The Acid and LPG tank cars have been promoted from Athearn to Genesis. These cars now feature Genesis trucks with rotating bearing caps, trainline hoses, and coupler cut bars at nearly the same retail.

This brand-new, highly-detailed model from Athearn represents two major phases of straight-tank Union Tank Car (UTC)-built 13,600 gallon sulfuric acid tank car, designs never offered before in HO. Also note that Procor, UTC's Canadian affiliate, built some cars identical to these designs. The early phase has a four-section tank body, and was built from mid-1979 to late-1988. The later phase has a three-section tank body, and was built from early-1988 to late-1999. Athearn's state-of-the-art model will offer different top platform and brake configurations to match the prototypes, along with many separately applied details to add to their incredible realism.

Operationally, these cars offer many opportunities for contemporary (late 1970s to present) modelers. Sulfuric acid tank cars can be seen in great numbers all over North America, often moving in groups of multiple cars in a train. Sulfuric acid is a common commodity, consumed and produced by many different industries: oil refining, metal processing, ore refining, fertilizer manufacturing, waste water processing, and chemical synthesis, among others. Even if your layout does not have these industries represented, these cars can still be of use, since they often traveled as bridge traffic on many roads, to be interchanged to and from other railroads as part of their journey across the country.

Key Features

Overview

About 60 percent of the production of sulfuric acid is used to make phosphoric acid as part of the production process in making phosphate fertilizers and detergents. The steel industry is another user requiring large quantities. The acid is used for the removal of oxidation, rust and scale from steel sheets and billets as the final step in the steel making process. Other uses include nitrogen fertilizers and the “acid” in car batteries. One source of sulfuric acid is copper smelting. Most copper ores, especially those in North America are sulfate ores containing large amounts of sulfur. The smelting process releases sulfur dioxide gas, which is captured and turned into sulfuric acid. Strings of three to nine acid tank cars are common in trains.

Grupo Mexico Minera Mexico had its beginnings in 1942 as the Mexico Compania Constructora, a construction company. In 1965, Asarco opened Asarco Mexicana, a 49 percent-owned subsidiary. Asarco Mexicana became Industrial Minera Mexico (IMM) in 1974. When the Mexican government sold the national copper company, Mexicana de Cobre in 1988, it was purchased by IMM. IMM became Grupo Mexico in 1994. It operates thirteen mines in Mexico and Peru and in the United States through subsidiary Asarco. Grupo Mexico also owns the Mexican railroad Ferromex.