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Athearn - 11633 - Reefer, 40 Foot, Pfaudler - Renken Dairy - 756

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N Scale - Athearn - 11633 - Reefer, 40 Foot, Pfaudler - Renken Dairy - 756 Image Courtesy of Horizon Hobby
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Stock Number11633
BrandAthearn
ManufacturerAthearn
Body StyleAthearn Reefer 40 Foot Milk
Image Provider's WebsiteLink
Prototype VehicleReefer, 40 Foot, Pfaudler (Details)
Road or Company NameRenken Dairy (Details)
Reporting MarksGPEX
Road or Reporting Number756
Paint Color(s)Green and Black
Coupler TypeMcHenry Magnetic Knuckle
Wheel TypeInjection Molded Plastic
Wheel ProfileSmall Flange (Low Profile)
Release Date2007-05-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeReefer
Model Subtype40 Foot
Model VarietyMilk
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era IV: 2nd Gen Diesel (1958 - 1978)
Scale1/160
Track GaugeN standard



Model Information: Features: Fully assembled and ready to operate; Separately applied brake wheel; Screw mounted trucks for accurate tracking; Truck mounted magnetically operated knuckle couplers; Plastic wheels.

This model is different than most other N Scale reefers in that it features high speed passenger trucks. This was so that the milk cars could be pulled in passenger consists and reach their destinations before their contents could spoil.
Prototype History:
In the 1920's, the Pfaudler Company and General American Car Company manufactured hundreds of wood sheathed, insulated milk cars. Designed as bulk milk carriers, the cars were built around two 6,000 gallon glass lined tanks and a brine cooling system designed to keep the milk at a constant 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Riding on passenger car trucks, these unique cars were often painted Pullman green to match the passenger cars of the era. The special purpose Pfaudler Cars hauled bulk milk shipments well into the 1950's.
Road Name History:
The M. H. Renken Dairy Co. was founded by Martin Henry Renken (1856-1934). Martin Henry Renken immigrated to the United States in 1872 and in 1888 he founded a dairy on Park Avenue and Spencer Street in Brooklyn. The business incorporated in 1912 as the M H Renken Dairy Co. In 1934, Martin Renken died and was succeeded by his son, Henry as President. At this time, the company was at its peak, operating about 300 delivery routes and employing over 600 people.
In the 1950’s Renken began to succumb to the trend away from home milk delivery and toward the suburbanization of dairy processing and packaging and by 1959 it shut down milk processing at its main plant. In 1965 Elmhurst Milk and Cream Company took over the processing and local delivery routes, leaving Renken with just wholesale deliveries. Finally, Renken was sold to Beyer Farms in 1986 and the Renken label was discontinued several years later.
Brand/Importer Information:
Athearn's history began in 1938, when its founder-to-be, Irvin Athearn, started an elaborate O scale layout in his mother's house. After placing an ad selling the layout, and receiving much response to it, Irv decided that selling model railroads would be a good living. He sold train products out of his mother's house through most of the 1940s. After becoming a full-time retailer in 1946, Irv opened a separate facility in Hawthorne, California in 1948, and that same year he branched into HO scale models for the first time.

Athearn acquired the Globe Models product line and improved upon it, introducing a comprehensive array of locomotive, passenger and freight car models. Improvements included all-wheel drive and electrical contact. One innovation was the "Hi-Fi" drive mechanism, employing small rubber bands to transfer motion from the motor spindle to the axles. Another was the double-ended ring magnet motor, which permitted easy connection to all-wheel-drive assemblies. Athearn was also able to incorporate flywheels into double-ended drives.

The company produced a model of the Boston & Maine P4 class Pacific steam locomotive which incorporated a cast zinc alloy base and thermoplastic resin superstructure. It had a worm drive and all power pickup was through the bipolar trucks that carried the tender. This item was discontinued after the Wilson motor was no longer available, and was not redesigned for a more technologically advanced motor.

Athearn's car fleet included shorter-than-scale interpretations of passenger cars of Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad prototypes. The company also offered a variety of scale-length freight cars with sprung and equalized trucks. The cars could be obtained in simple kit form, or ready-to-run in windowed display boxes. The comprehensive scope of the product line contributed to the popularity of HO as a model railroad scale, due to the ready availability of items and their low cost.

Irv Athearn died in 1991. New owners took control in 1994, but continued to follow Athearn's commitment to high-quality products at reasonable prices. Athearn was bought in 2004 by Horizon Hobby. Athearn was then moved from its facility in Compton to a new facility in Carson, California. In mid-2009, all remaining US production was moved to China and warehousing moved to parent Horizon Hobby. Sales and product development was relocated to a smaller facility in Long Beach, California.

Read more on Wikipedia and Athearn website.
Item created by: George on 2016-09-12 19:19:06. Last edited by gdm on 2018-02-12 11:38:56

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