Atlas PS-2 Hopper Announced in December 2015, by Atlas, are three Frisco road numbers of their Trainman PS-2 covered hoppers. Atlas’ promotional language states; Built by Pullman Standard starting in the late 1940s and into the 1950s, the PS-2 Covered Hoppers were used to transport granular bulk commodities, such as cement, soda ash, sand and grain. The models feature: 50-ton friction bearing or 70-ton roller bearing (where appropriate by road name) Intricate brake detail Accumate® couplers Fine painting and printing Item and road numbers are, 50 002 882/84032, 50 002 883/84040 and 50 002 884/84044. The MSRP is $19.95 per model and they are expected to be available in the Second Quarter of 2016. Continue reading...
Good news for you N-scalers! This car was part of the first batch of PS-2's the Frisco obtained, SLSF 84000 - 84099, delivered in 1958/early 1959. This first series of PS-2's had a different decor than the following several series of PS-2's the Frisco got. First of all, the paint color was a few shades darker gray than the following series, the later ones being more of a lighter gray. Secondly, the lettering was different - the F R I S C O was in a smaller, thinner lettering font. The Atlas pic above shows this clearly. Atlas did this car in HO a few years ago, and did a very nice job on it - the gray color was about the right shade, and the lettering looked perfect to my eye. This car looks good in a string of other Frisco LO's, PS-2's or otherwise, because of its slight color and lettering differences. I only have one, SLSF 84032. Nick Molo has a pic of the real SLSF 84032 in his book on page 98. You can clearly see the lettering and color shade differences vs the other PS-2's he has included in the book. I'll bet the N-scale version will also be well done by Atlas. Hope so! For the record, the trucks on this car were ASF A-3 "Ride Control" trucks, the SLSF favorite!, with regular (aka "friction") bearings. The car used a Universal brake wheel if you are particular about brake wheels. Ken
