Roof Hatches on BNSF ACF 4650 Center Flows

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

I am looking at an Atlas ACF 4650 Centerflow covered hopper. It appears to have gravity discharge gates, but has 6 round hatches on the roof with a white band of painted area around the hatches. I assume this car may be certified for food loading, but I have never seen this combination before.

I also have some old Front Range kits for the ACF 4600 cars - did BN or BNSF have several series of these cars - some with trough hatches and some with the round ‘seal-tite’ hatches - any info on what series had what? I have been reviewing web photo’s of these cars and it is sort of hard to ‘see’ the roof hatches.

Jim

2

BN did have 4650’s with round hatches–quite a few. They came with even and uneven spacing and with various discharge types. I can’t find a definitive list for the variations, though. I would recommend just accepting the Atlas car numbers–they’re most likely correct.

Ed