N Scale - Atlas - 50 003 273 - Covered Hopper, 5-Bay, Trinity 5660 Pressure Differential - First Union Rail - 894930

Model Information: Introduced by BLMA in 2016, the first release became available for purchase in June of that year. Atlas acquired BLMA in late 2016, and began re-releasing this model in November of 2017.

These scale models feature injection-molded plastic bodies, etched metal roofwalks, wire cut levers, body-mounted knuckle couplers, trainline air hoses, metal wheels, Separately Applied Wire Cut Levers as well as crisply painted lettering.

Prototype Description: As covered hoppers evolved in the 1960s, larger cylindrical and rounded car bodies were introduced. This shape allowed more material to be carried and used gravity to force the load toward the bottom discharge outlets. Some of these designs also used pneumatic unloading systems. The continued demand for larger cars led Trinity Industries to introduce their new Power-Flo pressure differential (PD) hoppers in 1987. The design utilized proven technology by combining a pressurized system with rounded side walls. This allowed for increased payload, and reduced the time needed for loading and unloading.

The 5660 Pressure Differential (PD) Covered Hopper was introduced in 1999, by Thrall Industries, as the most advanced design in the evolution of Pressure Differential Covered Hopper, a special breed within the covered hopper family. Production still continues today under the TrinityRail brand, following Trinity's purchase of Thrall, with nearly 4,000 examples already built.

These PD covered hoppers, unlike traditional 'gravity discharge' covered hoppers, feature five non-opening hopper bays all connected by a master commodity discharge pipe and an air inlet pipe spanning the length of the underbody. Unloading of these cars is an orchestrated process: an air source is connected to air pipe, which pressurizes the interior of the car to approximately 15 psi, although 14.7 psi is recommended for the Thrall/TrinityRail 5660. As air pressure inside the car's body begins to build and exceeds that of the external environment, the basic physics of differences in air pressure (hence the name 'Pressure Differential Covered Hopper') forces the air outside of the car, whisking the car's contents along with it through the commodity discharge pipe. This type of unloading is necessary for the seamless unloading of dry, powdery, light-density commodities such as flour, starch, talc, fly ash, bentonite, and other powdery substances which would otherwise 'cake up' if being unloaded from a traditional gravity-discharge covered hopper.

Road Name History: Wells Fargo Rail is the new name for the historic First Union Rail Corporation, along with the combined business of the former GE Capital Rail Services, which Wells Fargo purchased from GE in September 2015.

First Union Rail was the freight-car leasing unit of the First Union Corporation, a bank. At some point GE Capital Services, the financial services wing of the GE corporation acquired the assets from First Union bank. Later on, the assets were sold by GE to Wells Fargo.

Brand/Importer Information: In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.