Westmoreland Coal Company O Gauge RailKing Gondola Car (19th Century)

Like our other 19th century rolling stock, this model rides on superb replicas of the diamond arch bar trucks that were common to almost all American freight cars in the last quarter of the 1800s. Built similar to a bridge truss and bolted together from steel straps, the diamond arch bar was the first commonly used all-metal truck - in large part due to its ease of construction and maintenance. "Diamond" referred to the shape described by the top and bottom arch bars that formed the sideframe.

Its simple construction, however, was also the arch bar's Achilles heel, as the millions of bolts on the nation's thousands of freight trucks were in constant need of re-tightening. Replaced in the next century by cast metal trucks, arch bars were outlawed for interchange use after December 31, 1939. 

High quality, traditionally sized RailKing Freight Cars provide detailed bodies and colorful paint schemes for the O Gauge railroader. MTH makes an enormous variety of RailKing Freight Cars, including many different car types and roadnames. No matter what era or part of the country you are modeling, RailKing is sure to have something for you.

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
• Colorful, Attractive Paint Scheme
• Metal Wheels and Axles
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
• Needle-Point Axles
• (2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
• Near-Scale Proportions
• Unit Measures: 9 5/8" x 2 7/16" x 2 1/16"
• Operates On O-27 Curves