A question on FMC-logod, NAHX hoppers, and grain.

[brammy]

I am putting together a Unit grain train. I grabbed a bunch of hopper cars without paying much attention to the logos. I have one that has the FMC corp logo, with the NAHX reporting mark. It looks like this: cptrainstuff.com/packs/cp-modern-freight/athfmc4700hopper/nahx-fmc_f.png.

My main question is: would this hopper be used for grain service? I know FMC is a chemical corporation, but the NAHX mark makes me think they are just leased out.

That said, if it is still mostly a chemical pesticide car, it might be funny to leave it in the middle of the train as a joke/Easter egg.

[edwardsutorik]

Nope.

NAHX does lease cars, to anyone. This particular anyone makes/sells fertilizer and/or pesticides. They don't sell or transport grain.

You COULD argue, I suppose, that FMC was having a slow period, cleaned out some of their cars, and sub-leased them for grain transport.

Maybe it really happened.

Ed

[Colin 't Hart]

Remove the FMC logo with the MicroSol trick? And then some weathering to cover up any ghost of it.

[jonklein611]

You could argue it's a pesticide delivery to a depot near the grain elevator...

[brammy]

Feb 19, 2020 2:53:15 GMT -8 Colin 't Hart said:

Remove the FMC logo with the MicroSol trick? And then some weathering to cover up any ghost of it.

I thought about that, but any excuse to buy a new hopper is a good one. 

To Jon’s point, I thought about leaving it in as a gag when I run it at the club. 

[fr8kar]

I modeled a grain train I saw in North Dakota in 1991. In addition to the grain elevators in town there was a fertilizer bulk blend plant. In the 70s and 80s there were several small elevators on the branch line, but eventually some of the older ones were shut down and the complex in Bottineau grew. Even after this consolidation the elevator complex couldn't generate enough cars for an entire train (only 50 or so). These half-trains would move down the branch to the main and consolidate with other cuts from other branches. It was common for a couple fertilizer hoppers to move in the train of empty hoppers on the way into town, along with anhydrous cars when they were needed. Maybe you could do something similar.

[gevohogger]

You could always do it like they do it on the typical club layout. The "grain train" has covered hoppers of every size, color and description. Even obvious "non grain" cars such as ARCO Polymers, DuPont, Shell Plastics, Old Dutch Cleanser, etc, etc.

[cemr5396]

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the old FMC cars have gone on to different owners, often with patched-out reporting marks. Since they are longer in service to FMC, it's conceivable they could pop up in a grain train.