ACF 4650 3-Bay Centerflow Covered Hopper GN

These are terrific little cars. The catwalk around the circular loading hatches, which have very good detailing including lever type latches, is see through mesh on top of roof supports. B end details are good with hopper reinforcement, brake cylinder, auxiliary reservoir and ABEL control valve seen and the handbrake. The brake pipe is clearly visible from the side running the length of the car, routed there so it would be without interference with the unloading hatches. Other details include ladders, stirrups and grabs that are all close to scale with pull rings on both sides and both ends. The bottom hatches have very nice detailing with ratchet bar, lid, rails, rivet detail and vibrator fittings. The trucks are standard fare but they do have the correct 36 inch wheels, all metal with metal axles and the car rolls freely. Paint and printing are top notch as always with Atlas equipment. Data tells us the car was built in 1976 and with no COTS date this car can operate to 1986 without becoming an anachronism, if you are a purist. The big weak spot is the couplers, as they are plastic with no metal knuckle springs but they are easily replaced. There is no piping between the elements of the air brakes, but this is not an Atlas Master Line car and therefore doesn't have a master line price. The car being mostly white the brake gear details are not readily visible because they do not stand out. I haven't applied any paint yet but that will have to be the fix for this relatively minor shortcoming. At 165g it is well above NMRA standard minimum weight for this car and will make a great addition to your rolling stock roster.