MICRO-TRAINS has delivered the first release of their new Z-scale American Car 8c Foundry Smoothsidc 85-foot Passenger Cars. Decorated for the Union Pacific, the series includes a 44-seat coach, a dome observation car, a sleeper, and a combination baggage/mail car. The cars should be at your favorite Micro-Trains reseller. A second release was issued in February decorated for the Illinois Central. This month, the folks up in Talent are scheduled to release a set of Great Northern cars. Alaska Railroad cars and Amtrak cars are planned tor May and June, respectively. American Car & Foundry came into being when thirteen car builders merged on March 17, 1899. Like everyone else at the time, ACF originally built their railcars primarily from wood, but that changed in 1904 when the company delivered the world's first all-steel passenger car to New York City's Interborough Rapid Transit System. By 1912, all ACF passenger cars were built of steel. The company grew to become one of the leading suppliers of railroad passenger cars. Following a period of diversification, the company changed its name to ACF Industries in 1954 and built its last passenger car in 1959.
