Micro-Trains - 530 00 490 - Tank Car, Single Dome, 39 Foot - St. Lawrence Starch Company, Ltd - 49104

Specific Item Information: This 39’ single dome tank car is is yellow with blue belly and runs on Bettendorf trucks. Built in October 1949, and serviced in 1961, this car belonged to a series of 8 cars painted similarly for the St. Lawrence Starch Company, of Port Credit, Ontario. Used to transport corn syrup, they could be found in service between Port Credit and numerous candy and food companies in eastern Canada through the early 1980s.

Series Name: Sweet Liquid

Prototype History: Single Dome tank cars are a railroad staple. They have been around since the first half of the 20th century. This length car can handle about 10,000 gallons. These railcars carry a wide array of commodities, including liquid fertilizers, chemicals, fuel oils and asphalt, and food-grade oils. Tank cars can be pressurized or non-pressurized, insulated or non-insulated. Single dome cars carry only a single commodity at once. Food-service tank cars may be lined with stainless steel, glass, or plastic. Tank cars carrying dangerous goods are generally made of different types of steel, depending on the intended cargo and operating pressure. They may also be lined with rubber or coated with specialized coatings for tank protection or product purity purpose. The tank heads are also stronger to prevent ruptures during accidents.

One common version is the ACF Type 27 jacketed tank car with expansion dome which was in common use by many railroads and oil companies.

Road Name History: The St. Lawrence Starch Company was established in 1890 after the factory site land was purchased in 1889, by Archibald Hutchinson. The 10 acres purchased by Hutchinson was part of the Cotton Estate; located on the eastern edge of Port Credit Village. The company had 4 founding partners. John Gray and Archibald Hutchinson were Scottish Natives that had previous knowledge in starch manufacturing both in Scotland and Canada. Robert and Joseph Kilgour who had owned a paper bag manufacturing plant in Toronto provided financial support. Archie Hutchinson excelled in sales and marketing while John Gray established himself within the starch production.
The company quickly became known as ‘The Starch Works’ by the community and provided a large capacity of employment. In 1900 more than 100 men and boys had been employed, often employing several generations of a single family. The company provided the largest employment within southern peel. With the great depression W. T Gray came up with innovative programs to avoid laying off employees. The company also provided housing and sponsored community charities, sports teams and organizations. When the economy dropped the company shifted their contribution towards a service for the people instead of supplying products.
Production continued until March 1990, leaving vacant buildings until 1993 when they were demolished making space for current residential and parkland occupancy. Though the St. Lawrence Starch facility closed the Gray family is involved with St. Lawrence Grains and Farm supply.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.