Bluford Shops - N Scale - Offset Side 3-Bay Hopper - Nickel Plate Road (NKP) - 3 Pack - Yellow Triangle (SKU 188-73593)
Available On: March 1, 2013
Nickel Plate Road (yellow triangle) offset side hoppers. In the Summer of 1964, Nickel Plate took delivery of 500 new offset side 3-bay hoppers from Bethlehem. The second half of the order was delivered with roller bearing trucks (as are these models.) A yellow triangle was painted next to the reporting marks on all 500 cars meaning these cars were intended for unit train service. This assignment was short-lived however because that October, the Nickel Plate merged with the Norfolk & Western and this fleet was absorbed into N&W’s massive fleet of assorted 70 ton hoppers. You may notice
there is more small lettering on these NKP hoppers compared to our earlier Nickel Plate run (based on cars inherited from W&LE in 1949, released by Bluford Shops in April of 2011.) This is a factor of the cars being built in the 1960s when stenciling all manner of instructions on new cars became commonplace. The last few of these cars, still wearing Nickel Plate paint (!) were retired in 1998, 34 years after the merger. This run will be available in 6 road numbers.
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