An increased use of shipping containers during the 1970s led to new designs of railway cars for carrying them. The standard cars used at the time were full plate-deck 85’ and 89’ flat cars with 70-ton trucks. However, each 20-foot international shipping container of the era could gross some 25 tons – thus a flat car carrying four at maximum gross would be 100 tons. In an effort to address this weight issue, new flat cars with open decks and 100 ton trucks were placed in service and eventually used for a new railroad commodity – trash containers.

The Atlas model follows the open-deck flat design commonly seen in trash trains around the United States. The model also follows the prototypes used in international container service.

Features:

• Open deck design
• Container pedestals
• True scale dimensions with accurate details
• Weighted, detailed underframes
• 100-ton trucks equipped with free-rolling wheels
• Accurate painting and printing