Atlas O 3001632 - Premier - 8000 Gallon Tank Car "Southern Star Lard" (GATX)

• Road Name: Southern Star Lard (GATX)
• Road Number: 74404, 74412
• Product Line: Master
• Scale: O Scale
• System: 3-Rail

Features:

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
  
• Metal Wheels and Axles
  
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
  
• Needle-Point Axles
  
• Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
  
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
  
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
  
• Detailed Brake Wheel
  
• Separate Metal Handrails
  
• 1:48 Scale Dimensions
  
• Unit Measures: 9 1/16 x 2 3/4 x 3 7/8
  
• Operates On O-27 Curves (3-Rail)

Overview:

For most of the steam and early diesel eras, tank cars followed a standard design: an 8,000-11,000 gallon tank perched on a flatcar-like underframe. Beginning in the mid-1950s, however, a new design took hold: the tank itself became the structural backbone of the car, eliminating the need for a full-length underframe and making bigger tank diameters possible. But not every shipper needed the much larger capacities that the new tank cars offered. Hence the advent of these “beer can” tank cars in the mid-1960s, with capacities similar to pre-war tankers. They proved ideal for customers who didn’t want larger shipments, and also for transporting a wide variety of heavier, denser liquids including industrial acids and foodstuffs. For modelers, they’re an ideal counterpoint to longer cars in a modern freight train.