Short Barrel Ore Hopper 6-Pack - Ready to Run -- Canadian National Set 2 (mineral brown, noodle logo)

Prototypes for the Rapido Trains N Scale NSC Barrel Ore Hopper is based on cars used in unit trains which plied the rails from two mines in Northern Ontario to a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario, just west of Toronto. The reason for the round shape and covered hatches was to keep the processed iron-ore pellets from becoming frozen in the severe Canadian winters or damp with moisture which would slow down the unloading process. The cars also came in two varieties over three orders: a 35' length short version (built in 1967); and a 42' long version (delivered in 1973 and 1975 in two groups). This was to reduce rail wear as the 35' cars spanned the same length as the stick (jointed) rail underneath. Also unique is the tire that sits over top of each of the roof hatches. At the loadout, the tires come into contact with a "scroll" that forces the hatches to open. It took 60 seconds to fill each car and roughly an hour and twenty minutes for the entire unit train of 40 cars. More often than n