 feet long.

Cars built today can carry a volume of 5,431 cubic feet, but weigh 2,000 lb. less and are more than four feet shorter.

This means that each modern car can carry about 10 tonnes more grain.

And because they are shorter, there can be more cars on each train.

The result is that a train pulling all new grain cars would be able to move about 20 percent more grain than a train of the same length pulling the old cars.

The same number of train engines would be used, so the amount of fuel used to transport each tonne of grain would fall.

The efficient use of locomotives is also behind the move to longer trains.

  

In the concrete elevator building boom of the 1990s, the state of the art was to have a 100-car siding to accommodate full trains.

The standard size grain train in Canada in recent years was 112 cars.

But Keith Creel, Canadian Pacific Railway president and chief operating officer, says the day of the 112-car train is dead and the new norm will be 134 cars.

The new generation of elevators built today has loop tracks able to accommodate and quickly load 134 cars.

And with investment in new and expanded rail sidings, the railways say they are able to increase speeds by 25 to 30 percent in certain corridors.

 

3 Benefits of new grain cars

• Higher-density grains such as wheat, durum, soy & peas benefit from NSC’s lighter car (226,000 lb. load limit).
• Higher cubic capacity allows for drastically increased loading of low-density grains such as canola, oats & barley. And increased volume reduces total rail freight cost with NSC’s larger car (5,431 cu.ft.).
• 55’8” car length allows railways to add cars to every train start. Shippers, rail carriers and ports benefit from 20 percent added track capacity and lower carbon footprint.

• Body 1, Type 2 End (Low Brace End with Vertical Brake Wheel House, with rectangle cross brace)Vertical Face on Bolster
• Low Mounted Air Tank
• Trough Hatch
• Toggle Lock (Outlet Gate)
• 11 Running Board Supports Riveted Outlet Gate

Features of the model as appropriate per prototype:

• Meticulously researched and designed
• 2 different running boards (11 or 17 supports) – etched brass
• Etched Brass Crossover Platforms (with individually applied supports)
• 5 different Ends (bracing variations)
• 2 Different Outlet Gates (Toggle Lock and Spiral Cog)
• Investment castings for capstans (end of gates)
• 2 Different Hand Brakes (conventional and “High Power” Ellcon-National
• 2 Different Reservoir Positions (low for truck mounted cylinders and high for body mounted cylinders)
• External brake Rod on cares with body mounted brakes cylinders (including levers)
• 3 Different styles of trough hatches (smooth, slash, “V”)
• Kadee # 58 semi-scale couplers
• Coupler Cut Bars
• 2 Bolster/Jack Pad Styles (flat and sloped faces)
• North American Railcar High-Performance Low Friction Barber S-2-E 100-ton trucks with semi-scale 36” wheels

There are 12 road numbers available in this release, change quantity in cart to order more than a single car, road numbers are:

TRGX 854650-854789 Version 2 - (with Miner gravity outlet gates) 2013 to present / trough  11 welded panels, 11 running board supports, squared hatch, type 1 jack pad, type 1 tapered end - leased to Richardson

TRGX 854800-854867  Version 3 - (with ATP gravity / pneumatic outlet gates) 2013 to present / trough  11 welded panels, 11 running board supports, squared hatch, type 1 jack pad, type 1 tapered end  - leased to Richardson

TRGX 855000-855099 Version 5 - (with Miner gravity outlet gates) 2014 to present / trough  11 welded panels, 11 running board supports, squared hatch, type 1 jack pad, type 2 beveled end - leased to Richardson

TRGX 855750-855949 Version 5 - (with Miner gravity outlet gates) 2016 to present / trough 11 welded panels, 11 running board supports, squared hatch, type 1 jack pad, type 2 beveled end - leased to Richardson

TRGX 856725-856924 Version 5 - (with Miner gravity outlet gates) 2017 to present / trough 11 welded panels, 11 running board supports, squared hatch, type 1 jack pad, type 2 beveled end - leased to Richardson

• 01  /  TRGX 855751
• 02  /  TRGX 855769
• 03  /  TRGX 855785
• 04  /  TRGX 855794
• 05  /  TRGX 855802
• 06  /  TRGX 855821
• 07  /  TRGX 855863
• 08  /  TRGX 855871
• 09  /  TRGX 855884
• 10  /  TRGX 855907
• 11  /  TRGX 855936
• 12  /  TRGX 855948

Many of you were wondering if the full length Richardson dedicated cars were legit.

The train Gods have answered your questions. 

One of our customers in California recently ordered all of the Richardson 5431 hopper cars and told us that, full length Richardson dedicated trains are coming into California on Union Pacific. We were thrilled to hear this and asked our customer to take a photo the next time he saw them. Enjoy

photographed at JD Heiskell & Co elevator in Pixley, CA (An hour south of Fresno). 

Now you know, full length Richardson Dedicated trains do exist.

Oh, by the way, if you would like to watch a complete train of Richardson cars on Canadian Pacific (with run through UP Power).....Click Here

Here's the proof! Order yours today.

For a complete list of all the different versions and explanations of the differences on the National Steel Car 5431 cu ft Hopper go to this link: Click Here