Manufacturer
Blackstone Models
210 Rock Point Dr.
Durango, CO 81301
www.blackstonemodels.com
Era: late 1930s to early 1960s
Comments: A frameless tank car that hauled oil from Chama and Farmington, N.M., to the refineries at Alamosa, Colo. is the latest HOn3 ready-to-run freight car from Blackstone Models. The Union Tank Car Co. prototype was converted from standard gauge 6,500 gallon Union Type V tank cars in the 1930s. Through the 1940s and 1950s cars lettered “Gramps” (for refinery owner Lafayette “Gramps” Hughes) ran on the Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge lines.
The model matches a prototype drawing in A Century + Ten of D&RGW Narrow Gauge Freight Cars by Robert E. Sloan (BHI Publications).
The tank and walkways have crisply molded rivet details. The many separately applied parts include the brake gear.
All the lettering is straight and matches prototype photos. The weathered version we reviewed had a light paint wash applied to it.
The operating knuckle couplers are at the correct height and the RP-25 contour metal wheels are in gauge. The model weighs 13⁄4 ounces, which is .47 ounce too light according to National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1.
Blackstone sells a narrow-frame Union Type X tank car that uses the same tank. Both the Type V and Type X tank cars are available in multiple road numbers and undecorated versions.
With this tank car, Blackstone continues to make it easy to model Rio Grande narrow gauge in HOn3.
