Atlas delivers a 1:48 rendering of a rebuilt well car and a 40-foot high-cube container to its line of O products; both releases are Master level offerings and are sold separately. The well car measures approximately 16 inches (around 60 scale feet) and the “40 foot” in its label is a reference to what is carried and not the freight car’s length. In the early 2000s, a move toward reducing the variety of sizes in intermodal containers led to the phasing out of 48-foot well cars (and some others) in general use. At the time, single-container well cars built to handle 48-foot containers suddenly had less utility.
As the cars were fairly new, a rebuilding program shortened their length and made their well section able to handle a container up to 40 feet. Atlas offers this great-looking model in 2- and 3-rail versions. This 3-rail model is decorated for TTX with the newer red/black logo and inclusion of the familiar “Next Load Any Road” slogan and red/blue arrows. The other releases in this run include TTX with an earlier logo (white letters on black block) and the service’s “Forward Thinking” logo (which is the same as this review model’s design, but lacks the “Next Load” slogan and adds “Forward Thinking” below the TTX emblem). The other road name is NOKL (red with white lettering).
ABOVE: Nearly all components making up this Atlas O well car are metal. The brake wheel (on the op-posite end), hitch plate for carrying trailers, and stirrup steps are among the only plastic parts I detected in my evaluation of this release. The stirrup steps can be easily knocked off during handling, but I found they snapped back into place with no issues or damage.
The 2-rail well car (MSRP: $114.95) will navigate 36-inch radius curves, while this 3-rail edition (with functioning metal knuckle couplers) can operate on O-54 and wider curves. The roller bearing trucks include rotating bearing caps.
The 40-foot high-cube container (ISO Type 45G1) is a plastic model that arrives ready for placement. Atlas includes a bag of pins for insertion into the top or bottom corner posts on this model to allow for stacking. The end door rails are separately applied and enhance the appearance of this release. The run provides eight looks, including this orange Hapag-Lloyd offering. Atlas splits the container road names into two 8-pack offerings (each retailing for $215.60).
ABOVE: Atlas promotes its 40-foot high-cube con-tainer model as compatible with all its own O-scale well car models. The detailed plastic container comes fully assembled and decorated with a bagged set of pins for stacking models.
The models come packaged in Atlas O’s familiar blue window-display boxing. The well car is secured in a two-piece plastic cradle with film protecting it, and two black plastic posts with pins that go up through the outer corners of the well section to hold the model in place and avoid damage. Be careful when sliding the metal pins on those black posts free from the replica. When paired, this well car and container make for an impressive reproduction of a contemporary prototype. Both models are limited-production releases from Atlas O. Check with your hobby dealer for stock.
Atlas Model Railroad Co.
O-scale
40-foot Rebuilt Well Car
3-rail TTX 458975,
3003028-2, $109.95
40-foot High-Cube Container
Hapag-Lloyd FANU 1443313, 3001143-3,
$26.95
