Why so small? Dedicated corn syrup tank cars were first built in the 1960s and are still a part of the modern railroad scene. The early cars ranged in capacity from 16,800- to 17,600-gallons, while the modern tank cars have a 19,600-gallon capacity.
However, not all customers can receive such large shipments of corn syrup. To accommodate smaller deliveries, NACC built these 8,000-gallon tank cars.
Small car, big details. Athearn’s car has a one-piece injection-molded plastic tank with separate tank heads. The manway, safety valve, and ladder are plastic; the manway platforms are etched metal; and the railings are wire. The bottom of the tank features plastic outlet valve details and a formed wire train line with brackets.
The end frames are die-cast metal and include the bolster pin and draft-gear box. The etched-metal crossover platforms and separately applied wire grab irons are nice touches. However, the castings on our sample were a bit rough and the paint was thick.
The McHenry Type SF double-shelf couplers are appropriate for this model. They’re mounted at the correct height.
Our sample, decorated for Union Tank Car Co., features smooth and evenly applied paint on the tank and crisp, opaque lettering.
The model measures 31 scale feet over the coupler pulling faces, is 15′-3″ tall (top of railhead to top of platform railing), and has an extreme width of 10′-3″. The trucks are on 15′-3″ centers. There are no published drawings of this car.
The model weighs 2.8 ounces, which is correct per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1. Three of the four wheelsets were .006″ out of gauge. To fix this, I twisted the metal wheels, mounted on plastic axles, into gauge.
Athearn’s 8,000-gallon tank car is a well detailed model. These cars would look great parked at an industry requiring small shipments of corn syrup.
Price: $27.98
Manufacturer
Athearn Trains
1550 Glenn Curtiss St.
Carson, CA 90746
www.athearn.com
Road names (two road numbers each): General Electric Rail Services Corp., General American Marks Co., Union Carbide Corp., and Union Tank Car Co. Undecorated version also available
