UP 40' Open 3-Bay 70-Ton Hopper

[tknarr58]

Hello,

After being enormously pleased with the purchase of two Full Throttle 33' hoppers (CNW/CMO), I decided to purchase the latest release of the longer 40' hoppers. I can report that I am again well pleased. The UP paint job is crisp and very attractive, the detail of the body is excellent and the coal load is cool. For you newer Z scale people like myself, don't hesitate to purchase these little gems. Does anyone know if Uncle Will has any new body styles in the works?

Terry

[TechRepJapan]

Yes... Uncle Will has new body-styles in the works for future releases. But... those future releases are being slowed down due to the economic down-turn and other factors. A lot of the current releases are being produced in very limited runs, wanting to ensure they are not stuck in seller's inventories.

Personally... I buy almost every release from Uncle Will (with the exception of a few road-names I have absolutely no interest in).

[docker2524]

Can anybody tell me if the 70 ton hoppers are still in service today? Would you find these in consists with the 100 ton pennzee type hopper in real life? Or have they exceeded the 50yr rule. Any information would help.bh

[Glenn Woodle]

One solution may be to find some 3bay cars in one of the color freight car guides.

Cars built in the 1960's may have lasted in MOW service thru 1995 with some needing bad order repair. You could have some fun in repainting or reletter them to your roadname. Then have some more fun getting them rusty, dirty, etc. They would make great candidates for cars with a rust repair patch.

Trains has a great article about coal this month. I doubt if any would still be found in PRB western coal service. They may hang on a bit longer in eastern service.