Conrail (Boxcar Red, White, U1 Wheel Dot) (Heavily Dented Sides) - Road #522606 - 52'6" 15-Panel Mill Gondola
The Bluford Shops 52'6" 15-Panel Mill Gondola is based on cars serving the scrap metal and steel industries from the late 1940s into the 2000s. This Bluford Shops model is molded in three variations to simulate cars which have taken a beating in rough service - they have dented-out sides molded in their bodies! Lightly dented versions have multiple deflections in the side sheets above the floor line. The medium dented versions have the side sheets visibly puffed outward between the rivet lines as countless small dings to the inside faces accumulated and stretched the sheets into rough domes. The heavily fented versions also have the puffed-out panels but to a greater extent - plus many of the ribs have also been deflected outward. The concave dent detail on the inside faces matches the convex outside faces. Mill gondolas take a beating when they're loaded with scrap metal and finished structural steel thanks to the weight of the load and swinging loading cranes - they regularly hit the car sides from the inside. The only time a mill gondola has smooth sides is the day it's released from the factory. Other features of these models include roadname-appropriate ends and brake wheel/ratchet details, mottled-rust painted interior, die cast metal floor, accurate decoration, metal wheels and body-mounted magnetic knuckle couplers.