Search:
Type the text to search here and press Enter.
Separate search terms by a space; they will all be searched individually in all fields of the database. Click on Search: to go to the advanced search page.
Classifieds Only: Check this box if you want to search classifieds instead of the catalog.
Please help support TroveStar. Why?

Atlas - 50 004 869 - Flatcar, Bulkhead Pulpwood - Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac - 3864

This item is not for sale. This is a reference database.
N Scale - Atlas - 50 004 869 - Flatcar, Bulkhead Pulpwood - Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac - 3864 Image Courtesy of Atlas Model Railroad
Click on any image above to open the gallery with larger images.
Sell this item on TroveStar
Sell
Add a comment about this item.
It will be visible at the bottom of this page to all users.
Comment
Production TypeAnnounced
Stock Number50 004 869
Original Retail Price$29.95
BrandAtlas
ManufacturerAtlas
Body StyleWalthers 50' Pulpwood Car
Image Provider's WebsiteLink
Prototype VehicleFlatcar, Bulkhead Pulpwood (Details)
Road or Company NameRichmond Fredericksburg & Potomac (Details)
Reporting MarksRF&P
Road or Reporting Number3864
Paint Color(s)Blue
Print Color(s)White
Coupler TypeAccuMate Magnetic Knuckle
Wheel TypeInjection Molded Plastic
Wheel ProfileSmall Flange (Low Profile)
Announcement Date2019-02-01
Release Date2019-07-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeFlatcar
Model Subtype50 Foot
Model VarietyPulpwood
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era III: Transition (1939 - 1957)
Scale1/160



Model Information: Introduced in December 1998, with a second limited run in 2010.
Originally referred to by Walthers as 60' Pulpwood cars (60'=total length), they were later called 50' Pulpwood cars (50'=interior length).
Ready-to-run, the model features a heavy die-cast body, styrene details, free-rolling trucks and standard (Rapido) couplers - Accumate couplers for the second run.
Available in singles for $8.98 or in 3-packs for $26.98.

Re-run under Atlas brand in 2019 after Atlas purchased the tooling from Walthers.

Matching pulpwood load: Walthers 933-800

Here is how Walthers described them:
Pulpwood is an important source of fiber for making paper. Walthers ready-to-run Pulpwood Car is a southern style car constructed by SIECO (Southern Iron & Equipment Co.) beginning in the 1960s.
It carries loads of wood cut about four feet long, and stacked into the "V" sloped floors of the car, where each side holds the other in place.
Walthers advertised concurrently its Superior Paper Company (933-3237), with these words "Seen wherever pulpwood moves to paper mills, these cars are just the ticket for moving raw materials to the Superior Paper Co".
Prototype History:
Pulpwood is not a specific type of wood, but actually tree limbs that are cut to a specified length, then turned into wood pulp and used in the paper industry. Early paper making had the trees near the paper plant. As timber resources were diminished, the need for transporting pulpwood began to rise. Railroads were seen as an efficient method of transporting pulpwood. Pulpwood in the Southeast and Northeast is generally cut into four-foot or less lengths and loaded onto "V-deck" bulkhead flat cars.
In the early 1950s General Steel Castings, produced a "V-deck" design.
Another notable manufacturer of pulpwood flat cars was the Southern Iron & Equipment Company (SIECO) that manufactured this type of car in the 1960s and 1970s, with over 800 delivered in the early 1979’s to the Southern Railway, alone.
Road Name History:
The RF&P ran from Richmond, Virginia north 114 miles to Potomac Yard (known widely as Pot Yard) on the river near Washington D.C. The purpose of the line was to link the Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio lines to the northeast with the Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line lines to the south. There were few branchlines of consequence and the mainline was entirely double tracked with no grades to speak of. It was operated as a single route as early as 1901 although the route north of Quantico actually belonged to a PRR subsidiary called the Washington Southern. RF&P absorbed the Washington Southern in 1920. There were also connections with Southern and C&O but C&O traffic in the area was almost entirely east-west and Southern had their own line to Washington D.C.

Traffic was heavy and fast. Pacifics were used for freight and passenger service. These were supplanted by 4-8-2 Mountains then by Northerns and Berkshires. Aside from some Alco switchers, RF&P was an entirely EMD road in the diesel era. E8’s and FP7’s hauled the passengers (mostly PRR, SAL and ACL trains) while F5’s and F7’s hauled freight with GP7’s in support. The second generation brought GP35’s, and GP40’s for road service. The diesel fleet usually ran just under 40 units for the 114 mile line (indicating very heavy traffic.) As a rule, even numbered units faced north and odd numbered units faced south. Road switchers were equipped with dual cab controls and running long hood forward was common.

By 1987, RF&P’s situation had changed. The former PRR connection had mostly faded as Amtrak operated the line to the northeast and not Conrail. That left the former B&O on the north end and the former Seaboard System on the south end. Both were now part of CSX. RF&P was still a vital link but it didn’t make sense to be a separate railroad. CSX already owned much of the stock but a quarter of the shares of RF&P were owned by the state of Virginia’s state employee retirement fund. In the end, CSX gave the state fund the property rights to Potomac Yard in exchange for all of the stock. Pot Yard originated or terminated very little traffic with nearly every train just running through so the property was ripe for development. In fact there was talk of turning part of the property into a new stadium for the Washington Redskins. In the end, it became commercial property instead. The state was happy and CSX closed the gap on their system map. RF&P merged into CSX in 1991.
Brand/Importer Information:
In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.
Item created by: CNW400 on 2019-03-21 13:33:03. Last edited by CNW400 on 2020-06-04 13:44:39

If you see errors or missing data in this entry, please feel free to log in and edit it. Anyone with a Gmail account can log in instantly.