Full Throttle - FT-COL8A-4 - Open Hopper, 3-Bay, 70 Ton Offset - Reading - 82155

Specific Item Information: The Full Throttle FT-COL8 Blue Coal Collector Set includes four 33' 2-bay offset-side hoppers, each lettered for a different road: Central Railroad of New Jersey CNJ 10032 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western DLW 81468 New Haven NH 121247 Reading RDG 82155

Model Information: To satisfy America's industrial hunger for coal, 70-ton hoppers were ushered into service by the 1920s. As with the smaller 50-tonners, the economical offset-side design was adapted to these larger capacity units. By the mid-1930s an AAR "standard" 70-ton offset-side hopper car was developed. After the steel shortages caused by WWII, this large smooth-side version blossomed; however, certain inherent problems became apparent. The inside ribs or stakes were more prone to corrosion than with their construction on the outside, and they suffered more damage from coal being loaded directly onto them. The offset-side concept dwindled during the 1950s, and by the 60s was all but abandoned for new cars built afterwards. The late 20th Century saw the advent of modern rotary dumping and other railroad improvements which led to even larger coalers without a need to employ hopper bottoms.

Prototype History: 70 ton 3-bay offset side hoppers first appeared in the late 20s and by the late 30s had become an AAR standard design with cars being delivered from a number of builders in large quantities to railroads across the country. The last of these cars were delivered in the mid-'60s and many remained in service through the 80s.

Road Name History: Let’s get a couple of quick clarifications out of the way first. Reading rhymes with bedding and is not “reading” a book. Second, the only “Reading Railroad” is on the Monopoly game board. Its actual name was “Reading Company” with “Reading Lines” used on logos and advertising.

The Reading Company, usually called the Reading Railroad as was enshrined by the Monopoly board game, and boasting a predecessor company officially founded under the name the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1833 through 1976. Until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States.

Reduced coal traffic coupled with highway competition and short hauls forced it into bankruptcy in the 1970s. The railroad was merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, disposing of real estate holdings.

Brand/Importer Information: Greetings, I'm Will, a Fine Arts graduate of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania who grew up in the Delaware Valley. I worked for 30 years with the Pennsylvania German Folklife Society. For ten years I had a permanent booth, each month showing my "PA Dutch" wares, at the country's largest under-roof Antique Market in Atlanta, GA. When Mom and Dad started to have health issues, I was forced to give up the nomadic life, but during my travels I came to love Z Scale Model Railroading, as I could easily take small layouts with me to the motels and play with my trains in the evenings!
Now that Mom and Dad are gone, and after many years of providing care for my "Pappy" in Florida, I find myself a homebody in the "Sunshine State" with a neat little business, supplying interested Z hobbyists with rolling stock and unique quality products!