A Limited Edition HO-Scale Fox Valley/ScaleTrains PSC 70-Ton Ore Car painted for freelance model railroad Mascoutin Valley!
With a single SKU, you’re getting a complete four‑car Mascoutin Valley ore set — MV 335, MV 354, MV 379, and MV 392 — permanently drawbar‑connected into a unified production block. This isn’t just a group of cars; it’s a purpose‑built ore consist engineered to run as one. Road owner Andy Dorsch specifically selected the medium side‑extension body style for Mascoutin Valley’s mineral operations, and because ScaleTrains only produced this configuration in their premium drawbar four‑pack, this instantly becomes the flagship freight offering in the entire Home Shops lineup.
These cars look powerful, intentional, and unmistakably Mascoutin Valley. The medium extensions give each tub a taller, more aggressive profile, while the drawbars create a seamless, high‑capacity unit that feels like it was lifted straight from a modern regional’s ore division. On the layout, the set commands attention — a tight, muscular block of ore tubs that moves as a single machine. Whether charging out of the pit behind a pair of six‑axle brutes or rolling into interchange with a day’s worth of tonnage, the Mascoutin Valley four‑car set delivers a level of visual impact, operational realism, and collector exclusivity that no standalone ore car can match.
About the Prototype:
The Home Shops ore cars draw from the classic postwar steel jenny—a compact, heavy‑duty design perfected for the dense iron‑bearing traffic of the Upper Midwest. These cars were intentionally short, typically around 24 feet, because ore loads were extraordinarily heavy and required a stout, low‑volume body to stay within axle limits. Their proportions also matched the fixed‑length pockets on Great Lakes ore docks, which standardized the size for generations.
By the mid‑20th century, builders like Pressed Steel Car Company, ACF, and Bethlehem refined the design into the familiar welded‑steel ore car seen across the iron ranges. These cars handled everything from raw ore to flux stone and later adapted easily to pelletized taconite service with the addition of side extensions. Their rugged frames, deep tubs, and quick‑dumping hopper geometry made them indispensable for high‑cycle mine‑to‑mill operations.
The Fox Valley/ScaleTrains model captures this era of ore‑car engineering with its compact footprint, heavy‑duty underframe, and characteristic jenny profile—an ideal foundation for both prototype and freelance mineral service.
The Fox Valley/ScaleTrains PSC 70-Ton Ore Car features:
- Era Early 60's-80's
- Fully assembled
- Bodies with no extensions, or medium side extensions
- Draw barred 4 car sets where appropriate
- Finely cast stirrup steps; end details; underbody and brake system
- Wire grab irons
- Separately applied handbrake wheel
- Detailed trucks
- 33” Machined metal wheels
- Accurately profiled .110″ wide wheel tread
- Durable body-mounted die-cast metal semi-scale Type E knuckle couplers, Kadee compatible painted a dingy gray/brown color to represent the color of couplers in service
- Body mounted coupler box will accept Kadee whisker couplers
- Weighted to Industry standards
- Operates on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model when assembled
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Minimum radius 18” with short (four axle) locos, 22” with long (six axle) locos