N ACF4600 Covered Hopper WP #11989 (ATHG-1559)

An authentic scale model of the American Car and Foundry 4600 Center Flow covered hopper in a 3-bay configuration. This detailed kit captures the mid-1960s design used for grain and bulk commodities, featuring a rounded Center Flow body that supports gravity unloading. It offers multiple body styles—early, mid, and late—along with round or trough hatches, a photo-etched roofwalk, and finely detailed outlets plus a separately applied brake wheel. The model sits on screw-mounted 100-ton trucks with 36-inch machined metal wheels, and uses body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckles, weighted for smooth operation. The injection-molded body is crisply painted and printed, and the design is compatible with a minimum radius of 9-3/4 inches to fit a wide range of layouts.

Primed for grime: the kit can be finished to reproduce the in-service look with faded, dull-coated base colors matched to the prototype, providing a ready starting point for adding grime and rust. Prototype background notes place the 3-bay Center Flow hopper in the mid-1960s, built by American Car and Foundry to haul grain and similar bulk commodities. The rounded body design eliminates the traditional center sill and improves gravity unloading, and the common 4600 cu ft capacity version was widely adopted to replace aging boxcars while fitting within Plate B clearances on light branchlines and industrial service. These cars remain a familiar sight on grain trains today.