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E-R Models - 70311 - Tank Car, 40 Foot, Helium - United States Army - 211

One  of these sold for an average price of: 12.0012.00One of these sold for an average price of: 12.00
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Collectors value this item at an average of 25.0025.00Collectors value this item at an average of 25.00
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N Scale - E-R Models - 70311 - Tank Car, 40 Foot, Helium - United States Army - 211 Copyright held by TroveStar
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Stock Number70311
Tertiary Stock Number040-70311
Original Retail Price$13.95
BrandE-R Models
ManufacturerRoco
Body StyleRoco Tank Car 40 Foot Helium
Prototype VehicleTank Car, 40 Foot, Helium (Details)
Road or Company NameUnited States Army (Details)
Reporting MarksUS ARMY
Road or Reporting Number211
Paint Color(s)Green, Silver and Black
Print Color(s)Black and White
Coupler TypeRapido Hook
Coupler MountTruck-Mount
Wheel TypeNickel-Silver Plated Metal
Wheel ProfileDeep Flange
Release Date1995-01-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeTank Car
Model Subtype40 Foot
Model VarietyHelium
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era IV: 2nd Gen Diesel (1958 - 1978)
Scale1/160



Specific Item Information: These are listed as new in the 2001 Walthers N&Z Reference Book for the price of $13.95. Not shown in the 2000 edition.
Model Information: This body style was created for Atlas by Roco in the late 1960s. Atlas released a series of four cars using this tooling in 1969. Atlas never did a second production run - presumably because it did not sell that well. 26 years later, E-R models contracted with Roco to produce a second run of these cars with the same road names as the Atlas run but with three new road numbers. For some reason, E-R did not re-run the Department of Mines paint scheme.

Again, these cars disappeared from the marketplace (other than eBay) for another 20 years. In 2016, Micro-Trains mysteriously produced a new run of this tooling with a Weathered NASA paint scheme as part of their NASA car series. This was followed up by another Micro-Trains Special run in 2017 of two glow-in-the-dark cars commissioned by Fred Hoxsie of the NSE.

These cars are rather unique in both the prototype and the N Scale world. So my curiosity was piqued at how a long-deceased manufacturer (Roco) suddenly started producing cars from a presumed lost tooling. So I asked Fred Hoxsie, "Where did you get these? I thought Roco was long gone and that their older toolings from the 1960s were long-lost." Fred responded "I haven't a clue - ask Eric." So I trotted over to the Micro-Trains booth at the NSE event in Pittsburgh and asked Eric Smith himself, "Hey Eric, where did these cars come from?".

Eric explained that whomever had acquired the assets of Roco when they went belly-up was not not sure what to do with the various inventory acquired during the bankruptcy. Currently, Modelleisenbahn GmbH owns the Roco brand name, but bankruptcies can be complex, and the older Roco inventory might have ended up just about anywhere (perhaps Roco owed their lunch caterer some Euros?). Micro-Trains got in contact with whomever took ownership of this model and bought the inventory of unpainted bodies. It was one of Eric's minions who negotiated the deal and he was a little fuzzy on the details, but if I got it right, MTL acquired a pallet of these cars (but not the tooling) and will release them periodically as special and/or regular releases. I neglected to ask how many MTL acquired, so I cannot predict how many more we will see.
Prototype History:
The 13 NASA helium cars were some of the heaviest cars ever made, weighing in at 240,300 pounds empty and had a 28,000 pound load limit. Built in 1961, these cars were initially used by the BLM to transport helium from mines in Texas. Later, they found their niche servicing NASA Titan rockets and the Space Shuttle up until the last Shuttle flight in 2011.

A few cars have been repurposed for use in the Space X engine test complex outside McGregor, Texas. Eight other cars were transferred to California and are on lease tro support the Space X Falcon 9 Launch Complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Road Name History:
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed (14 June 1775) to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States of America was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.

As a uniformed military service, the U.S. Army is part of the Department of the Army, which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY) and by a chief military officer, the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2017, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 476,000 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 343,000 soldiers and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) had 199,000 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,018,000 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained, land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States.

From Wikipedia
Brand/Importer Information:
E-R (Euro-Rail) Models was based at 1000 South Main Street in Newark, New York. The owner's name is Al Muniz. They produced reprints of various models using toolings discarded by Atlas (and possibly other manufacturers). They also produced their own locomotive, the Baldwin RF-16 Sharknose. The model was manufactured by Bachmann in China. E-R filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
Manufacturer Information:
The company was founded in 1960 by Ing. Heinz Rössler and started with a plastic Minitanks series of military vehicles. After export to the USA became successful, the model line was expanded with model trains in HO scale and the smaller N scale. TT scale was also subsequently added to the product line. The model rail product line covers many European countries including Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, and also the USA.

On July 15, 2005 ROCO Modellspielwaren GmbH was declared bankrupt. From July 25 the company continues as Modelleisenbahn GmbH, but still uses the Roco brand and associated logo. On October 1, 2007, distribution of the 'Minitank' product series was assigned to the German model car manufacturer Herpa.

Since February 2008 Modelleisenbahn also owns Fleischmann, which like Roco had gone bankrupt. The two companies continue as separate brands under Modelleisenbahn GmbH, while benefiting from economies of scale through joined development projects, marketing and procurement.

From Wikipedia
Item created by: gdm on 2016-11-03 16:10:47. Last edited by meadowsn1956 on 2021-01-07 18:06:05

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