Atlas Model Railroad Co. Product Review

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This review was taken from the August, 2001 issue of Model Railroad News and is reproduced with permission of Lamplight Publishing, Merlin, OR.

ATLAS’ NEW CENTER FLOW PRESSUREAIDE HOPPER

Review by Michael J. Pratt

Atlas’ new Center Flow Pressureaide Car has never been produced in N scale before. It is modeled after American Car & Foundry’s freight car and comes fully assembled and ready to run.

Developed in 1979, the Center Flow Pressureaide is a pressure differential car especially designed for the transport and handling of dry, powdered commodities such as flour, starch, talc, clay, limestone, and others. The car features four compartments and has a capacity of 5,000 cubic feet.

The Pressureaide car operates with internal pressures up to 15 psi for fast, efficient unloading. Only one air-supply hose is required to pressurize the car, and one product line is needed for discharge. The loading hatches are equipped with neoprene gaskets, providing a pressure tight seal to insure contamination free shipping. Since its introduction, the Pressureaide has been well received. In 1998, ACF began producing a 5,300 cubic foot Pressureaide model.

Atlas is offering their N scale version of the ACF Pressureaide in the following schemes: Demonstrator, ADM, Cerestar, Corn Products, OMYA, Soo Line, Staley, and undecorated. Most schemes are available in two roadnumbers. The scheme sent for review is ACF Industries Demonstrator, ACFX 51011. The prototype was built in June 1985 at Milton on Lot #75-19338.

The first thing one notices upon pulling the car out of the clear plastic box is the etched metal roof walks. These are nicely done, but have been left natural metal and not painted. Modelers may wish to detail these with careful painting to match certain prototypes. I don’t know if I would attempt to remove the roof walks from the roof. However, the entire roof with roof walks can be removed from the model.

The end ladders, brake wheel, and vertical bracing are slender in profile and very nicely done. Scale piping is represented under one side sill. Under the model is the piping used to pressurize and unload the car. It is made from a flexible plastic like that used on locomotive handrails. This is also finely molded and finished off the car very nicely. I was unable to locate specific drawings of the Pressureaide version, but Atlas’ model compares very well with standard Center Flow hopper dimensions.

All these mentioned details are exceptional, but pale in comparison to the application of paint and lettering Atlas has done to this car. The Center Flow Pressureaide Demonstrator car is decorated in blue, red, and gold with black lettering. The lettering on the demo car is among the best produced on N scale rolling stock. For instance, the phrase, “NOTE THIS CAR HAS FOUR COMPARTMENTS,” takes up a total length of 5/16” on the side sill, and looks like a faint gray line until magnified. The ends also sport some finely done lettering, printed over the car’s end ribs, which is also legible when magnified.

Each car comes factory equipped with AccuMate magnetic couplers. The couplers are truck mounted and are the right height on our sample according to Micro-Train’s height gauge. One trip pin as low and required a slight adjustment. The plastic wheelsets on the 100-ton roller-bearing trucks match NMRA specs.

Placing the car on the track demonstrates just how free rolling the trucks actually are. The car is weighted over each truck, and is very steady traveling down the track. The car as shipped weighs in at slightly more than 1 ounce.

This is possibly my shortest review of any model; but for Atlas’ ready to run center Flow Pressureaide Car not much needs to be said. One look and it is clear that Atlas is producing rolling stock to match its spectacular new N scale locomotives. This is surely enough to make any N Scaler ask, “What’s next!”

American Car & Foundry Center Flow Pressureaide Hopper