Price: $44.95
Manufacturer
Tangent Scale Models
P.O. Box 6514
Asheville, NC 28816
www.tangentscalemodels.com
Era: 1967 to 1990 (as decorated)
Road names: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Burlington Northern; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Illinois Central; Milwaukee Road; and Northern Pacific. Multiple road numbers per scheme. Undecorated kit also available.
Comments: A Pullman-Standard PS-1 40-foot Mini Hy-Cube boxcar is the latest addition to the Tangent Scale Models line of HO scale freight cars. Pullman-Standard built 122 of the 4,900-cubic-foot-capacity boxcars at its plant in Bessemer, Ala.
The cars were designed to transport appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and water heaters. In later years, the boxcars were used in paper and maintenance-of-way service.
Our sample is painted as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy no. 19828, part of the railroad’s 19825 through 19839-series of cars built under lot no. 9255 in October 1967. The model’s dimensions match prototype drawings in the June 2017 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.
The boxcar features a high level of detail, including separately applied plastic ladders, wire grab irons, and etched-metal crossover platforms.
The lettering placement matched prototype photos, and the Burlington Route herald was well rendered. I especially appreciated that the lot number was accurate to the road number.
The underbody features a separate air reservoir, triple valve, and brake cylinder; levers and hangers; and a non-functioning P-S Hydroframe-40 cushion underframe.
The model has Kadee scale couplers mounted at the correct height. The CNC-machined 33″ metal wheels are properly gauged. At 4.3 ounces, the car is .5 ounce too heavy based on National Model Railroad Association recommended practice 20.1.
The Tangent Scale Models HO scale Hy-Cube boxcar would look good on any model railroad set between the late 1960s and the early 1990s.
