my LHS has a few Athearn “autoloader’s” and i’m curious as to what these are?
Old school automobile carriers,from I think the 40’s or 50’s.
Patrick
I have a couple of these cars - interesting vehicles, I recall reading somewhere that they’re apparently based on a prototype (possibly UP though I’m not sure) car that never went into production. What you get is basically a 50ft flatcar and four extra mouldings - a lower deck that screws to the flatcar floor, two sides, and a top deck - the sides clip on to hold the top deck to the rest of the car. The completed car can carry four autos though mine are unloaded. I rather like them even if they’re not prototypical, they’re interesting looking cars and fit far better on a small layout than the big Walthers autoloaders. I just argue that they built two prototypes and both survived…
yeah i thought htey where pretty cool, so i picked one up, it’s a conrail one.
well i got the car together, looks pretty cool, dose any one know the prototype history on these cars?
Do remember that any schemes not from that time period are completely inaccurate. I am not a rivet counter by any standards, but I do like to stay pretty prototypical. I don’t weather a blue CSX box car with red chalk and green paint! So I don’t buy something with a paint scheme 5 decades too new. But, that is your decision. Personally, I believe they are nice models, if you can find one with a correct paint scheme.
I had a CSX one way back when, but kept the flat car and sold the rack in a lot on eBay with a bunch of other junk (Sold for $10, which in my opinion was $9.99 too much[(-D])
Let me add to my above post: Running several of those with strange, inaccurate paint schemes is probably better than spending a fortune on correct Walthers ones![swg]
(Which I plan on doing, piece by piece. Cha-ching! My wallet feels empty already.)
I recall reading somewhere that there was a single prototype car that never went into mass production - I can’t find the website that I read this on now unfortunately. Googling “Athearn Autoloader Prototype” just brings up what appear to be lists of words for spelling tests for some unknown reason!
My two are in B&O and NS (which interestingly has a TTX flatcar - obviously based on the modern autoracks where the flatcar is leased from TTX and the bodywork belongs to the RR).
Some of the Athearn Autoloaders are in paint schemes that didn’t actually have the prototypes of these cars, such as Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern, partly because most HO model railroaders have smaller 18’ radius curves on their layouts and the more prototypical Walthers 89’ autorack needs a minimum of 22’ radius curves although bigger radius curves is better.
ya, i do have larger 89’f autoracks, this one just looked cool. I may end up just ussing the TTX flat car as an idler car for my ferry service.
But if the cars never existed, then wouldn’t all paint schmes be incorrect? There is a nother CSX one there at the LHS has a TTX flat car, the other one is a B&O has a black flat car with it. [:)]
Well, you have one…If you like it, I suggest just grabbing up the other two. Last I heard they were rare anyway.
yes i may just do that, although the other two area coupl ebucks more than this one… wonder why?
The NYC had one of these in mid fifties,car was built by Evans.
Oh I see, never mind.
B&O and CSX…humm…
Well, I note that Atlas is doing the same with CSX & UP: “UP/CSX licensed product.”
I don’t know if any other manufacturers have caught on, but that could be why.