ExactRail
Modern Freight Cars
by Jeff Shultz photos Joe Fugate
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n late January 2009 the model railroad community lit up with the announcement of a new, high quality car manufacturer – ExactRail, led by veteran model railroad toolmaker Chris Clune. ExactRail officially launched February 1st, by shipping three new HO Scale models – the Vert-A-Pac Automobile Car, the Gunderson 7466 cu. ft. Wood Chip Gondola, and the PC&F 6033 cu. ft. Hy-Cube Box Car. One month later, Exactrail entered the N Scale market with N Scale versions of the PC&F 6033 cu. ft. Hy-Cube, the Vert-A-Pac Automobile Car, and a new prototype, the Trinity 5161 Covered Hopper. Every couple of months since then, they’ve released both new models and additional runs of previously released models, all of which quickly sell out.
From the beginning, ExactRail divided their HO models into different “series,” with different levels of detail and pricing. Beginning with the high-end Platinum and mid-range Evolution series initially, ExactRail has added two more series – the economy Express series and the Signature Series, which features Platinum quality models of what they call “railroad-unique prototypes” such as Southern Railroad’s “Waffle Boxcar” and the Milwaukee Road’s 40’ Rib Side boxcars. ExactRail’s N-Scale products are not differentiated by series. Recently ExactRail released new runs of three models – the Platinum Series Thrall 3564 cu. ft. gondola, the Evolution Series PC&F 6033 cu. ft. hycube boxcar, and the Express Series Gunderson 2420 cu. ft. gondola. Many thanks to the contributors and members of the Modern Freight Car List, The SP Freight Cars Page, the Atlas Forums, Railcar Photos, and TrainOrders for the information I was able to collect from their posts and photos.
Thrall 3564 gondola The Thrall 3564 was mislabeled as a 3267 cu. ft. gondola in the original release, an error that was quickly
Thrall 3564 cu. ft. gondola decorated in the GNTX paint scheme.
Page 116 • Issue 8 • Jul/Aug 2010 • First Look - Exact Rail Modern Freight cars - page 1
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