Bachmann - 5521 - Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow - Hercules Powder - 52021

Model Information: First released in 1972, this series of covered hoppers approximates ACF's 1964 centerflow model. The carry Bachmann's typical (of that time) features: nickel-silver plated deep flange wheels and Rapido couplers. The 1972 Bachmann catalog shows seven different road names listed at $2.50 each.

Prototype History: Contemporary 2-bay covered hoppers, like ACF's Centerflows, were 100-ton cars designed to haul dense loads, like cement. Their larger 3 and 4-bay brethren, while usually still having 100 ton capacities, were designed for lighter-density loads, like grain or flour. Their sizes had to do with the fact that a low-density product like grain will "cube out" the cubic capacity of a smaller 2-bay car way before you hit the cars' tonnage rating. Conversely, load a 3 or 4-bay covered hopper to its cubic maximum with a dense product like cement, and you'll wind up with a seriously overloaded car tonnage wise. In short, keep the smaller 2-bay cars for heavy commodities, and keep the larger cars for lighter loads like grains, sugar, flour, etc.

Road Name History: Hercules, Inc., was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, which was formed as the Hercules Powder Company. Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 by DuPont and Laflin & Rand Powder Company to finance construction of a dynamite plant on land adjacent to San Francisco Bay owned by DuPont subsidiary California Powder Works.] This created the company town of Hercules, California. Hercules Inc. was a manufacturer of chemicals and munitions based in Wilmington, Delaware. The company was established in 1912 by T.W. Bacchus as the Hercules Powder Company. The Hercules Powder Company was one of the companies created from the break up of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours "powder trust" in 1911 as ruled by a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In its early years as a separate company, it continued to produce explosives and dynamite." Hercules was spun off from DuPont as a result of U.S. federal government actions in the field of antitrusts. Hercules, Inc., operated under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc.

Hercules, Inc., was one of the major producers of smokeless powder for warfare in the United States during the 20th century. At the time of its spin-off, the DuPont Corp. retained the processes and patents for the production of "single-base" nitrocellulose gunpowders, whereas Hercules, Inc., was given the patents and processes for the production of "double-base" gunpowders that combined nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine.

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.