Athearn HO ATH 52' Mill Gondola, Primed For Grime CarKnocker SBD #481598

PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:

In the late 1970s, the dire condition of many railroads’ gondola fleet was becoming apparent. Freight cars from the ‘40s and ‘50s were failing under the heavier loads and rough handling the gondolas typically endured. The TTX corporation stepped in to produce a system-wide pooled gondola service, ordering a fleet of 4000 new gondolas to be produces by five manufacturers. While the Athearn model is based on the Thrall-built version, all five are visually similar except for small details that require a trained eye to spot. Designers had identified the weaknesses of earlier gondola design, adding reinforced top cords with bolted corners, additional plate steel reinforcement to the ends, and bolting the exterior posts to the floor instead of welding; all features that allowed the gondolas to sustain rougher handling…and they needed it. The new paint smell didn’t last long. While other freight cars that looked the way these gondolas did would be retired, the engineers had done a commendable job at keeping these cars safe to operate even in a deformed condition. At over 40 years old, these cars are still circulating on railroads today, beaten, patched, dirtied, but not forgotten.

INTRODUCING THE CARKNOCKER LINE:

A brand-new product line and a brand-new approach to realistic modeling; Athearn® CarKnocker introduces a factory produced distressed and worn plastic model. Based on the popularity of Athearn’s Primed for Grime® line of pre-faded and dirtied paint decoration, Athearn has taken this concept one step further by creating deformed and dented models that retain Athearn’s operating performance standards. More exciting models are coming to the industry leading Athearn CarKnocker product line

MODEL FEATURES: