- Product: GATC 4180 Airslide Covered Hopper
- Scale: HO Scale 1:87.1
- Truck: Tangent 100-Ton N-11 Roller Bearing
- Wheels: CNC-Machined 36″ Wheels
BNSF “Buffer Car” #3 is BNSF road number #808003. This one is a special one – there are a small few “bandits” in the buffer car pool and this car is one of them. It represents a former ATSF 4180 that has been changed from revenue service to buffer car service, but was not repainted, so it retains its original ATSF “Santa Fe” class GA-200 paint from 1978, but with patched reporting marks and number. Like the prototype, it also includes conspicuity stripes. It includes tons of fine stencil lettering, just like the lettering found on the real car, such as “BUFFER SERVICE ONLY DO NOT LOAD.” This is the third of four BNSF buffer car service road numbers available for BNSF, correctly detailed for the 1970s-built prototype this car represents. And don’t forget, crude oil and ethanol trains requiring buffer cars typically have one car on each end of the train! We offer four completely different buffer car models since no two are the same!
