Tangent Scale Models is happy to kick off April with a new run of our Greenville 86’ High Cube Quad Plug Door Box Car! Today we will begin to ship our release of five new paint schemes for the industry’s first “high-detail” 86’ quad door auto parts car system in HO scale. This is not a pre-order announcement – our new box cars are available for sale and are shipping right now!
During the 1960s, the most radical freight car designs employed the extreme height clearances offered by Plate F car designs. In 1964, no car type articulated this extreme more than the 86-foot, purpose-built “Auto Parts” boxcars. They became fixtures on the rails all over North American mainlines, riding hot trains to deliver components vital to the productivity of auto plants. While several car builders offered 86’ auto parts boxcars, the most prolific builder was Greenville Steel Car Company of Greenville PA. Greenville produced their Quad Door design in the 1969-1970 period to meet the expanding needs of GM and Oldsmobile production facilities. Like the Double Door cars, these Quad Door cars were acquired by many railroads, and they were assigned to pools where cars from multiple railroads served a specific shipper.
The Tangent Scale Models Greenville 86′ Quad Plug Door Box Car System continues the design and operational standards set by our industry-leading Greenville Double Plug Door box car models. Our product replicates multiple variations of these cars, including two different draft gear combinations, two underframe styles which incorporate Center-of-Car Cushioning and End-Of-Car Cushioning options, and multiple power brake options. We have now released NINE (9) different build variations of these Greenville prototypes! The Tangent Greenville 86’ Quad Plug Door Box Car includes accurate all-new 70-ton trucks with 33” wheels, and include “spinning” roller bearing caps appropriate for each paint scheme. Finally, our cars are weighted properly and are equipped with genuine Kadee® scale couplers mounted in specially-designed coupler pockets which means they operate as good as they look. Due to the car’s size, we recommend curves of 24” or larger for these models.
Our April 2022 releases includes these 5 new paint schemes – available for purchase today!
– CSX “Repaint 1991+” leads off this release, offering examples of repaints from B&O’s first order of cars in 1969. Applying CSX paint to a Tangent replica is not a walk in the park — It is all about the big AND little details. This car features the large CSX logo on the center of the sides and accurate “Ease up!” stickers on the corners. Apparently, the more the better, since CSX also applied tiny “Ease up!” stickers on each door. Yes, we have faithfully reproduced this extraordinarily small detail. Get out your magnifying glass if you want to read the CSX “Quality Check” oval sticker applied above the COTS by Grand Rapids employees. This Greenville car features Morton style crossover platforms, an Ajax hand brake housing, accurate End-of-Car Cushioning details with truck mounted brake hardware, and 70-Ton Barber S-2 Trucks with 33” wheels and accurate “Timken” roller bearing caps. Check out the CSX-specific modern features in this release, including the large tack board mounting location on the door and the single and double “third arms” on the top door tracks. We are now offering CSX in six different numbers!
– Denver & Rio Grande Western (DRGW) “Delivery 1-1970” is our first Greenville 86’ auto parts offering for the Rio Grande. This order was part of the GM Stamping pool out of Indianapolis, Indiana on the Penn Central. The center area of these Quad Door Boxcars was just made for that big “Rio Grande” logo! These 1970 cars have truck-mounted brake gear, End-of-Car Cushioning components and Gypsum crossover platforms, just like the prototype. Riding on accurate 70-Ton trucks with 33” wheels, our D&RGW “Delivery 1-1970” models are ready to operate with two different road numbers!
– Illinois Central (IC) “Delivery 2-1970” is a hot car, no matter how you look at it. That orange paint coupled with the sharp black and white split-rail logo is one of the most iconic schemes for that era. The IC cars feature their as-built 1970 appearance that includes Gypsum crossover platforms, Ajax brake hand brake housing, Greenville-applied tack board locations and that beautiful End-of-Car Cushioning underframe setup. The paint, lettering and graphics are truly “Tangent Accurate” from the large, centered “Illinois Central” lettering down to the distinctive IC-style dotted return route box with instructions to send the car back to the GTW in Flint, Michigan. 70-Ton Trucks with 33” wheels and rotating “Timken” roller bearing caps finish off this “Mainline of Mid-America” offering. Our IC masterpieces are available in four different numbers.
– Penn Central (PC) “Delivery X-60-R 2-1970” offers another big paint scheme for our customers. A big PC logo dominates the center of these cars, with a stacked “Penn Central” on the far left. Fans of the Penn Central expect the best from Tangent, and we aim to deliver just that. This 1970-built Greenville group features accurate End-of-Car Cushioning details, Gypsum crossover platforms and truck mounted brake hardware. This X-60-R order rides on 70-Ton Barber S-2 Birdsboro Roller Bearing Trucks, with 33” wheels and accurate rotating “Brenco-6” roller bearing caps. These cars were part of the GM Lansing Stamping Plant car pool, with a return-when-empty stencil the GTW in Lansing, Michigan. These beauties are available with eight different road numbers!
– Southern Pacific (SP) “B-70-54 Delivery 2-1970” is one of those schemes you just knew was coming. We have heard the requests from the SP fans for months, and we have listened! This B-70-54 group covers SP’s first order of quad door cars that were part of the GM Stamping Pool out of Cleveland, Ohio on the B&O. The scheme, of course, is simply one of the coolest paint jobs ever applied to a Greenville 86’ boxcar. Hold this car in your hand to appreciate the nuanced differences between “white” stenciling and “SP Lettering Gray” stenciling. From the huge dark gray arrows pointing to the centered SP logo, to the smallest black door handle detail, it’s all there. The SP cars feature their as-built 1970 appearance that includes Apex crossover platforms, a Universal hand brake housing (with separate long handle!) and a Universal brake wheel. SP ordered their cars with Center-Of-Car cushioning, and we have duplicated this setup, with a complete COCC underframe and draft gear. 70-Ton Trucks with 33” wheels and rotating “Timken” roller bearing caps finish off this replica. These SP replicas are Ready-To-Operate in eight numbers!
Want to build your own? Don’t worry. We are also releasing two undecorated kits to handle both of the Greenville quad-door production variations. Each kit includes a specifically-matching Greenville body for that group! Here is our listing of the variations with their originally-delivered Greenville paint schemes:
- Undecorated Version H: 1969-1970 End-of-Car Cushioning kit (B&O, DRGW, DTS, GTW, IC, NW, PC, PPGX, RI)
- Undecorated Version I: 1970 Center-of-Car Cushioning kit (MP, SOU, SP)
All of these models – and prototype images – can be seen at www.tangentscalemodels.com !
If your favorite railroad is not listed in this run, don’t fear, we have many more schemes coming. Please keep in mind that these were pooled boxcars which means you might consider buying cars in a variety of road names. For example: Prototype photos show the IC car is going to look equally good rolling through E. St. Louis IL to be handed off to Western connections as well as being in Concord Ontario. Those SP cars will look great in in Connellsville, PA or West Colton, CA. A CSX car can be seen systemwide, Chicago to E. St. Louis, Il to Cumberland, MD. We have photos to prove it all. And these are just a few snapshots. GM and Oldsmobile auto parts pools provide many interesting modeling opportunities. Also, photo evidence shows consists of mixed quad and double door cars, especially post-1980, so the generalizations of only needing one type versus the other are generally wrong. Sorry. And in the 1990s and 2000s, when you saw a cut of these you still usually saw a mix of roadnames represented, although the mix is fewer of course due to the shrinkage in railroads!
The Tangent Greenville 86’ High Cube Quad Plug Door Box Car System is a state of the art, dimensionally-accurate scale replica that was tooled to Greenville Steel Car plans and verified with field measurements. Our model comes with highly accurate “true-to-life” colors and “hyper-accurate” lettering including exact stenciling, fonts, and lettering placement. Our Greenville 86’ system of models offers a multitude of detail variations and phases to replicate the many different Greenville Steel Car offerings. We make the best cars money can buy in HO scale. A quick synopsis of our era and railroad-specific detail variations include:
- Dimensional accuracy – designed from actual Greenville blueprints and verified with field measurements
- Highly correct “true to life” colors
- “Hyper-Accurate” lettering including exact fonts and lettering placement
- Body shells with overlapping side panels
- EOCC (end of car cushioning) or COCC (center of car cushioning) “near scale” draft gear variations
- Genuine Kadee® scale couplers
- Separate flexible rubber air hoses
- Under car brake system variations
- “See through” etched metal end crossover platforms in three possible options: Gypsum, Apex, or Morton
- Side tack board types/sizes and locations
- Twelve (!) prototypically-accurate brake stands (Ajax, 2 Universal versions, 2 Equipco versions, 2 Miner versions, Champion-Peacock, 2 Elcon-National versions, Peacock 850, Klasing 1150)
- Two possible handbrake “brake wheel” options
- Optional 3rd door arm hinge parts to be configured one of three ways
- All-new 70-Ton Barber S-2 “Birdsboro foundry” Roller Bearing Truck
- 33” wheels, as applicable to these 70T models
- Truck brake beam part, accurate for these 1969-1970 built Greenville production cars
- Three “rotating” roller bearing truck cap options
- Recommended age 14 years and older
Finally, our Greenville 86’ High Cube Quad Plug Door Box Car models feature our all-new 70-Ton Barber S-2 “Birdsboro foundry” Roller Bearing Truck. And yes, these trucks are available separately! The separate trucks feature a choice of 3 different “rotating” roller bearing caps and 3 different wheel options. Each truck also has the option of two separate brake beam parts, either for body-mounted brake systems (which are our standard offering), or for truck-mounted brake systems (available as a swap-in part). Our trucks and parts are available separately right now, and our RTR-cars come equipped with the correct configurations of trucks and parts!
With accurate roadname and era-specific details, genuine Kadee® scale couplers, and all-metal wheels, we provide you with a high-value model that will provide you with years of enjoyment and curb-appeal. Pricing for all RTR models in this release is $56.95, with quantity discounts for direct purchases from Tangent Scale Models.
That wraps up our update for today, and thank you for supporting the family-owned businesses in our industry!
David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models