Trainworx - 25206-02 - Gondola, 50 Foot, Thrall Hi-Side - Illinois Central Gulf - 246550

Model Information: This is a very high quality model with all the features you would expect from a tooling made from 2010 on. It features: Die cast under frame for superior weight and tracking; Separate plastic under frame details; 100T trucks with Fox Valley metal wheels; Body mounted magnetic knuckle couplers; Detailed plastic body; Separate brake stand and brake wheel; and Etched metal grab irons, ladders, foot boards, stirrups, tow rings and retaining valve linkage.

Prototype History: Thrall was a recognizable freight car manufacturing company in the 1960s to 1980s. Their designs still carry on today. The company focused on building specialized freight cars including high side gondolas, and rotary-dump gondolas for coal. In the 1980s, Thrall acquired five competing railcar manufacturers and became the largest such manufacturer of these cars in the United States.

In the 1960s, coal haulage shifted from open hopper cars to high-sided gondolas. Using a gondola, the railroads are able to haul a larger amount of coal per car since gondolas do not include the equipment needed for unloading. However, since these cars do not have hatches for unloading the products shipped in them, railroads must use rotary car dumpers (mechanisms that hold a car against a short section of track as the car and track are slowly rotated upside down to empty the car) or other means to empty them.

Road Name History: On August 10, 1972, the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (reporting mark ICG).
In 1988 the railroad's then-parent company IC Industries spun off its remaining rail assets and changed its name to the Whitman Corporation (which became PepsiAmericas in 2000 and was acquired outright by PepsiCo in 2010). On February 29, 1988, the newly separated ICG dropped the "Gulf" from its name and again became the Illinois Central Railroad.
On February 11, 1998 the IC was purchased for approximately $2.4 billion in cash and shares by Canadian National Railway (CN). Integration of operations began July 1, 1999.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Trainworx was founded in 1999 by Pat Sanders and is located in Delta Colorado. Their first freight car was the Quad hopper and it was released in 2000. They have been making N scale products ever since. Their website can be found at www.train-worx.com. As of 2016, they have produced 8 different rolling stock body styles as well as a range of different highway vehicles in N Scale. Their limited edition runs have proven a huge success with collectors and modelers enjoy the accuracy of all their products.

Trainworx sells their products both through tradional retail channels as well as directly by phone order. When asked "What prompted you to found Trainworx?", Pat Sanders responded "There was a freight car that hadn't been done in N scale that I just had to have and it didn't look like anyone was ever going to make it."