Episode 4 of High Speed Service features the Lionel Legacy Nickel Plate Road 765 hauling a train of Trailer-on-Flatcars, abbreviated as TOFC, around the railroad. The Nickel Plate was one of the first railroads to adopt the concept of road to rail trailers during the late steam era. It turned out to be a highly successful business operation for the railroad which eventually caught on in the rest of the industry. Modern intermodal trains are the direct descendant of the early TOFC trains.
The majority of the TOFC cars in this video are from the now defunct Weaver Models. The blue and silver NKP cars and the US Army Medical car were all exclusive products made for Stockyard Express when I was employed there. I had a hand in the design and great deal to do with selling them. At the Spring 2016 TCA York Train Meet Lionel announced LionScale a new product line using former Weaver tooling. These new models will be made in America at Lionel's headquarters in Concord, NC which is very exciting as it will allow Lionel a greater range of scale products to compete with MTH Electric Trains and Atlas O. The remaining TOFC cars in the train are mostly MTH PUPs and one from Lionel lettered for the Chesapeake & Ohio.
I hope everyone enjoys the new engineer's side shot. It took some experimenting to get the GoPro camera to stay in the right place!
Stay tuned for Episode 5 and other trains from the collection!
