I just saw the latest product announcement from Athearn and it includes three bay hoppers decorated as Reading class HTw cars. These will be available as singles and 4-car sets.

Can anyone comment on the accuracy of this model?

Athearn RDG HTw hoppers

Thanks, Mark

As for the car itself, the construction is as close to the Readings HTw (also HTwa and second HTf)as we will probably get. The car is the former MDC Roundhouse casting.

The lettering is accurate enough. Not 100% sure that these 8 cars were specifically rebuilt, repainted or reweighed in June 1970 or why they picked that particular date. To the best of my knowledge, the HTw class received speed lettering from the get go, however I cannot attest to what cars may or may not have received the Anthracite logo and / or when the cars were repainted without the logo.

Of the numbers displayed in the ad, all could have made it into the Conrail era (i.e. they ware not listed as converted or scrapped in John Hall's research) except 60368 and 60837, which were converted to HTwa in July 1966. On Dec 30th 1982, I stumbled across a string of these cars in Pottstown, PA on a siding at a car reconditioning facility in original READING speed lettering and at least three cars had the Anthracite logo still intact, albeit extremely rusty. I nearly jumped out of my skin. These cars ended up getting refurbished, painted a light blue and shipped to Central or South America.

These models look legit. The HTw was originally painted with the Anthracite herald and were the last ones to do so. They got phased out once they were shopped. The models here show rebuild dates of 1970, and I don't model past the 1970s, but I would assume that they would have gotten the car tracker decals and the black boxes with info (not sure what these are as i don't model them) but that is easily rectified by adding decals.

That would make sense with the Anthracite herald being applied to all the newly built cars, and done away with as shopped and painted. (I just didn't want to say it without being 100% sure)

And yes the ACI label was rather unceremoniously slapped right in the center of the prized anthracite herald on the cars that I saw in 1982.

(I'll get a scan of that in here asap)

Some HTw vars were assigned to Pellet service out of Grace Mine, also. They also had the red ALAC logo. One of my clients had an aerial of the nmine which showed a long string waiting to be loaded.

To Support Bill's statement.

I have a copies of RDG CO memos

On 21 JUL 1959 listing 100 HTw cars to be stenciled "For Ore Service between Joanna and Bethlehem" and a large "GM" stenciled on the side of each car. It also mentions 140 hoppers with flat bottoms from the series 40,800 to 40,939 inclusive to be stenciled same as above. I believe these are HTna class cars.

On 22 NOV 1961, It was agreed to supply 240 hoppers - 60,000 series are to be equipped with j-bolts for Joanna to maintain a 4 day cycle of 60 cars per day between Joanna and Bethlehem, along with an additional 125 cars for Cornwall to Joanna service to be lettered with a large "C", same as the "GM" cars. However it is noted the 365 cars could be used for either location since they were identical. The selected cars are also listed, however I noticed car 60111 was on both the "GM" and the "C" list.

Obviously - the Athearn cars stenciled with a repaint date of 1970 would not qualify for this service and more than likely would have been re-stenciled by then anyway.. By 1970 I would believe that HTz cars and perhaps by then even HTd or e cars would have been pressed into that service.

In late 1975, I believe the final HTg cars fulfilled the ore service until pretty much the end of Grace Mines operations.