Atlas Vinegar Car from 1969

Hardcoaler May 2, 2021

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  1. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    I was paging through the 12/2018 issue of N Scale Railroading and saw a photo of an old N Scale car I'd completely forgotten about -- Atlas' Vinegar car. These were introduced in 1969 per Trovestar. There were at least four according to Trovestar and my 1971 JMC catalog:

    Atlas 3011 - Milwaukee Vinegar
    Atlas 3012 - HJ Heinz
    Atlas 3013 - Standard Brands
    Atlas 3014 - Hinckley & Schmidt

    I somehow never bought one of these when I was young. Interestingly, these often sell for only $12 or so on eBay.

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'd still pass on them if I were you. I have a couple if you want them but they appear to be out of scale and very lacking in detail. These are bigger than the Atlas 11,000 gal tank car.

    If someone wants a project I can loan out one of these as a resin casting pattern: thumbnail_IMG_0238.jpg

    These are a Hinkley and Schmidt water car prototype.
     
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  3. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    Hardcoaler, that's right, you've named all four of the Atlas First Generation cars. Atlas did a reissue some years later (I have to figure out the date for an update to my A1G page on the subject). Then E-R Models commissioned a run of these cars from Roco as well. I can't get to my accumulation right now but will reply with those roadnames a little later.

    As for authenticity, they weren't bad for 1969. AHM imported HO versions of these same cars. The drawings of one of the prototypes were in an issue of Model Railroader in the 1960s.

    These cars generally don't sell for that much given that there are so many of them out there. The A1G cars were available for years. I just saw three copies of the A1G 3013 Standard Brands on sale at a local train show for $4 each.
     
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  4. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Those are all interesting details George -- there's a deeper history with these than I realized. :)

    Neat to see Randy's Railhead kits too. I'd forgotten about that brand. They had some nice structure kits and quite an array of metal and brass structure parts.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
  5. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    Capture.PNG
    Here is the car from Model Railroader magazine in 1954 I think..
     
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  6. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    RoCo was usually pretty accurate with their scaling. I'm not sure the Atlas cars and the kit (Railhead?) cars were supposed to be of the same prototype.

    There were two variations of the Milwaukee Vinegar car. Or was it the Heinz car? I'll look.

    Doug
     
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  7. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Looks good. So long as they don't smell like vinegar you will be good... er... wait a minute, if they smell like vinegar that would be more prototypical and thus more realistic.
     
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  8. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    It's the Heinz car with the variation, not the Milwaukee Vinegar car:

    Heinz Vinegar Car Variations.jpg

    Doug
     
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  9. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    That's really neat Doug. Did Atlas use the same item number on both?
     
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  10. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    It's a bit hard to see in the photo but the one with the blue flat is #208 and the one with the brown flat is #203. They are both Atlas cars as confirmed on the A1G site a couple of years ago.

    There was some discussion about whether one version was a rerelease by Atlas in the eighties but I remember seeing both before that. I also believe the version with the blue flat was the original as I bought mine early and it's the blue version.

    Oops, sorry, if I would read a little more carefully... yes, both the same item number - catalog #3012.

    Also, I want to credit Ian from the A1G group for the photo.

    Doug
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
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  11. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    That second Heinz car might be the later Atlas reprint, not the original A1G release, but I need to validate that when I have a chance.
    Darn day job... :)
     
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  12. sd90ns

    sd90ns TrainBoard Member

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    Do odors scale?
    And if so; does than mean you'd need a nose 160 times as sensitive as a normal human's?
     
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  13. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    They didn't always haul vinegar. The prototype photo has "Spring Water Only" lettering on it, which was replicated on the A1G car and the later Atlas reprints.

    Randy Stahl, I think that is the photo in MR to which I referred--- 1954! I think I was a little off on my initial estimate!
     
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  14. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    And here's the fourth car - Hinckley & Schmidt:

    H&S Vinegar Car.jpg

    Doug
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
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  15. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    And here's the prototype for the Milwaukee car:

    Prototype for Vinegar Cars.jpg

    Doug
     
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  16. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    Oops, forgot the third car - Standard Brands:

    StandardBrands Vinegar Car.jpg

    Doug
     
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  17. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, I imagine they didn't want spring water picking up "flavors" from the usual types of tank cars, either.

    Doug
     
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  18. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    If it smells like vinegar it should be near the pickle factories or Milwaukees breweries. :rolleyes:
     
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  19. JMaurer1

    JMaurer1 TrainBoard Member

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    Keep in mind that MT made a similar car to the Atlas one for NSE consisting of a flat with a cast wooden tank that was offered in several road as well. The car look very similar to the Atlas one except the brake wheel is on the side of the car. At least two different Heinz cars and several other various roads were made.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    If anyone casts one of those other wood tank cars from Randy's, I'm interested in one.
     
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  20. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    Yikes! $46.50 for one car? Oh well.

    Also, the same cars Atlas originally sold were later sold by other importers for whom RoCo manufactured cars. AHM later sold these vinegar cars, for instance. Atlas first had exclusivity.

    For a complete history of Atlas' first generation N scale cars and to see the other "unusual" cars Atlas sold in the early days,, see George's site

    Doug
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
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