Atlas Model Railroad Co. Product Review

N SCALE FRONT RUNNER PIGGYBACK CAR

This new ready-to-run piggyback car from Atlas represents the Front Runner, a popular skeleton-type car of the modern era. The model is based on prototype cars built for Trailer Train Corp. (now TTX) beginning in 1983. The prototype cars are designed to be lightweight, and they average just 13 tons each. Prototype Front Runners have been turned out by several builders, including Pacific Car & Foundry, Thrall, and Trinity Industries. The cars have nonretractable hitches and can carry trailers from 40 to 48 feet long. Atlas' model has a die-cast metal body, including center sill and trailer-wheel platform. The brake cylinder and control valve are cast with the body.

The trailer hitch, grab irons, stirrup steps, and brakewheel stand are separate plastic pieces. These all attach to the body with friction pins, which tend to slip out of their holes. I'd suggest using a bit of cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) in each hole to help secure the detail parts. The metal wheels ride in plastic one-axle trucks which swivel slightly. Atlas chose to pattern its trucks after prototype cars equipped with UIC (International Union of Railways) trucks, the most common type used on prototype Front Runners. The model's scale 28"-diameter wheels match the prototype.

Rapido-style couplers come body-mounted on each end, but Micro-Trains Line no. 1049 Magne-Matic couplers slide perfectly into the openings. The Atlas draft-gear-box cover needs to be modified slightly for the Micro-Trains couplers: On the cover, between the two mounting pins there's a raised pad. Remove this with a hobby knife.

The model measures a scale 50'-6" long, 9'-0" wide, and 3'-9" tall to the top of the center sill. The car's dimensions match drawings published in the September 1985 MODEL RAILROADER.

The car weighs just .2 ounces, compared to the 1.2 ounces suggested by NMRA Recommended Practice 20.1. There's no room for additional weight on the car itself, but weight could be added to a piggyback trailer riding on the car. In spite of its light weight, the metal body and low center of gravity help it track fairly well.

The Front Runners will run on 9 3/4" radius curves, but they operate more smoothly on broader curves. On tight corners the trucks don't swivel, causing the wheels to skew. This makes the cars prone to derailments on uneven track good trackwork the cars operated very well with no derailments.

This is a nice car, and it's good to see another common modern intermodal car on the market. - J.W.