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Wheels of Time - NSE WOT 15-05 - Flatcar, Bulkhead - Golden West Service - 426054

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N Scale - Wheels of Time - NSE WOT 15-05 - Flatcar, Bulkhead - Golden West Service - 426054 Image Courtesy of N Scale Enthusiast
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Commissioned ByN Scale Enthusiast
Production TypeSpecial Run
Stock NumberNSE WOT 15-05
Original Retail Price$45.50
BrandWheels of Time
ManufacturerWheels of Time
Body StyleWheels of Time Flatcar 53 Foot Bulkhead
Image Provider's WebsiteLink
Prototype VehicleFlatcar, Bulkhead (Details)
Road or Company NameGolden West Service (Details)
Reporting MarksGVSR
Road or Reporting Number426054
Paint Color(s)Blue with Yellow Lettering
Wheel TypeChemically Blackened Metal
Wheel ProfileSmall Flange (Low Profile)
Release Date2015-12-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeFlatcar
Model Subtype53 Foot
Model VarietyBulkhead
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era IV: 2nd Gen Diesel (1958 - 1978)
Scale1/160



Specific Item Information: Includes an undecorated scrap subway load and decals.
Model Information: Some features include: Realistic design adhering to the prototypes. Proper prototype ride height. Multiple car numbers with sharp lettering. Lumber loads - appropriate for the 1950s era railroading, and ones good for the 1960s until now.

Since the post war period in U.S., there was a remarkable housing boom especially in Southern California. Getting lumber from the lumber mills in the Pacific Northwest* to the lumber yards across the nation became a little bit of a challenge due to a shortage of usable equipment. Solid trains of lumber and large cuts of lumber-carrying flat cars were the norm. A common sight in the west were witnessing solid Southern Pacific (SP) trains of lumber crawling up the Tehachapi grade at a snails pace with engines whining at run 8 - or just empty strings of flat cars returning from southern California winding through the mountain passes on their way back to the Willamette Valley. These solid empty trains were designated by SP as 'XMUG' for the abbreviation for Empty Eugene (Eugene, OR). Further, solid cuts of lumber cars from the Willamette Valley headed east with SP partner roads like Northern Pacific - Great Northern - Burlington Northern and Union Pacific to name a few.
Prototype History:
Among the earliest types of freight cars, flatcars continue to serve as a valuable part of railroading. Flatcars are used to move a wide variety of loads which do not require protection from weather. These cars, are constructed with steel underframes, wood floors and stake pockets on the sides and ends for fastening tie-downs that keep loads from shifting.

Bulkhead flat cars are a specialized type of flatcar designed which includes reinforced end-walls (bulkheads) to prevent loads from shifting past the ends of the car.
Road Name History:
Golden West was a financial invention -- SP wanted to get capital equipment off the books but the railroad needed the cars. So a corporation was invented that used borrowed money to "buy" the cars, refurbish them, and lease them back to the SP. In the long run this is basically a transfer of wealth from the railroad to the investors, but in the short run it helped the railroad by providing working capital. The UP ended the whole deal as soon as it could and that is why everything is reverting to original ownership.
Brand/Importer Information:
Wheels of Time was founded by Matthew Young in the fall of 1995. From an early age, Matthew has had a passion for trains, both in full-size and in miniature. His family frequently went out of their way so he could ride the train, or simply watch the action on the tracks. "On one occasion mom took us to San Francisco along the waterfront. Spotting a State Belt ALCo S-2 locomotive switching the wharves, I persuading my mom to follow it. I watched in wonder as I saw and heard the hit-cup sputtering of the ALCo engine as it revved-up to move railroad cars on and off the car float at Pier 43." Other early family experiences included watching Southern Pacific freight and Amtrak's San Joaquin Amfleet trains roll by as his family waited to be seated at Spenger's in Berkeley, which sat happily right next to the tracks. "My brother and I would shoot pictures of the trains with our Instantmatic 110 cameras, sometimes only getting the wheels or worse yet ... getting a real good close up of my big thumb."

Matthew and his brother built models of all kinds, but their model train career began in elementary school when they started making 3-D cardboard miniature trains from pictures found in the pages of Trains Magazine and Model Railroader Magazine. On a visit, many years later, with the late Richard Buike of Trackside Trains in Burlingame, California, the conversation turned to the lack of N-Scale passenger trains and how the few that existed didn't look right. "I told him right then and there that I was going to produce high quality, historically accurate passenger railroad cars. Even I was a little surprised when I said this." The first product was a 1950 Pullman-Standard "10-6" sleeping car made of brass. Wheels of Time became one of the first makers of historically accurate and realisticly detailed passenger train cars. At Wheels of Time, we research original equipment and recreate it with CAD software for production. We're lovers of history and sticklers for detail. On our line of Transit Motor Coaches (a fancy way of saying "buses"), even the destination *roll* signs are historically accurate. Be sure to check out all our beautiful and accurate products. We hope you'll come to share our passion for trains, here recreated in miniature. At Wheels of Time, you get to take home a piece of a fascinating history.

Wheels of Time manufactures historically accurate model trains, vehicles, and model railroad accessories with a real *wow* factor. Our obsession with detail and historical accuracy is reflected in our exceptional design and production: hold a Wheels of Time model in your hand and you'll be tempted to say, 'It's the real thing!'
Commissioner Information: The N Scale Enthusiast Society (previously known as The N Scale Collector until 2011) was established by Wick Brandon, as a sole proprietorship and was a stand alone company until Wick passed away in 2000. The company has been owned by Micro Trains Line since then.

Wick was the founder of TexNRails and he established NSE right after he sold the pioneering N Scale retailer to the Herz family, and the store moved to Florida. Wick and Lea moved their family from Texas to Bakersfield California, and the entire operation was run from his home in Bakersfield. George Johnsen, the current Chairman, came on board as Associate Editor starting with the third issue of the magazine, and the growth of the organization hasn’t stopped. Wick and George did the first convention in Medford in 1993, and added staff and advisors as the organization grew. Wick held the first auction for the NSE in 1995.

The NSE mission statement reads: “This organization is dedicated to the preservation of the history of N Scale Model Railroading, and the railroads they represent.”

They do:
- Special Run Cars
- Regular Auctions of "collectable" Cars
- Annual Conventions
- Bi-Monthly Magazine
Item created by: gdm on 2016-07-29 10:58:04. Last edited by davidkolb on 2021-03-22 11:08:31

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