Atlas - 50 005 397 - Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF 5748/5800 - BASF - 971230

Model Information: This model was introduced by Atlas in July of 2008. It features: Nine full-width panel body with ten weld seams; Etched metal roof walks; Ten 20" hatches and Pneumatic outlets (5800 Plastics); Transverse mounted air reservoir; Continuous hatch and gravity outlets (5748 Grain); 100-Ton Roller Bearing Trucks.

The same body is used to represent both the ACF 5800 plastics hopper as well as the ACF 5748 Grain hopper.

Prototype History: The 5800 cubic foot covered hopper was introduced in the early Seventies for transporting bulk plastic pellets and the 5748 is specialized for grain. Since 1972 ACF has built nearly 15,000 cars of this family. Most of these were acquired by private companies including leasing companies, chemical companies, oil companies, and plastics companies.

Both types evolved from the earlier 5701 which was used for transporting grain and bulk plastic pellets. The 5800 was specialized for plastics whereas the 5748, also evolved from the 5701, has somewhat different internals specialized for grain loading and unloading.

Road Name History: BASF SE is an initialism And Portmanteau for its original name Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik (German for 'Baden Aniline and Soda Factory'), is a European multinational company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

The BASF comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, the Americas and Africa. BASF has customers in over 190 countries and supplies products to a wide variety of industries. Despite its size and global presence, BASF has received relatively little public attention since it abandoned the manufacture and sale of BASF-branded consumer electronics products in the 1990s.

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.