Rapido 151001-1 - HO Vancouver Iron Works Piggyback Flatcar 6-Pack - Ready to Run -- Canadian National #688031 (Boxcar Red)

HO Vancouver Iron Works Piggyback Flatcar 6-Pack - Ready to Run -- Canadian National #688031 (Boxcar Red)

The Canadian Piggyback Flatcar features: Drawn from original blueprints Artworks sourced from original design drawings Heavy die-cast center sill Photo-etched deck surface Two styles of hitches; upright and collapsed. Either is install-able by the modeler Wire grab irons Durable trucks with metal wheels Rapido semi-scale metal knuckle couplers installed from the factory Both of Canadas two major railways started piggyback (TOFC) services in the 1950s. By the late 60s early 70s this traffic had grown substantially and both railroads saw a need to purchase purpose-built flatcars that could handle both 26-foot and longer trailers, up to the then-new standard of 45-foot. Canadian National placed a order for 283 cars with Vancouver Iron and Engineering Works (V.I.E.W.). Delivery on these cars started in 1966. They would continue in service well into the late 1980s, after a major rebuild in 1976 to a single hitch configuration which resulted in the cars being renumbered into the 688000?688184 series. Canadian Pacific ordered a large batch of 305 cars from Marine Industries Limited (MIL) in 1972, which were delivered as road numbers 505625-505930. These cars would soldier on in service after several rebuilding programs. As well as the removal of second hitch, container pedestals were later added to many of the cars. A final group of cars were reconfigured for the Southern Ontario XpressWay service with rub-rails for the circus-style loading and unloading at terminals.