Atlas Trinity 3230 N Scale Covered Hopper | CCMR Railcar Reviews:

[@dexterdog62]

No doubt about it, those covered hoppers are absolutely gorgeous with unparalleled detail. And your review was very articulate and thorough. You’ve almost convinced me to order a couple, Atlas should pay you commission!

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

Thanks for the kind words. Probably one of the best models I've gotten from Atlas. Too bad so much of their stuff takes like 2-3 years from pre-order.

[@jerrysmith1929]

You've really packed a lot into a small space. Good job!

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

Thanks Jerry! Selective compression to the rescue on a layout this small!

[@Bardwell_Junction]

Masterline Plus most likely indicates it was designed by BLMA prior to its purchase by Atlas. The blue bearing caps, the car # on the trucks, and the attention to details set these cars apart from almost anything available when the BLMA line came out. Spine cars, the Trinity refer cars (Exact rail also did this car) the ATSF beer cars, the larger trinity 5660 PD cars and several others have all been rerun by Atlas since the purchase. This car was most likely in some phase of development when Atlas bought BLMA, and has finally brought it to market. Atlas also bought the Walthers line of freight cars, and has the audacity to refer to that line as their Masterline series despite the very crudely designed details on them, so it is nice to see them differentiate the BLMA designed cars with the "plus", they are beautiful cars. It is a good time to be an N scaler for sure!

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

That’s a great point! My fleet of BLMA tank cars likewise have similar features. Regarding the Walthers stuff you are right. I have Walthers and Atlas coil cars that are clearly the same moldings, trying to remember if the Atlas ones added the metal footplates

[@carlvitko1355]

Those hoppers look fantastic,the detail is amazing and they fit in perfectly on the layout.😊

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

I always like running shorter rail cars - they do look better on tight turns and you can run more of them too. Sometime soon I’ll make a video of all my 1950s stuff. The 40’ boxcars look great on the layout.

[@H.R.6688]

I got the 4 they made for Roanoke cement, it's really cool because I live right next to Roanoke, and actually grew up next to the tracks that run to that cement plant. Never expected to see them made by anybody.

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

I've never really thought about how manufacturers decide what roads/companies to represent. I suspect they try to pick out roads or companies with enough regional interest that people will buy the models.

[@harryedmunds6652]

Great car. However, on the first two cars I purchased, the yellow grab rails on the walkway at the top of the end ladders simply fell off while I was handling the cars. Being very small, two of them completely disappeared and could not be found. So, I made four grabs using fine brass wire and installed them with super glue. I then painted them yellow. Later, I ordered another hopper and secured the grabs with super glue immediately after opening the plastic case that held the car. It appeared that the Chinese workers who assembled these cars didn't properly glue the grabs to the walkway during the car's assembly. I would urge anyone who purchases these cars to put a drop of super glue on each end of the yellow grabs before handling the cars. Other than that problem, these cars are some of the best I've purchased.

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

Thanks for relating your experience with the models Harry. That's good advice for anyone interested in these cars. Thus far no issues with the grab rails on mine, but will be looking out for that. It seems there's an element of luck as to which copy of a model one gets. My previous review of a ScaleTrains car pointed out some defects on the running plate that others haven't seen.

[@RoddyHyduk]

What do these kind of cars usually transport? Trying to see if they’d fit into my layout

[@ChicagoCrossingRR]

Free-flowing dry bulk - cement, fly ash, corn starch, flour, etc. materials that can be ‘fluidized’ by pumping air into them.

[@RoddyHyduk]

Thanks!