Bachmann - 5164 - Gondola, 40 Foot, Steel - Ohio Seamless Tube - 1964

Model Information: This model appears in the 1972 Bachmann catalog six road names at $1.50 each. Similar to other Bachmann releases of this era, the model features Nickel-Silver plated deep flange wheels and Rapido couplers. This model was manufactured in Hong Kong.

In 2020, Bachmann updated this tooling. It now features blackened metal wheelsets and body-mounted EZ-Mate couplers, The feature list from Bachmann is: Highly detailed painted bodies, Precision graphics, Blackened-metal wheels with RP25 contours, Body-mounted, magnetically operated E-Z Mate Mark II couplers, front and rear, Non-magnetic blackened brass axles with needle-point bearings, Celcon trucks, Added weight for optimum tracking performance.

Prototype History: In US railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-topped rail vehicle used for transporting loose bulk materials. Because of their low side walls gondolas are also suitable for the carriage of such high-density cargos as steel plates or coils, or of bulky items such as prefabricated sections of rail track.

All-steel gondolas date back to the early part of the 20th century.

Road Name History: In December, 1890, the Shelby Steel Tube Co. was organized with a capital stock of $100,000. But it was not until March, 1891, that the works were really started.On July 24th of that year, the first seamless cold-drawn steel tube was made in the United States. The occasion was a source of great local jubilation. Prior to this all the steel tubing used in this country was made in England.

In 1897, the Tube Works acquired some competing steel mills that were springing up around the county. Purchases continued over the next few years and many of the competing mills were closed down and their equipment was moved to Shelby. By 1900, The Shelby Steel Tube Company was the world's leading manufacturer of steel tubing. At some point Shelby Steel renamed itself to Ohio Seamless Tube company and filed the OSTUCO Shelby Ohio trademark.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.