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HO Scale Replicas Page – Bethlehem 70-ton Drop-end Gondola

The 52-6 riveted 70-ton drop-end gondola car as designed and produced by Bethlehem is the fifth all-new model in our HO scale product line.   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.   Most of these gondolas were phased from revenue service by the mid-1980s, with many serving additional years in various MOW roles.   Our first production release includes these 3 schemes:

NEW: Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) O-59 "Original 1937"

Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) O-59 in the original 1937 black scheme with white stencils, available in 12 road numbers.

SOLD OUT: Lehigh Valley (LV)

Lehigh Valley (LV) in the repaint “Cornell red” with black flag, available in 6 road numbers.

SOLD OUT: Western Maryland (WM)

Western Maryland (WM) in the original 1953 red paint scheme with "speed lettering," available in 6 road numbers.

NEW: Undecorated Assembled

Undecorated assembled which comes from Tangent Scale Models painted primer gray! Here is your opportunity to paint and letter your own without needing to assemble a kit!

We also will offer undecorated kits on December 1, 2011 for those of you that want to build your own!

Our motto is “Unparalleled scale replicas for discriminating railroad modelers”.  We hope you'll agree! Our 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 deck inside the car
  • Detail variations: Duryea and conventional end sill detail appropriate for each paint scheme
  • Detail variations: Tack board locations appropriate for each paint scheme
  • Detail variations: End door variations (Dreadnaught and Straight Corrugated) appropriate for each paint scheme
  • Brake platforms appropriate for each paint scheme
  • Road-specific 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
  • Air hoses
  • Weighted to NMRA specs for smooth operation
  • Kadee® scale metal couplers
  • Tangent 70-ton ASF A-3 Ride-Control trucks with free-rolling metal wheels
  • Recommended age 14 years and older.


Now in our fifth year of operation, Tangent Scale Models offers five different high-quality, well-researched, and smartly-executed HO scale replicas.   Our first two offerings are Pullman-Standard covered hoppers from the 1960s and 1970s: the PS-2 4000 and the PS-2CD 4740.   Tangent Scale Models is indeed still a new manufacturer, but we plan to grow and serve you well with both information and models. Our shopping cart is on the Buy Models page, where we provide a listing of our model train products and all available road numbers!

Our 70-ton ASF A-3 trucks, handbrake parts, and undecorated kits (which will be available soon!) are available on the Buy Extras page. You may add products to your cart and checkout from these sources. Also note the links for “cart” and “checkout” at the upper top of all pages on our site if you need to return to your shopping cart! Thank you for shopping with Tangent Scale Models!

 

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