Micro-Trains - 115 44 063 - Log Car, 65 Foot Evans Upright - Hammermill Paper - 85041

Specific Item Information: FPBX 135, 256; IPCX 252, 270; HPAX 85041, 85075

This 6-pack features two cars built by Evans in 1981 and two cars built by Portec in 1984 for the International Paper Company, as well as two cars built by Greenville Steel Car Company for the Hammermill Paper Company in 1985. Used to transport rough cut logs to paper mills, each features Barber Roller Bearing trucks, six rows of fixed bunks and a 199,000-pound capacity.
Packaged with foam family nest

Prototype History: The skeleton car has been a staple in the logging industry since the early part of the century and has appeared on nearly every logging road in the country. Evans Products produced a 65 foot version with three bunks and a 100 ton capacity.

Road Name History: The Hammermill Paper Company, founded in 1898 was originally known as the Ernst R Behrend Company. That same year, construction began on their first paper mill in Erie, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by three brothers (Ernst, Otto and Bernard Behrend) and their father Moritz Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania. Ernst served as President and Otto, secretary.

Behrend changed the name of the company before the first mill even opened in honor of his father's papermills in Germany. The company expanded by buying a mill in Oswego, New York that was making copier paper exclusively for Xerox. In the 1960s, mills were acquired in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and near Selma, Alabama. In 1962, they bought the Strathmore Paper Company. After a failed takeover by Paul Bilzerian and brothers William and Earle I. Mack (sons of New Jersey real estate developer H. Bert Mack), Hammermill was purchased in 1986, by the International Paper Company, with customer services and operations moving to their Memphis headquarters in 1988.

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