New Walthers Michigan-Style Taconite Cars offer modelers a new variation of a popular ore car. The models are based on prototypes modified to meet the changing needs of the iron ore industry.

Fast Facts: As upper Michigan's iron ore mines were depleted of high iron content ore in the 1960s, a new method of processing raw ore yielded a replacement material called taconite. Taconite production calls for breaking down the iron ore, removing impurities, combining with a binder of limestone and other materials, and baking to produce 1/2" pellets with a higher iron concentration than the original ore. The pellets are lighter than raw ore, so a 24' 70-ton ore car could carry more by volume. Michigan-Style Taconite Cars are modeled after standard 1940s and 50s-built Michigan-Style Ore Cars as they were modified in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. To handle the lighter material and larger volume, the sides and ends of the cars received vertical extensions. In 2009, many of these cars still haul taconite to Escanaba and Marquette, Michigan, for owners Canadian National and Lake Superior & Ishpeming, respectively, so they'll appeal to modelers interested in 1960s-present railroads.

Features: These HO Scale Gold Line freight cars come ready to run and each features a different number. To make operating a complete ore train easier, a single Proto MAX™ knuckle coupler is fitted on each of the end cars. The rest are equipped with realistic nonoperating fixed knuckle couplers. All cars are equipped with correct all-new 5' wheelbase trucks with RP-25 metal wheelsets. The cars wear authentic colors and markings except for data-only cars, which carry all the small data printing, leaving the sides unmarked for modelers who wish to apply their own custom markings.

Expected Delivery: October 2009
Scale: HO
Retail Price: $169.98 Each

Michigan-Style Taconite Car 12-Pack
932-40531 CNW† (black)
932-40532 CNW† (Oxide)
932-40533 Lake Superior & Ishpeming (black)
932-40534 Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Company (SSAM, WC/CN Subsidiary, maroon)
932-40535 Data Only (Mineral Red)