Prototype History: Centerbeam flatcars, centerbeams, center partition railcars or commonly referred to as lumber racks are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, wallboard, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal I-beam, often in the form of a Vierendeel truss, sometimes reinforced by diagonal members, but originally in the form of stressed panels perforated by panel-lightening "opera windows", often oval, egg-shaped or rectangular. They must be loaded symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other to avoid tipping over.
Road Name History:
The MSDR was launched by the Gulf & Ohio Railways shortline group to run 51 miles of line from Swan Lake north to Jonestown in northwestern Mississippi. All but the northern most 10 miles of line was former Illinois Central. The north end was a private railroad owned by Delta Oil Mill. Traffic included carbon black, cotton seed byproducts, lint, soybeans and rubber. For the first decade, a typical week saw the movement of 75 loads. At that point, traffic began to fall off to less than a car a week by the year 2000. Parent company G&O planned to abandon the line but sold it to Coahoma County instead. G&O ran the line until 2001 as a “designated operator” before turning the keys over to C&J Railroad Company. In 2020 Rock Island Rail (technically Chicago Rock Island & Pacific LLC – no relation to the original CRI&P) took over as operator of this line under a revived “The Rock” flag. MSDR still exists as a corporate entity. Traffic now includes scrap, fertilizer, cotton, grain, farm products, paper and plastics.

Brand/Importer Information: Rapido Trains Inc. is a high-end manufacturer of model trains and accessories in HO, OO and N (North American 1:160 and British 1:148) scales. The firm's mission is to recreate the entire rail travel experience, from fully-detailed interiors and under-frames on models to fully-wired telephone poles for model railroads.
The name RAPIDO was introduced by Canadian National in 1965 to headline the railway's high-speed intercity passenger services. Until the mid-1980s, RAPIDO stood for fast schedules, frequent trains, and superb service.
Today, Rapido Trains continues the RAPIDO concept with state-of-the-art models and attention to fine detail. This company is not related to the venerable (and now defunct) German manufacturer Arnold Rapido, nor the present-day Arnold (which is owned by the United Kingdom's Hornby), Canadian based Rapido Trains was founded in 2003.
The name RAPIDO was introduced by Canadian National in 1965 to headline the railway's high-speed intercity passenger services. Until the mid-1980s, RAPIDO stood for fast schedules, frequent trains, and superb service.
Today, Rapido Trains continues the RAPIDO concept with state-of-the-art models and attention to fine detail. This company is not related to the venerable (and now defunct) German manufacturer Arnold Rapido, nor the present-day Arnold (which is owned by the United Kingdom's Hornby), Canadian based Rapido Trains was founded in 2003.
Item created by: CNW400 on 2023-04-03 14:53:42. Last edited by CNW400 on 2023-04-03 14:53:43
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