Arnold - 0520 - Freight Train, Diesel, North American, Transition Era - Painted/Lettered - 7-Pack

Specific Item Information: Contents:
- Union Pacific X159 40' Flat Car (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2371)
- Illinois Central IC 51004 40' Box Car (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2391)
- Minneapolis & St. Louis MStL 541002 4-Bay Quad Hopper (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2422)
- Pennsylvania PRR 39857 Ribbed Box Car (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2363)
- Canadian National CN 523975 40' Box Car (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2382)
- Union Pacific UP 60900 41' Open Gondola Car (former Atlas/Rivarossi 2402)
- Santa Fe ATSF 36923 80ft Double Side Door Box Car (Arnold 5320)

Model Information: These sets are made of early models from Arnold or Rivarossi (initially Atlas/Rivarossi), with an Arnold chassis.
These 30-year old (at the time) venerable cars where still offered in the 2001 Arnold catalog, in these sets, with exactly the same road names and numbers as offered in the 1970s.

Prototype History: A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, transporting cargo all or some of the way between the shipper and the intended destination as part of the logistics chain. Trains may haul bulk material, intermodal containers, general freight or specialized freight in purpose-designed cars. Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region.

Diesel engines during the transition era were relatively primitive compared to their modern equivalents. Canada, Mexico and the United States are connected by an extensive, unified standard gauge rail network. Partially from Wikipedia

Road Name History: Some items are designed to have their owner add whatever company marking they choose, usually in the form of decals or dry-transfers. These items are painted in a generic prototypical fashion but with all company affiliation deliberately left off.
These items can be lettered or numbered, but without any company name on it.

Brand/Importer Information: Founded in 1906 by Karl Arnold in Nuernberg, K. Arnold & Co. began its life producing tin toys and related items. They produced an extensive line of model ships, doll house items and other toys. In 1935, K. Arnold & Co. hired Max Ernst as their managing director. Ernst, not to be confused with the German realist artist of the same name, was a significant factor in the future of Arnold.

There are several distinct phases of Arnold's model train production. In the period of 1960 - 1962, Arnold marketed the Arnold Rapido 200 product line; this line was very crude yet it also was a sensation because of its much smaller size than TT.

The next phase was from 1963-1967, when the rapido product line begins to swing toward scale representations of the trains. It is during this period that the "Rapido Coupler" comes into production, beginning its widespread use by all model train manufacturers in N-Scale. It was in 1964 that the term "N-Scale" came into use. Between 1968 and 1970, rapido line of trains reached maturity, notably with its turntable and roundhouse. Arnold entered into a business relationship with the U.S. company Revell around 1968, beginning the marketing of Revell Rapido model trains. This relationship was marked by the beginning of production of more accurate North American prototype models by Arnold. This relationship continued for several years, ending in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Arnold continued their expanded production, with new models until the early 1990s.

On Max Ernst's 1976 retirement, Arnold employed perhaps 200 to 250 people, using three facilities in the Nurnberg area. The Company continued under family control until 1995, when Arnold went into bankruptcy and was sold to Rivarossi of Italy. Rivarossi, in turn, also went bankrupt, leading to the sale of all assets to Hornby of the United Kingdom. Production is carried out in China.