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Of the heritage scheme grain cars released by North American Railcar Corporation, there is one that stands above the rest. One that sold out the quickest and one that is still in high demand. And that is the blue "Take A Break" Alberta hoppers.

The first release of the "Take A Break" Alberta hoppers was very popular, with nearly all of the first release sold when they arrived. Modelers request more of these cars on a nearly daily basis.

North American Railcar Corporation is happy to announce the second run of 12 new road numbers for these cars.

As with the first release, there will only be 50 copies of each road number made and they will not be run again.

These are planned for production after our 4000cf Canadian Coal Gondolas are completed in the first quarter of 2013. This will allow for their release in the second quarter of 2013.

Historical Background

The Government of Alberta bought 1000 cars for grain transport. 800 of these cars were built by National Steel Car (NSC), and 200 cars were built by Hawker Siddeley (HS). Of the 800 cars made by NSC, 500 cars are maintained by Canadian National and have ALNX reporting marks.

The remaining 300 cars made by NSC are maintained by Canadian Pacific and were given ALPX reporting marks. The model of these cars has been produced by Intermountain. As our current tooling is for the Hawker Siddeley version of the car, we can not produce ALNX cars.

The last 200 cars were made by Hawker Siddeley and are maintained by Canadian Pacific. These have ALPX reporting marks and road numbers 628323 through 628522. These cars consist of 120 cars with names and 80 generic, unnamed cars. Named cars feature town or county names, while generic cars do not.

Our Model

With the 200 Hawker Siddeley cars, North American Railcar Corporation can produce 10 sets of 12 road numbers without repeating the town names. We can also produce several more runs of the generic, unnamed cars. Or, we can mix in generic cars with the named cars.

While many modelers just like these cars for their bright color scheme, others have their personal favorite cars. Reasons for favorites range from cars being named after places modelers are from, to car numbers being a great poker hand. Other modelers just like to collect every car that is made. Modelers are encouraged to order early to ensure they receive the specific road numbers and names they prefer.

For the first release, customer preference for specific cars was important, and will be for the second release.

Below are charts of the 12 road numbers produced in the first run, the tentative 12 road numbers for the second release. A list of the remaining named cars can be seen here, and a list of the generic cars can be seen here.

We invite you to take a few moments and review the proposed car names and the other cars. Customers who would like to see different car names or generic cars may e-mail the PWRS Porter at [email protected] - do not put suggestions in the "notes" box at checkout, as they Porter may not see them all. Depending on the number of requests we receive for specific cars, we can change the cars for the next release. Just a reminder, cars from the first release will not be run again.

PLEASE NOTE: When suggesting alternative cars, consider whether there are pictures for the car being suggested. To properly and accurately reproduce the cars, it is important to have multiple pictures of the real car. Modelers who have pictures of specific cars are encouraged to send them the PWRS Porter at [email protected]. Photographic credit will be given.

WE WANT YOUR SUGGESTIONS!

First Release - November 2011

Second Release - Second Quarter 2013

SPECIAL NOTE: These cars have been available to our PORTERS Members for reservations since late last year. Reservations have been high, and limited supplies remain available for reservation at this time. Modelers requesting specific cars from this release must do so prior to the reservation due date. Orders after that date, or when requested cars are fully reserved will be changed to an alternate car from this release.

Reservations Due By: February 14, 2013

Expected Release: Second Quarter 2013

JMP