Athearn Tank Car

[WVrailfan]

I was going through old stuff in the basement and ran across a couple of Athearn 40 ft chemical tank car kits. I couldn’t remember what I got them for and didn’t have current any planes for the kits. I remembered a modeling buddy saying he wished someone would make a model of the tank cars used to carry Hydrocyanic Acid to a local DuPont plant. Hydrocyanic Acid is dangerous stuff, so the cars carried large red placards with instruction on who to call if there was an issue with the car. Of course, the stuff is so deadly that if the car is leaking and you are close enough to read the placard, un protected, you won’t likely be the one making the call;-)

So I dug out the old Alps printer (surprisingly, it still works) and my Tank Car Color Guide Vol. 1 and found a car that is somewhat close to the appearance of the Athearn car. Made up some decals and placards and came up with the car in the attached photos.

It’s not an exact match, but it is close enough in most major dimensions that going by in a train, it looks the part.






Jim

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Nicely done!

 

[montanan]

Looks good. Different than most tank cars. I've found so many items hid away in the basement that I totally forgot that I had.

 

[souleman1948]

Finding the "oh yeah, I remember when I got this" pieces of model railroad stuff is very rewarding. It's kind of like going down to the hobby shop and getting something that you don't really need now but you'll use it sooner or later. Best part is you don't have to spend any money on it. You already paid for it.

Mike

 

[Espeefan]

It's called basement shopping and can be fun unless you find something you bought twice by mistake.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Alan:

I also enjoy basement shopping and I found that I have two sets of the same locomotives. So much for impulse shopping!!!

Greg

 

[Espeefan]

Alan: I also enjoy basement shopping and I found that I have two sets of the same locomotives. So much for impulse shopping!!!Greg

That's why they want you to do it! Oh well, you can always re-number if you have to. I've done this with some freight cars & kits, but not with locomotives. I did go back to Hiawatha hobbies and get a second SP Daylight MT-4, but I needed it and did get a different number. That incident got me gossiped about

 

[Espeefan]

Back to the OP's model, nicely done. I enjoy tank car modeling and currently have a couple of these on my bench. I have removed the platforms and domes and will replace with parts that are more to scale. The dome & platform on this particular Athearn car are closer to S scale than HO, a nod to Athearn's original durability & "playability factor" to survive handling by young hands. I also have some models I'm leaving alone because I like the paint schemes. Tichy makes a nice tank car detail parts kit. Two different domes and a bunch of handrailing, placards, brake parts, and so forth. Great for kicking up the detail level if you're so inclined. Decently priced, but then most Tichy stuff is a bargain!