N Hobby Distributing - 56 - Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow - American Car & Foundry - 39130, 39135, 39139

Specific Item Information: Only 250 sets made.

Model Information: This model was originally produced by Roco for Atlas and appears in the Atlas 1967 catalog labeled "Coming Soon" with three road names. They are stamped 'Atlas Austria' on the bottom. The molds seems to have been owned by Atlas as they brought them to their New Jersey factory from Europe and started US production in 1986. The new releases were stamped "Atlas USA". This later release was numbered as the 3700 series with seven road names.

These two versions can be distinguished from the later Chinese version because there is only a single ridge towards the roof on the sides of the hopper.

Prototype History: Contemporary 2-bay covered hoppers, like ACF's Centerflows, were 100-ton cars designed to haul dense loads, like cement. Their larger 3 and 4-bay brethren, while usually still having 100 ton capacities, were designed for lighter-density loads, like grain or flour. Their sizes had to do with the fact that a low-density product like grain will "cube out" the cubic capacity of a smaller 2-bay car way before you hit the cars' tonnage rating. Conversely, load a 3 or 4-bay covered hopper to its cubic maximum with a dense product like cement, and you'll wind up with a seriously overloaded car tonnage wise. In short, keep the smaller 2-bay cars for heavy commodities, and keep the larger cars for lighter loads like grains, sugar, flour, etc.

Road Name History: ACF Industries LLC originally known as The American Car and Foundry Company and was formed in 1899. In 1955 ACF Industries, Incorporated became the new name for The American Car and Foundry. Over the years railcar manufacturing and leasing were the major forces in ACF's economic growth and stability. ACF has weathered many changes and is still committed to the manufacture of new railcar and railcar parts and sub-assemblies. ACF Industries LLC became a successor to ACF Industries, Incorporated on May 1, 2003.

ACF Industries LLC is a leader in the manufacture and fabrication of specialty railcar parts and miscellaneous steel products. While the Company's primary purpose is to compliment the new car and repair car market, it also provides manufacturing support to other manufacturers of steel products.

ACF Industries LLC is headquartered in St. Charles, Missouri and our manufacturing facility is located in Milton, Pennsylvania.

From the company website.

Brand/Importer Information: N Hobby Distributing (NHD) was based at 24 York Towne Drive, Englishtown, NJ 07726.

Manufacturer Information: 'Atlas Model Railroad' represents the New Jersey manufacturing facility for Atlas brand model railroad products. Atlas also imported European made models in their early years and those items will be noted as having manufacturers set appropriately. In the 1990s Atlas moved all their toolings to China.