Micro-Trains - 110 44 530 - Covered Hopper, 2-Bay, GATX Airslide 4180 - Ferromex - 410025

Model Information: Model Introduced: August, 2001. Era: 1970s to Present. It is a model of a DOT 111 A100 tank car.

Prototype History: The first Airslide covered hopper was introduced by General American Transportation Corporation (GATX) in 1953 and had a capacity of 2600 cubic feet. The Airslide is primarily designed for the bulk shipment of dry, granular or powdered commodities. The design of that car is such that it can be loaded and unloaded quickly and with little spillage through the use of air pressure. The most common commodities carried include: flour, sugar, starch, plastic pellets, cement, powdered chemicals and carbon black.

Due to customer demand for larger covered hoppers capable of handling bulk commodities, General American Transportation Corporation introduced the larger 4180 c.f. model in 1963. GATX produced more than 5,000 of the 4180 cubic foot Airslide covered hoppers between 1963 and 1980. These very common cars continued General American’s “Airslide” family innovations from the 1950s, and proved valuable to bulk shippers who wanted a larger car than the earlier-design 2600 cubic foot cars provided.

Road Name History: Ferromex was launched in 1989 to take over the largest of the concessions from the privatization of FNM. This 5,375 mile line (between C&O and B&O in relative size,) has three main north-south routes: Mexicali and Nogales down along the Pacific Coast to Guadalajara and on to Mexico City; Ciudad Juarez (just across the border from El Paso) south to Mexico City; and Pedras Negras (across from Eagle Pass, TX) south to Mexico City. There is a major intersecting route from Ojinga (Presidio, TX) to the port of Topolobampo. Other braches connect to ports on both the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. The company is owned by mining giant Grupo Mexico (Union Pacific has significant holdings in that company.) In 2005, that company bought Ferrosur but it would be six years before the two would be allowed to merge. Many of their operations have been combined but as of this writing, Ferrosur continues to have a separate identity.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide