The Atlas Product Spotlight - O Premier 3-Bay Centerflow Hoppers
Prior to the Centerflow, the typical covered hopper was little more than a coal hopper with a roof. Dry products such as salt were loaded through roof hatches and unloaded by gravity through doors in the floor. Like most freight cars of their era, these cars had a center sill. This support beam ran down the middle of the car between the left and right sets of unloading doors, and that led to problems in emptying the car.
The Centerflow’s key innovation was the elimination of the center sill by relocating the car’s main support beams to the bottom edge of each side. This enabled the discharge hopper doors to be located along the centerline of the car, allowing for easier, more complete unloading and banishing the problem of caking on the center sill. In addition, the car sides were curved to allow for more complete filling of the car. Stub center sills at each end provided a place to mount the trucks. The Centerflow was the first larger-capacity covered hopper designed for grain and products of similar density.
- Intricately Detailed Durable ABS Body
- Metal Wheels and Axles
- Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
- Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
- Colorful, Attractive Paint Schemes
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- Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
- Needle-Point Axles
- 1:48 Scale Dimensions
- Unit Measures:13 7/8” x 2 11/16” x 3 7/8”
- Operates On O-31 Curves (3-Rail)
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