Price: $44.95 (R-T-R, decorated or undecorated), $37.95 (undecorated kit)
Manufacturer:
Tangent Scale Models
P.O. Box 6514
Asheville, NC 28816
www.tangentscalemodels.com
Era: 1949 into the 1980s
Paint schemes: (4 road numbers each, all GATX reporting marks) DOW Chemical Co. (1953 black scheme with bright yellow graphics), 1952+ black general service, Stauffer Chemical Co. (1953 gray-and-black scheme), 1971+ white lease scheme with a large black stripe. Undecorated versions available.
Comments: Tangent Scale Models has released a superb replica of a post-World War II 8,000-gallon acid tank car with a welded steel tank built by General American Transportation Corp. (GATX).
With a booming postwar economy, shippers demanded new special-service tank cars to haul dangerous commodities such as hydrochloric (muriatic), hydrofluoric, phosphoric, and sulfuric acids. These special acid cars had rubber linings and could be easily spotted thanks to their small single expansion dome and lack of bottom tank outlets.
The GATX plant in Sharon, Pa., made large quantities of at least three different, but similar riveted post-war acid tank cars. The specific prototypes for these welded models were built between 1949 and 1960. Most of the welded cars remained in acid service well into the 1980s.
With a scale 78″ diameter tank, this acid car has a visually different proportion from most petroleum tank cars, so it’ll add some variety to a train.
Our sample includes prototype-specific plastic detail parts with an etched-brass see-though dome platform and safety running boards. It’s assembled with a combination of cement and concealed screws.
These parts include AB brake detail and train air line, distinctive dome appliances, individually applied tank handrails and tank strap detail, plus wire grab irons and uncoupling levers.
Our car weighs 3 ounces, which matches the National Model Railroad Association’s Recommendation 20.1.
The sample car rolls smoothly on plastic models of ASF cast-steel trucks with spring plank details, separate brake beams, and free-rolling scale 33″ metal wheels (mounted in gauge).
Our acid car came fitted with body-mounted Kadee no. 158 “scale” couplers, but they were mounted about .010″ low.
Whether decorated for “plain” cars or GATX lease colors, these acid tank cars will certainly draw attention in an HO scale freight train.
