MODEL FEATURES: : Separately applied brake wheel Removable coal load Body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers 33” machined metal wheels with RP25 contours Weighted for optimum performance Fully-assembled and ready to run Highly-detailed, injection-molded body Painted and printed for realistic decoration Minimum radius: 15” PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:: The development of the hopper car went along with the development of automated handling of such commodities, with automated loading and unloading facilities. Open hopper cars are used for commodities such as coal, which can suffer exposure with less detrimental effect. Hopper cars have been used by railways worldwide whenever automated cargo handling has been desired. The composite side hopper, also called a “War Emergency Composite Hopper”, was a standard War Production Board design introduced in 1942. The hopper sides and end slope sheets were constructed of wood instead of steel, in order to preserve vital steel supplies for the war effort.