Central Valley Model Works has released a new HO Scale Flat Car kit. It is a model of a Northern Pacific 41 foot flat car. These flat cars were built by Northern Pacific and will fit eras from the 1930s to the 1970s. Suggested retail is $12.95 for two kits. Not included are trucks and couplers. However the kit is very complete with all the detail parts needed, plus shaped wire grab irons. There really is no room and no place to install the weight needed to bring the car to NMRA RP 20.1 and Central Valley recommends that the loads be the weight needed to give the car its’ desired weight.
I found the car to be fun to build. There are 6 stake pockets per side that are very small and easy to loose, so care must be taken when cutting these from the sprues. The side beams are deep and there are gussets that get glued to the underside between the car floor and this “skirt” as CVMW calls them. The car comes in black and the molded details include all brake lines, rods and plumbing. I found the detailing to be as crisp and clean as my Branchline Blue Print and other highly detailed kits are. They are a very nice addition to my Northern Pacific layout and stand up to very close scrutiny. I think the price is right, buying cars without trucks; or, couplers makes sense to me as I always use Kadee #5s and replace all plastic wheels with metal so buying a set of trucks was just fine with me.
If you enjoy building kits as much as I do and like a challenging car to build, these are a good choice! I’m sure these cars were seen on lines from coast to coast and from the southern boarders to the northern and not just on Northern Pacific!