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Train Addiction Help Line: 1.866.840.7777

deLuxe innovations Announces

 

 

 

 

 

The Competition to Gunderson In The Maxi-Stack War!!!

 

 

 

 

 

(five unit set)

 

They did the TTX LoPac long ago, now it's being re-tooled and the 2nd road name (first for the new design), will be BRAN ? ex APL, with APL logo!

 

For those of you who are wondering who BRAN is, here is some info supplied to us from Deluxe.

 

"Brandon Corporation a short line in Omaha Nebraska, which is affiliated with Pacer Stack Train. Pacer Stack Train began as an intermodal logistics services provider. When American President Lines merged with (NOL) Neptune Orient Line, they sold their domestic stack train operations to Pacer and these well cars began to appear shortly after in BRAN reporting marks."

These cars can normally be seen in service coast to coast in North America.


 

Gunderson cars were selling like crazy.  So well in fact that Gunderson couldn't keep up with the orders.  Thrall wanted in on the business but couldn't use Gunderson's proprietary design, so they came up with their LoPac 2000 low-sided container car.  The LoPacs were the contemporaries of the Twinstacks, and sales efforts between the two companies were fevered.

 

The Thrall group reached the lucrative APL company with their car, and snagged a number of sales.  They made two distinct versions of the car for APL, and then sold them to other entities.  The first was a "normal" well car for use with dry box containers.  The second version was a powered version specifically designed to carry reefers.  The car was colored red and a generator was mounted at one end.  Extension cords were strung from the generator to each individual container to provide power to the reefer units mounted there.

 

The distinctive rib sides of the Thrall are a ready spotting feature that Thrall cars carry to this day. The Thrall cars were designed to take a 40 foot container in the bottom and a forty footer on top. Some of the cars were equipped with hard points to attach two 20 footers in each well.  All were able to carry a 40, 45, or 48 foot container in the upper position, once the use of IBC's (Inter Box Connectors) became common practice.

 

 

 

 

(walkway details)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(brake)

 

 

The Thrall braking arrangement on this car is the same as the Gunderson on the Twinstack, one brakewheel at the B end.  In later versions, there is a brakewheel painted orange at both the A and the B end.  This arrangement indicates the longer 48 foot wells and dual braking system installed on the more recent production.

 

The model carries the distinctive look of the prototype with the external ribbing and open work walkways.  The 5 unit articulated car is made from die cast metal and ABS plastic details.  The walkways are etched stainless steel. 

 

This model was originally offered by Interrail as a craftsman kit.  The kit was purchased by deLuxe, and is being re-designed and re-tooled as a ready-to-run maxi-stack.  The kit reflected the "as delivered" equipment of these cars, including rub rails and container guides that were removed later in the life of these cars.  Therefore deluxe has redesigned the kit to allow these details to be added to backdate the car, or ?as is? for the user to choose to run the car as it looks today.  The etched metal walkways and the etched brakewheels will be partially installed on the ready to run car.   DeLuxe innovations has re-engineered much of the assembly to make this fine looking but extremely difficult kit into a fine-looking, fine-running, ready-to-run car. 

 

Some of the items are pretty challenging to convert, but they are working on the situation to deliver you the finest running, highest detailed car possible?ready-to-run?at a reasonable price. 

 

This product is in development at deLuxe innovations and will be released soon.  No release date has been announced as yet because the tooling is being done in various places and is still in development.  But like all deLuxe Innovation products, you can expect the best quality and highest standards to be used.

 

 

 

 

 

As with the deLuxe Gunderson Maxi-Stacks, we recommend that you order yours in advance because they will no doubt be sold out before they arrive from the manufacturer.

Call 1-866-840-7777


All information and pictures supplied courtesy of deLuxe innovations.