Would the Atlas "beer can" tank cars (barely) make the list? I've seen a prototype photo or two, but they seen pretty rare compared to the # of ones Atlas has produced and their apparent popularity on model pikes.
Unfortunately the Bmann 65 footers can't get a mention because there were quite a few roads that rostered short passenger cars between 60 and 70 foot in length including a number of Class One roads.
If there's a troll lurking inside of me, it always comes out with that car (and as an ATSF modeler, I have one). You'll note the 40' length, and that was a relatively new car. That's because the EMPTY MHAX car weighed in at 232,800 lb - and was placarded as an extremely heavy car with warning stencils. The number of threads that have argued over whether that car weighed more empty or full..or if it fluctuates during loading.... I just love to stir that one up! http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=445857 Admittedly its a very odd car, but it's been done in HO by AHM and in N by Trix, and there were several hundred of them. They just operated in a relatively restricted corridor between the helium mines and the US Navy applications and nobody else ever saw them.
I have the perfect 'weird' rolling stock match for the Santa Fe U30CG Randy came up with... http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/50626 Minitrix did a Longitudinal Hopper which was a prototype only used by Santa Fe. Of course Minitrix offered it in several non-prototypical paint schemes in order to get everything they could out of the tooling. I bought one in 1983 when I got back into model railroading... fortunately... it was the Santa Fe version. At the time I had no idea how rare this hopper was (though Santa Fe may have had dozens of them).
In high school I worked for a welding supply/bottled gas distributor. The old timers tried to lay one over on the newbies by trying to get them to chain down the helium cylinders so they would not float away. I disappointing them and did not fall for that one. However, there was the one about the left handed monkey wrench..................
"Unfortunately the Bmann 65 footers can't get a mention because there were quite a few roads that rostered short passenger cars between 60 and 70 foot in length including a number of Class One roads." Ah, but only the C&NW and Soo Line had this particular type of coach... the C&NW's went on to serve several roads in Mexico.
OOOHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I gotta get me one of those...running...broken...missing one truck etc. I see kitbash fodder for a few projects. HHMMMmmmmmmmm ! :tb-wink:
I for one am doggone glad I got a couple of the helium cars. I remember over 30 years ago thinking, what a wierd and unlikely car. Then I remembered there was a WWII blimp base on Santa Fe's Texas main line. I wanted to model at least part of that line and it would be a shipment going over my modeled portion. If I ever built a giant train house and modeled 50 miles of line... I decided to build a portable layout with the blimp base. So this is not at all an oddball car for me. I still don't know what to do with the carbide car.
Didn't I hear a rumor that someone was coming out with the EMD LWT 1200 and a whole set of Aerotrain buses on flanged wheels?
Well I am also part of the helium club having bought a couple sometime back. Except I had another use for them. I wanted to model the traffic coming off the Goldendale Branch of the SP&S particularly the Klickitat Dry ice operation. So I thought if there was dry ice being shipped, and naturally carbonated sodas, then why not compressed CO. Seemed the logical type car to do it with in bulk.
Well this is one loco we can FORGET about Atlas EVER producing. I inquired Atlas a couple times on this loco as well as a chop nose GP 7/9. I got the canned answer of, "There is no market for those locos as not many RRs had them. Therefor Atlas has no desire in making them." I was like EXCUSE ME! Not many RRs had a CF7 and/or chop noise GP 7/9s? Am I missing something here? In my opinion, Atlas can give a rats a$$ about what us modelers desire. I feel they will only produce what their upper brass WANTS to produce and the rest of us can go take a flying you know what in a rolling doughnut. Now if Atlas would ever pull their head out of their you know what and see the light of day I bet they would make a killing on those 2 models alone with minimum tooling expense. Maybe I should get them a glass belly button so they can see the light of day.
I actually saw one of those one time. And as it would have it. I didnt have my camera. DDOOOHHHH!!!!!
Isnt that based on a Plasser rail grinder or something? I had one in HO as a kid that did a fine job keeping my track clean. The only issue was keeping it full of cleaning fluid as it tended to leach through the felt cleaning pad and pool wherever it was displayed.
I have no idea what it was based on. The one I saw, not sure if it was the protype to this, but it was very similar was in UP and I saw it at Napavine, Wa.
The Con-Cor U50s and the DDA40X are somewhat rare, but UP exotica from the 60s & 70s were popular. The Kato NYC Jet RDC is a one off. But it's not hard to fathom why these were produced.
Ah, those ATSF longitudal hoppers by Trix! Believe it or not, they were home-built in the Topeka shops. "Santa Fe Diesels and Cars" has a photo of them in service, says there were 61 cars, class GA-123, built in 1961, with 88-ton capacity. The B&W photo shows the Trix car for sure, but with some rather cool details, handrails, etc. they don't have on the models. The Morning Sun "ATSF Color Guide" has a photo of them in 1977, with hefty additional diagonal reinforcements that indicate that a cantilevered frame with the hopper in the middle DID NOT WORK WELL. I have three of them on my layout and have them in ballast service.... So yeah, oddballs, but 61 cars still, and they lasted a while.....
What about the old Rivarossi/Atlas IHB 0-8-0. How many of these did they put on the market with only 3(I think) of the original ever build. Fred
Yeah, that was a weirdo all right. However, someone already beat you to it in post #14. I am usually the one who repeats what someone else has already said. I hate it when I do that.
