FVM Intermodal

[James Costello]

Is the Duraplate the same as Schneider used?

I'm going to have to check Ryan. Generally speaking it's a Hunt box, but Schneider tippi-toed into the container business and sampled all of the manufacturers. It's possible the "wide-post" Hyundai is good for Schneider. I'll need to do some research on what they tried from Wabash though.

[jagged ben]

Well this is exciting.     I've been wondering what FVM has been up to, not a lot has appeared from them lately.  I hope it means that Matt has been hard at work on this new tooling.  It's certainly a lot to announce at once.

[mu26aeh]

So what are we up to now ?  ScaleTrains, FVM, MicroTrains all have announced or running 53' containers.  Any cross overs, and any companies I've missed ?

[jagged ben]

So what are we up to now ?  ScaleTrains, FVM, MicroTrains all have announced or running 53' containers.  Any cross overs, and any companies I've missed ?

Seems everyone is doing the CIMC corrugated.  MTL's has vertical nose corrugations, ScaleTrains has horizontal with logo panel, and FVM has announced both of those plus another (horizontal no logo panel).  All offer very slight differences from the Kato and Deluxe corrugated models, the prototypes for which I'm a bit uncertain of (the Kato could be a Jindo, maybe looks like a Singimas, the Deluxe appears to be an early Jindo).   The FVM confirmation of a Wabash plate side would be the most different from any existing offerings, and is most exiting to me.   Kato's exterior post container is a Stoughton, which FVM also is announcing, although it could be a different type.  The Hyundai rib sides from FVM are similar but with some variety. 

[GaryHinshaw]

Does that look like a gunderson 48' well car in the artwork? M 

LOL.  It's a 53' Husky Stack (see below).  Since the FVM display shows that well cars are also in development, here is my census of 53' well cars that are thick on the ground.  Models of any of these, especially an NSC example, would be very welcome!  All links require Railcar Photos login.  This is turning out to be an unbelievable year for modern N scale intermodal. 

Gunderson:
Husky Stack
Lengthened Husky Stack
All Purpose, single-unit  (model: N Scale Kits)
Maxi-IV, 3-unit articulated  (models: Kato, Deluxe)
Lengthened Maxi-III, 5-unit articulated  "Maxi-V"

National Steel Corp:
Single-unit well
Single-unit well
Single-unit well
3-unit, drawbar-coupled wells
3-unit articulated wells

Thrall:
3-unit articulated

Trinity:
Single-unit well, also drawbar-coupled?
3-unit articulated wells

[Denver Road Doug]

So, FVM confirmed on Facebook that as per the artwork shown, they are also doing a Duraplate container - aka a JB Hunt container.

O. M. G.

I may have to rethink this era move and/or migration to z-scale.

What would be the earliest the "Hunt Container" appeared?

[jagged ben]

What would be the earliest the "Hunt Container" appeared?

1995 or thereabouts for JB Hunt 53's.  Not sure about the specific Wabash prototype.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

1995 or thereabouts for JB Hunt 53's.  Not sure about the specific Wabash prototype.

They were that early? I have been trying to pin down just how many 53' footers were around in 1998. I think I read somewhere EMP had something like 150 Stoughton 53' while they had several thousand 48' out there.

This is getting to be a bit annoying for me as ALL of these announcements are too modern.

[jagged ben]

They were that early?

Yes.
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/273682/
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/163827/

and for APL:
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/557783/

I have been trying to pin down just how many 53' footers were around in 1998. I think I read somewhere EMP had something like 150 Stoughton 53' while they had several thousand 48' out there.

Sounds plausible.  My take is you don't 'need' 53 footers to model stacktrains in 1998, or not many. There would have been plenty of trains with few or none.

[James Costello]

1995 or thereabouts for JB Hunt 53's.  Not sure about the specific Wabash prototype.

It's actually a little earlier @Denver Road Doug, @daniel_leavitt2000  and @jagged ben - Hunt took deliveries for 53' plate wall containers in 1993 from Great Dane, Monon and Stoughton and amassed nearly 13,000 of them between 1993 and 1998. These sit in the JBHU 200000 - 215214 number ranges. Stoughton built the bulk with over 7k, followed by Great Dane (2.5k), Monon (1.6k) and Pines (1.6k).

In 1999, Hunt got a single composite sided platewall from Wabash as a test unit - #215225.

Things were a bit quiet until 2001, when Wabash started delivering composite platewalls continuously until 2006. I expect all of these are badged as WN's "Duraplate" style and there are some subtle design changes over this span - most noticeable will be in the quantity and locations of the sidewall tie-down cups. At least we can compare the FVM artwork to photos to lock this down now. Hunt had almost 11,000 composite plate walls in the fleet by 2006 before the industry changed to corrugated steel containers. These will be in the 215500 - 226800s ranges. The oddballs amongst this era are a small order in the 224500s (<224700) built by Hyundai (Mexico), 230000 - 230098 (CIMC China 2006) and 230300s by Hyundai.

Anyway, a Duraplate is a great choice for FVM and represents a core period of intermodal growth and the rise of 53' containers amongst the IMCs.

JBHU 230500 kicks off the great steel transition in 2006, which by 2010, was also over 11,000 units between CIMC (7.5k), Singamas (1.6k), C&Jindo (1.5k) and Jindo (0.5k). Don't expect a lot of variation amongst the steel can builders - the designs are pretty much cloned.

 

[James Costello]

Schneider's journey was a completely different, but these are the units to check against the FVM Duraplate model:
SNLU 419039 - plate wall prototype
SNLU 954450 - 954548 (99) Wabash 2004 - composite plate wall
SNLU 972621 - 972720 (100) Wabash 2005 - composite plate wall
SNLU 977661 - 977960 (300) Wabash 2005 - composite plate wall

There is also SNLU 992206 - 992255 (50) bought used (2009?).

In terms of the other models FVM has shown, there is a good chance we will get some of the variety that Schneider has in the fleet. The Hyundai 25 rib wide post is pretty unique and I'm confident Schneider had some of those, along with Dart, NFI amongst others. But in terms of the Hyundais and Stoughtons in the fleet we have:

955444 - 955543 (100) Stoughton 2004 - ex-post
971432 - 972331 (100) Stoughton 2005 - ex-post
976960 - 977657? (700?) Stoughton 2005? - ex-post
977976 - 978175 (200) Hyundai 2005 - ex-post
981027 - 983026 (2000) Hyundai 200? - ex-post
986727 - 986896 (170) Stoughton 2007 - ex-post

The corrugated steel CIMCs began in 2007 as well in the 987xxx series (150 containers) but really ramped up in 2009 with 2,000 units from CIMC (992406 - 993405, 996074 - 997073).

I really hope one of the FVM ex-posts have a sheet and post front nose wall, so it looks signifcantly different from the Kato model. It was a mainstay in the EMP fleet and represents a lot of the early movement by Schneider into the container business. UP through EMP tried to lock Schneider into business with the "Optimodel" badged x-posts and I'd really love to have some donuts:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/opsu234402.jpg
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/opsu234402_front.jpg
Regular EMP:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/emuu230371.jpg

But even this style would be ok I guess...
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/opsu237851.jpg


This would appear to be the other Stoughton style that doesn't seem to represented in the tooled FVM models so far:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/snlu971560.jpg
This would be a nice variety to have.

BTW, the SNLU and JBHU roster data came from John Helberg's intermodal site, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

[James Costello]

I'm guessing (it's a little hard to tell from the photo or ad shown to date) that the Hyundai 25 rib wide post is this style:

Schneider:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/snlu978114.jpg
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/snlu986508.jpg

Dart:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/drtu230944.jpg

NFI:
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/nfiu600000.jpg
http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/nfiu600270.jpg

I'm pretty sure the NFI and Dart ones found homes elsewhere as well.

From memory, Intermountain (maybe ex A-Line) has done this can in HO.

We really need to get Matt on here for these discussions. How about it @Sokramiketes ?

[James Costello]

Lengthened Maxi-III, 5-unit articulated  "Maxi-V"

I haven't had time to check, but there might only be 1 or 2 of these as 'proof of concept' test units.... I'm not sure yet.

[GaryHinshaw]

I haven't had time to check, but there might only be 1 or 2 of these as 'proof of concept' test units.... I'm not sure yet.

I think so too.  One could foob one of these pretty well by just adding two interior wells to a Maxi-IV set, so definitely not a high priority for a manufacturer.  Any of the NSC wells would be first on my wish list.

Nice info on the early containers!

[jagged ben]

Thanks for all that James!

So, aside from the EMP Optimodal venture, was Schneider all trailers until '04?    I don't seem to have any containers showing up in my photo collection until 2005 (which of course doesn't mean they didn't exist, just not that common yet). 

BTW, nice to see Matt's Place is online again, it was down for me for about the previous 24hrs.