Otter Valley HO scale bulkhead flatcar

The FreightCar America (FCA) 52-foot, 100-ton bulkhead flatcar with side stakes is the third HO scale freight car released by Otter Valley Railroad, a hobby shop located in Tillsonburg, Ont., Canada. Features on the newly tooled model include an injection-molded plastic body, die-cast metal underbody, and trucks with rotating bearing caps.

We received two samples, Canadian National No. 200149 with Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific reporting marks and International Railcar Services Inc. (CWLX) No. 200005. The models are based on prototypes built by FreightCar America under order 160020 between February and April 2013.

The cars, built for CN, were assigned DWC reporting marks and numbered in the 200000 through 200149 series. Some of the cars from this group became part of the International Railcar Services fleet in the early 2020s. The full-size cars are mainly used to transport pipe for oil fields and oil production.

The Otter Valley Railroad bulkhead flatcars have injection-molded plastic bulkheads, side sills, and side stakes. Five wire grab irons are attached to both sides of the bulkheads. The underframemount stirrup steps are formed metal parts that fit into openings in the bottom of the side sills.

The plastic bulkheads are smooth on the front, simulating the metal face found on the full-size cars. The opposite side features four horizontal braces. An inset plastic casting contains the corner posts, ladder stiles, molded ladder rungs, and a single horizontal brace. The end posts are notched to fit over the four horizontal braces.

Etched-metal crossover platforms are attached to a plastic shelf above the coupler on both ends. Formed wire crossover handrails, threaded through a metal eyebolt, are located about halfway up the car end. Both bulkheads are capped with brass Z channel.

The underbody has a mix of plastic, die-cast metal, and formed wire construction. The stringers and crossties are molded into the underbody. Much of the 3.3 ounces of weight comes from a diecast metal part that includes the body bolsters, bolster block, center sills, crossbearers, and draft-gear boxes.

The cars ride on screw-mounted Aurora Miniatures North America trucks with 36" metal wheelsets and rotating bearing caps. The models are equipped with body-mounted AuroraJanney scale plastic couplers without trip pins.

The paint on both of our samples was smooth and evenly applied. The lettering, herald, and stripe placement matched prototype photos. I especially liked the silhouette of the CN “wet noodle” herald on the CWLX car. The heralds were peeled off the bulkheads when the full-size cars were acquired by International Railcar Services.

There were a few minor paint and lettering issues. The white stripe should be on the front and both sides of the side stakes. In addition, the typeface for the reporting mark, road number, capacity data, and other stencils is incorrect. The model uses a font from the Helvetica family, while the prototype has lettering from the Futura family.

I then compared the models to prototype drawings from the FreightCar America website. The cars match or are within scale inches of the approximate general dimensions listed.

I took the cars over to Jones Island on our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout for further testing. The cars performed without incident while being pushed and pulled in a train.

The Otter Valley Railroad bulkhead flatcars are well-executed models of a unique prototype. If you model the modern era, you’ll want to add a few of these cars to your freight car fleet. — Cody Grivno, senior editor