PENN CENTRAL / CONRAIL / KELLOGG'S X79 THRALL 60' OUTSIDE BRACED BOX CAR HO SCALE
100 of these cars were built by Thrall Car in May and June of 1973. They were owned by the Kellogg' Company and leased to the Penn Central. They served Kellogg's by hauling cereal products from their Battle Creek, Michigan plant to various distribution facilities around the US. After Penn Central became Conrail in 1976, a small number of these car received full Conrail repaints. The vast majority remained in PC green until the lease expired in 1983. When the lease expired in 1983, the entire fleet of cars reverted to Kellogg's ownership and were restencilled with KELX reporting marks. Many are still in service today wearing their Penn Central green or Conrail brown paint and their original road numbers.
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The Rail Yard Models X79 kit features a one piece urethane body casting which greatly simplifies construction. This model has also been updated to have more accurate draft gear details that represent the car's cushion underframe. Assembling this kit is not much different than styrene kits such as those offered by Branchline, Proto2000 and Intermountain, and is a great place to start if you have never built a urethane kit before. The kit also includes trucks with semi-scale metal wheelsets, and optional underframe brake details. The kit features a CD-ROM with detailed, full color instructions. The CD also has a full color history document with color prototype photos and detail shots of these car. Decals are now available for both Penn Central and Conrail schemes. Both decal options include the KELX reporting marks to do the subsequent paintouts. All you need to to complete the model is glue, paint and couplers.
