HO Bethgon Coalporter with Load, CSX #3 (5) (ATH81603)

An HO-scale BethGon Coalporter with Load in CSX livery, road number 3, is a highly detailed coal car designed for realistic freight operations on HO layouts. This model features a newly re-tooled body, separate wire-form grab irons on etched metal coupler platforms, a separately applied brake wheel, and body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers. It rolls on 36-inch machined metal wheels with RP25 contours, is weighted for optimum performance, and is painted and printed for authentic decoration. Multiple road numbers are included, with a minimum turning radius of 18 inches to ensure smooth operation on typical layouts.

The Coalporter was developed to boost capacity and efficiency, built by Bethlehem Steel’s Johnstown American Corporation. The BethGon uses all-aluminum construction and a trough-style bottom for added carrying capacity, a bathtub-style design that increases cubic capacity while lowering the center of gravity for better tracking. These cars typically operate in solid unit trains, and one end of each car is equipped with a rotary coupler to allow the train to feed through a rotary unloader without uncoupling.