Once again Rapido aims to rid layouts and displays of incorrect 4550 cu.ft. covered hopper car models decorated to represent this true Canuck classic! And best of all, not only are we introducing new Trough-hatches for the rooftops, but we've also redesigned how the carbody is produced to bring you an even better, museum-quality product.

    The prototype cars were designed for carrying bulk commodities like powdered minerals and industrial chemicals, including cement and potash. They are 100-tons in capacity with four hopper compartments totaling 3800-3850 cubic feet and are fitted with either round or trough hatches. Examples were built by all three of the major car builders in Canada – Marine Industries, Hawker-Siddeley and National Steel Car – and they have traveled to every corner of Canada and the contiguous United States.

     Apart from the main carriers such as Canadian National and Canadian Pacific - which together acquired over 4,500 cars between 1965 and 1975 - close to a thousand cars were built for leasing companies, including North American Car Canada (NCHX), Canpotex (PTEX) and Procor (UNPX), while CGLX, NAHX, and more recently WREX, later acquired fleets secondhand.  Many of these are still in service today.

     The Rapido model has been scaled from manufacturer drawings and includes alternative parts allowing us to represent the majority of differences between the Marine Industries (MIL) and National Steel Car (NSC) constructed cars.

Features include:
• Redesigned carbody assembly
• Round-hatch or NEW Trough-hatch design
• Correct Dofasco S-2 100-ton trucks
• Two body variations with 6- or 11-side panels
• Three brake equipment variations and optional additional air reservoir on NSC cars (if applicable)
• Etched running boards and brake changeover platform
• Factory-installed air pipes and coupler cut levers
• Finely moulded plastic walkway supports (Marine Industries and NSC versions) and end cages
• Full separate air piping and brake equipment details
• Metal Macdonald-Cartier knuckle couplers are fitted as standardThe prototype cars are 100 tons in capacity with four hopper compartments totaling 3800-3850 cubic feet. Originaly designed by Marine Industries in 1965, the cars were also manufactured by Canada’s other two car builders, Hawker Siddeley and National Steel Car.

Canada’s two major railways, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, are the major owners of this car along with Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo. This car was also produced for the following leasing companys: CGLX, NCHX and Procor. These cars carry bulk commodities like cement, potash, and other dry materials. These cars can still be seen all over North America today.

Features:

• Scaled from manufacturer drawings and fully captures the details of the prototype car
• New Dofasco S-2 100-tonne trucks
• Etched running boards and brake changeover platform
• Finely moulded plastic walkway supports and end cages
• Optional additional air reservoir (if applicable)
• Full separate air piping and brake equipment details
• Macdonald-Cartier metal knuckle couplers
• Available in singles or 6-Packs. 6-Packs boxed for individual sale

NOTE: As individual cars (singles) are randomly picked from 6-Packs, they will not have a new road number, but will have one of those in the 6-Pack. Orders for single cars can only be filled if there are enough orders from customers to warrant breaking up 6-Packs into single cars.

NJS, DGS