Description
Railroad Short Name: LV
Tangent Scale Models is pleased to offer the 52-6 riveted 70-ton drop-end gondola car as designed and produced by Bethlehem Steel. First produced in March 1937 for Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as class O-59, B&O alone purchased 4,000 of these drop-end gondolas which served every corner of North America in many services. Five additional railroads purchased these Bethlehem-design gondolas in intervening years until production ceased in 1957, with some going to second-hand owners as well. Most of these gondolas were phased from revenue service by the mid-1980s, with many serving additional years in various MOW roles.
Lehigh Valley “USRE Green 1970” represents a different green variant from our most recent run. Both greens are correct! The history: Lehigh Valley engaged United States Railway Equipment (USRE) to refurbish and repaint its fleet of 1940s/1950s-built Bethlehem Steel built gondolas at its facility in Washington, Indiana. USRE repainted these in a variety of colors, and this blue-green color was utilized on many of the shopped cars. This model Is full of little details: a light gray interior wall color matching the prototype, etched-metal Wine tie-downs on the top chord of the car, and stand-off metal ACI plates — just like the prototype. This is the first time Tangent has released this scheme from April of 1970.
Bethlehem 70-ton riveted Drop-end Gondola replicas include:
- Dimensional accuracy – scaled exactly from Bethlehem Steel plans
- Highly accurate “true to life” colors
- Exact fonts and lettering placement – compare our replicas to the prototype photos on our website!
- Detail variations: Tie downs appropriate for each paint scheme
- Detail variations: Steel or wood decks inside the car
- Detail variations: Duryea or conventional end sills appropriate for each paint scheme
- Detail variations: End door variations (Dreadnaught and Straight Corrugated) appropriate for each paint scheme
- Detail variations: Tack board locations appropriate for each paint scheme
- Detail variations: Brake platforms appropriate for each paint scheme
- Detail variations: Handbrakes applied to match production specifications (Universal, Ajax, or Equipco handbrakes available as separate parts, too!)
- Interior deck sits at the scale height
- Interior detail inside the gondola
- Wire grab irons and coupler lift bars
- Separate air hoses
- Weighted to NMRA specs for smooth operation
- Genuine Kadee® scale metal couplers
- Tangent 70-ton ASF A-3 Ride-Control trucks
- CNC-machined 33” wheels in high quality Tangent Scale Models trucks, with semi-scale wheels available separately
- Recommended age 14 years and older.
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