Athearn ATH84721 HO 40' Pfaudler Milk Car, Merkle #745

MODEL FEATURES:

• Screw mounted trucks
• Machined metal wheels with RP25 contours
• Weighted for optimum performance
• Body-mounted McHenry® operating scale knuckle couplers
• Highly-detailed, injection-molded body
• Painted and printed for realistic decoration
• Minimum radius: 11”

PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:

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.