Atlas - 50 003 406 - Gondola, 52 Foot, ACF 70-Ton - Delaware & Hudson - 13701

Model Information: This model was first announced in 2010, with batch A available in October 2010, and batch B in August 2011. The second release was announced in January of 2015 and made available in late June of 2016.

From the rail up, these N Scale models were engineered to capture the scale fidelity of the prototype. Featuring extremely fine molding, separately applied brake rigging, an etched-metal brake platform and more! Plus, these cars ride on BLMA's NEW 70-Ton Friction Bearing trucks with 33" Metal Wheels featuring a front AND backside wheel profile. If that wasn't enough, check-out the ride height on this model... Just like the prototype!

Features: Ready-To-Run, Injection-Molded Plastic, Fine-Scale Detail, Separate Brake Detail, Chemically Etched Brake Platform, Accurately Painted/Printed, Prototypical Ride Height,BLMA 70-Ton ASF Friction Bearing Trucks, BLMA 33" Scale Profile Metal Wheels, Body-Mounted Brown Knuckle Couplers

Prototype History: The 52-6 welded 70-ton drop-end gond4ola car as produced by ACF was first produced in 1948 for Pennsylvania Railroad as class G31, PRR alone purchased 11,600 welded cars of this body style in the G31/G31A/G31B/G35, serving the “Standard Railroad of the World” in every corner of North America in many customer applications. Besides PRR, several other railroads also purchased these gondolas from ACF, and some former PRR cars were purchased second-hand by various railroads. Most of these gondolas were phased from revenue service during the 1990s.

Road Name History: The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company would found the Delaware and Hudson Railway to support its mission of getting fuel to the timber denuded cities of the northeast when it was discovered that 'rock coal' or Anthracite could be burned successfully. In time the railway eclipsed the parent company, and America's brief canal age would be ended by the availability of more powerful traction locomotives, so today the canal is little known. Today the Delaware and Hudson Railway (reporting mark DH) is again a subsidiary railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it was owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway under the rail subsidiary Soo Line Corporation also controls the Soo Line Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited.

The name itself originates from the 1823 New York state corporation charter listing the unusual name of "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co." authorizing an establishment of "water communication" between the Delaware River and the Hudson River.

Nicknamed "The Bridge Line to New England and Canada," the D&H helped connect New York with Montreal, Quebec and New England. It called itself "North America's oldest continually operated transportation company." Between 1968 & 1984, the D&H was owned by Norfolk & Western. N&W sold it to Guilford Transportation, who cast it into bankruptcy in 1988 and in 1991, the D&H was purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).

On September 19, 2015, Norfolk Southern Railway assumed control and began operations of their recently acquired Delaware & Hudson "South Line", the 282 miles from Schenectady, New York to Sunbury, Pennsylvania from CP. The Delaware & Hudson "South Line" is a rail route that now consists of three rail lines, the Sunbury Line, the Freight Line, and the Voorhesville Running Track; the Sunbury Line absorbed the original route of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line which contains the Nicholson Cutoff during that rail line's history.

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.