Micro-Trains - 109 00 180 - Flatcar, Heavy Duty, Depressed Center - CSX Transportation - 600273

Specific Item Information: This CSX depressed center 50’ flat car with Commonwealth Freight was built for a predecessor road and eventually made its way to CSX where it was used to transport bulky and heavy industrial loads, such as large dimensional loads, electrical transformers, and construction equipment, with the depressed center allowing for a few feet of additional vertical clearance.

Model Information: This model was first released by Micro-Trains in February of 2001. It is somewhat different from most MTL toolings in that 1) Most of the body is die-cast metal as opposed to injection-molded plastic and 2) The car runs on 3-Axle freight trucks (Buckeye). Some releases of this model come with loads. Typically these loads need to be assembled and/or painted by the customer. The loads typically represent large and/or heavy items that would be too cumbersome or heavy to be transported by a traditional 50' fishbelly flatcar. Examples of these loads are include: heavy transformers, pipes, girders and large vehicles. The depressed center was specifically designed to make sure the load would be able to make it through standard-height tunnels. Although most fo the body is made from a die-cast metal frame, the ends of the main platform are made from plastic which snaps on to the metal underframe.

Prototype History: A flatcar (US) (also flat car (US) or flat wagon (UIC)) is a piece of railroad (US) or railway (non-US) rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair (or rarely, more) of bogeys under each end . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.

Depressed center flat cars are of a special construction having the portion of floor extending between trucks depressed to provide necessary overhead clearance for lading. When large and heavy loads need to be moved long distances railroads are often the best choice for the job. These loads are often tall enough that they wouldn't pass safely under bridges or other obstacles if carried on conventional flat cars. To provide extra clearance, railroads use heavy-duty, depressed center flat cars. The lower center deck provides several inches of extra clearance, and since the cargo does not have to be lifted as high, loading and unloading is easier.

Road Name History: CSX Transportation (reporting mark CSXT) is a Class I railroad in the United States. The main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation, the railroad is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km). CSX operates one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and Canadian Pacific Railway. It also serves the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Together CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway have a duopoly over all east-west freight rail traffic east of the Mississippi River. As of October 1, 2014 CSX's total public stock value was slightly over $32 billion.

CSX Transportation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries, and finally with the Seaboard System Railroad in 1986. The originator of the Seaboard System was the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which previously merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and later with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, as well as several smaller subsidiaries such as the Clinchfield Railroad, Atlanta & West Point Railroad, Monon Railroad and the Georgia Railroad. The origin of the Chessie System was the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which had merged with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway.

Read more on Wikipedia.

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