Shopping Cart
The Athearn Roundhouse RND70802 set brings together three 34-foot open hopper wagons in HO scale finished in the reddish-brown colours of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Each car reproduces the composite design approved by the War Production Board in 1942: heavy wood side panels and slope sheets over a structural steel underframe, a solution adopted to reduce metal consumption during the Second World War. Three different road numbers prevent visual repetition when the cars are lined up on the layout.
A coal consist with history behind it
The CB&Q was one of the great coal carriers of the American Midwest, and these emergency-design hoppers formed an active part of its fleet throughout the 1940s. On the layout, lining up the three cars behind a period steam or diesel locomotive immediately creates the feel of a working freight train: the prototype's compact 34-foot length makes it easy to negotiate curves and allows for long consists even on layouts with limited space. The 15-inch minimum radius (~38.1 cm) broadens planning options without compromising the realism of the overall scene.
Details that show on the track
The textured coal load is removable in each car, allowing you to alternate between loaded runs and empty returns within the same operating session. McHenry® magnetic knuckle couplers are body-mounted, and the machined metal wheels with RP25 profile ensure smooth passage over points and turnouts on code 100, 83 and smaller track. The hand brake wheel is applied as a separate part, adding relief to the end of each hopper. The set comes factory-weighted to NMRA weight-per-inch guidelines, stabilising train behaviour through curves and on grades.
Fitting into the layout
Three cars with different road numbers are enough to start a coherent coal consist; adding more sets of the same reference extends the train without repeating numbers. In a classification yard scene or alongside an industrial facility, the variation between loaded and empty cars adds dynamism to the scene without any additional elements. For modellers working with North American 1940s material in HO, this Athearn Roundhouse set offers a solid and well-documented starting point.