Review

 Athearn has added the remarkable Auto-Max automobile carrier to its Genesis line. In addition to an undecorated -unit, they have also released the cars in two numbers each of AOK Auto-Max, BNSF, CSX, CP/Soo, CRLE Auto-Max, and KCS.

Prototype

At some point in the late eighties and early nineties, the railroad industry began to realize that it ceded too much business to the motor freight industry. At that point, they set about to win.back some of the shipping they had let go. For over a decade, hauling had been considered to be such a low profit operation that it wasn't worth the railroads time.

There are several problems with moving automobiles. First, while the factory may be on a railline, there is a very good chance that the other end of the line won't be anywhere near a track. Second, automobiles represent high volume, low weight traffic, like toilet paper. Third, unlike toilet paper, motor vehicles are high risk, high dollar, and high security products. Finally, too many vehicles simply don't fit into the usual form factor, reducing their shipment value.

 The best example of that would be pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). In August 1999, the railroad industry went out for the SUV business when it placed in operation Gundersons Auto-Max transporters. Gunderson, a division of Greenbrier, built 159 initial copies of the two-unit articulated car. Robert G. Yates, Greenbrier Intermodal's vice president, said, "The major advantages of Auto-Max's exclusive design are increased load density, flexibility to be configured for any mix of passenger vehicles and light trucks, a smooth ride and security features. AutoMax is the only freight car in production that can carry sport utility vehicles, pick-ups or mini-vans in a tri-level configuration." (Greenbrier press release.)

To achieve this sort of flexibility, Greenbrier had to think different. "We're just dumb intermodal guys," says David DeBoer, president of Greenbrier Intermodal, which is marketing the Auto Max. "We know we've got clearances for 20 Feet, two inches, and if we use it and go down into a well, is there a way to put, more vehicles into that clearance diagram? The answer is yes." (Railway Age, September 1999.)

Maybe not so dumb, Greenbrier has a product which will carry.up to 22 SUVs and more of smaller vehicles on three decks. It's a "muzzle-loader or end-door entry, using the many existing load and unload facilities around the country. BNSF set out immediately to build unit trains running from the West Coast to Chicago in 5 days instead of 10. Since there are car brands going both directions, they've worked to load the backhaul. But speed and volume aren't the only keys to.success here.

Using the same Plate H profile as double stack cars, these units reach to 20 feet 2 inches above the rails while also capitalizing on the space in the wells. The entire car is 145 feet long but is articulated in the center to share a center truck, saving on weight. A flexible diaphragm and ventilated but secure sides and.ends keep out thieves and vandals and insure that the new vehicles will arrive undamaged. Since their introduction, these cars have been used in unit trains, reducing the time they sit around intermediate stops.

 The Model

 At a hair over 20 inches across the coupler pulling faces, this is a seriously large product for the HO world. At 2.78 inches from the railhead to the top of the car, it's also pretty tall. Finally the extreme width of 10 feet 8 inches translates to 1.46 inches. Since the model is faithful to the prototype in its measurements, it might be well to check your rail lines carefully for obstructions to Plate H traffic.

 These things look like billboards or perhaps vast dormitory cars with their grilled windows, and they easily dwarf the 86 foot, 8-door boxcars you may already have. Using magnifiers, I examined the paint and lettering, finding all of it to be crisp and even. Like any other car in service, the Auto-Max requires air brakes. The trainline actually runs along the outside of the car along the bottom sill. Athearn models have all of this plus the handbrake assembly, all designed on the prototype to interfere as little as possible in the handling of cars. While the end doors don't operate, the fittings are modeled well.

I found the window grilles to be quite interesting and sought more information. I wondered how they prevented someone from shooting a b-b or spraying paint and damaging the cars. The holes are vents and just inside is a deflector plate. The model doesn't need these or the internal racks, but it does have some substantial weights in the possum belly section of each car segment, lowering the center of gravity and giving the car good rolling characteristics.

 Operation

As I said before, you need to be certain your rail lines will let this car pass before you hook on a loco and highball it! Once you do, there are still some other layout issues, the most important being curve radius. As the car is delivered, 26 inches is the minimum radius it will handle, though 30 inches is more like it. Track 3 on our test layout features 27 inch curves and there didn't seem to be a lot of extra give, so I'd take that 26 literally. Inside the package is a replacement span bolster for the center articulated truck, this one enough longer to allow it to negotiate tighter curves, though modification of the diaphragm may be necessary to let it get down to 18 inches.

The car weighs in at 16.8 ounces. Using the NMRA weight formula for HO -1 ounce plus a half ounce per inch - it should be 11 ounces. However, because of the extra height, I think the extra weight is warranted, and I applaud Athearns judgment in applying it.

The as delivered couplers seemed to be about a half head too high. I couldn't put the car at the head of a train and not have the couplers pop off, so something needed to be done. In the process of installing Kadees, Sam Clarke and I discovered that the bolsters on each end did not fit down tight to the floor panel, raising the car and coupler slightly at each end. Sitting on good, level track, a steel straight rule confirmed that both ends angled up slightly from the center truck. We might have pried off the bolsters, filed them down, and reinstalled them, but we took the easy way out and used Kadee number 22s with underset shanks (dropped heads) and these matched right up with the height gauge. It is entirely possible that our review sample is the only one with this problem, but - as with any new piece of rolling stock - I would always inspect any new car including the use of a coupler height gauge.

Back at the test track, I put this monster on the bar, right behind the locomotive, and then put a fairly heavy train behind that. If we were going to have a problem, this would cause it. The test track is in an unheated room and track condition has deteriorated since the warmer days of fall. This has become less of a test track and more of a torture track, but the car did fine. It has Athearns modem Genesis rotating roller bearing trucks with metal wheels and they performed just fine. There was never a hint that the weight of the train behind wanted to stringline the car. Best of all, it didn't swing and sway as I was afraid it might. That's where the extra weight paid off.

Summary

AOK is the reporting mark of the Arkansas and Oklahoma Railroad, a UP spinoff on 69.6 miles of track owned by the state of Oklahoma, running between Howe and McAlester, in that state. Obviously, this car wouldn't be for internal use! Instead, this Wilburton, OK-based carrier would lease the car on a long term basis from the builder and sublease it on a short-term rate to the actual operator of the Auto-Max, and the AOK would pocket the difference while almost never seeing the car. Having had some time to enjoy this model, I'd think you'd want to do it the other way around: own it yourself and look at it as much as possible. It's a pretty cool product, and I can't wait to see some club with a whole string of these units rolling around the layout.