4-Bay Hopper 6-Pack - 3-Rail - Ready to Run - Premier(R) -- Illinois Central Set #1 (black, orange)

This car is likely the last hurrah of the bottom unloading coal hopper. Its prototype was built largely in the 1960s and '70s, just before the destinations for these cars - mainly utility power plants and harbor side shipping facilities - began switching to rotary unloading. While many of these cars survive in service today, newer coal cars are technically not hoppers at all. With trough-like bottoms and no hopper doors, they're actually high-sided gondolas designed solely for rotary unloading. Features include intricately detailed and durable ABS bodes, metal wheels and axles, operating die cast metal couplers, die cast sprung metal 4-wheel trucks and colorful paint scheme.