Anyone know who made this Hopper?

[gbcaboose]

I bought a few on eBay and the seller didn't know the manufacturer. They look like they're PS-4400 or 4427's or similar. The detail is good, but not like BLMA or Exactrail, however they have a thin plastic roofwalk instead of etched. Also, as you can see in the pics, they have a separate floor and side slopes. The side slopes are glued in place. I think PM, Exactrail and BLMA all had one piece floor and sides and the roofs are removable. The ADM car shown is Exactrail and is nearly identical with the main difference being the slope/ladder detail in the upper corners.

It's not a huge deal, I'm just curious.

Thanks, Mike

[gbcaboose]

Dang it! I forgot to check Spookshow's sight before I posted. I think it's a Walthers/Atlas PS-4427. Or possibly this oddball Exactrail/Concor model:

[wazzou]

All of the photos including the Santa Fe car are Walthers, now produced by Atlas at three times the original price.

[spookshow]

I was told that the Con-Cor hoppers were made by Exactrail (Fred Becker owed Jim Conway some money and paid him off with hopper shells). What leads you to believe that they are Walthers cars?



Thanks,
-Mark

[sirenwerks]

Never heard of those Con-Cor models. Are they true 4427s, or some other P-S body?

[wazzou]

Interesting, I've never seen those either.

[nscalbitz]

Precision Masters?
I have a number in D&RGW (orange and grey), MP etc.
d

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Pretty sure these are the Walthers cars. Dead giveaway is the molded in air tank. PM/red caboose used a slot in air tank and the exactrail cars were all separate parts.

[wazzou]

Like I said, these are Walthers cars, though @spookshow offered a unique surprise?
Unless I'm missing something, what is all of this talk about Precision Masters and Exactrail?
These are low hip PS4427's that as near as I can recall, PM never made.
I know Exactrail has offered them but none of the pictures up-thread seemed like representations of their offerings.
The Exactrail cars are much more refined.

[cfritschle]

I looked through my stash of "to do" projects, and found several Walthers #932-8650 undecorated PS 4427 covered hoppers.

Those cars definitely match the photos in the original post!

[peteski]

I looked through my stash of "to do" projects, and found several Walthers #932-8650 undecorated PS 4427 covered hoppers.

Those cars definitely match the photos in the original post!

Do they have any engraved lettering on the bottom anywhere to indicate who the manufacturer was, or the country?

[cfritschle]

Do they have any engraved lettering on the bottom anywhere to indicate who the manufacturer was, or the country?

Peter,

No engraving at all on the model.  The bottom of the box does have "W.K. Walthers, Milwaukee WI" and "Made in China" in about a 4 point font. 

[peteski]

Thanks Carter.

[gbcaboose]

Thanks for all the replies. I think it's definitely a Walthers made hopper. I don't have any others Walthers hoppers other than one of the larger PD hoppers. The PD hoppers have the ultra thick roof walk and ladders, which is why I originally dismissed Walthers as the manufacturer. After checking the Spookshow site and finding some good examples on ebay, I can see that it is indeed (I think) a Walthers hopper.

Thanks again, Mike

[cfritschle]

Here is a photo of a "right out of the original box" Walthers PS 4427 covered hopper.