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Covered Hopper
Ajax
No.359-D -1974 Release
Covered Hopper
Arm & Hammer
To date no Arm & Hammer TYCO Covered Hopper examples have
been found and it is not known to exist as a model beyond the pre-production example introduced in the company's 1973-74 catalog.
No. 359-B
-1973 Release
No. 359-A -1973 Release
No. 359-E -1973 Release
No. 359-F -1974 Release
Covered Hopper
Planters
No. 359-C -1973
Release
Covered Hopper
Tide
TYCO displays two cars in the introductory group of Covered Hoppers that appear to have
never made beyond a 1973-74 catalog appearance. Both Tide and Arm & Hammer examples
are not known to exist as regular production models.
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Arriving a year following TYCO's introduction of its 54-foot ACF prototype Center Flow Hopper is a Covered Hopper car release.
TYCO's Covered Hopper carries the model series number 359 and first appears in the 1973-74 catalog. A collection of six paint
schemes are displayed and the 1973 retail was $3.50. Of the six illustrated, Arm & Hammer and Tide examples are not known
to have been produced for regular release.
The car remained a standard offering for TYCO for many years, available in many "billboard" schemes. For its 1974 appearance,
Ajax and Jello-O examples replace Arm & Hammer and Tide cars. The model has a $2.50 retail in 1974's catalog. TYCO's Budweiser
and C&H Sugar cars are gone by 1975. The final appearance in TYCO's annual product catalogs for this model is 1981. The
Boraxo and Planters examples survive longest in TYCO's catalog with the two being the only illustrated Covered Hopper offerings
presented from the late 1970s to 1981.
IHC Hobby issued this same Covered Hopper tooling in its own line of products around 2000. This has marked the most recent
appearance for this 1973 TYCO car.
The prototype for TYCO's model is Pullman-Standard's 4740 cubic foot covered hopper. Athearn's model was introduced in 1971
and appears to have provided inspiration for TYCO's example.
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A goal for manufacturer's like TYCO for ready to run basic freight car offerings is doubtless the desire to limit the number
of parts for any single release. In this respect, TYCO's Covered Hopper is a more expense and complicated item in comparison
to the 40-foot Hopper or 50-foot Plug Door Box Car. The upper shell includes separately applied running boards and loading
hatches, plus brake wheel. The underframe has not one, but four weights. A main weight is placed over the length of the
inside of the model, plus small square weights are installed in each bay. The ends are separate pieces attached to the underframe.
Three separate bay doors are attached to the bottom of the model, plus three brake and air detail parts are present on the
B-end of the car. In all, a part count of 17 pieces, plus trucks and couplers make up this car. This makes TYCO's Covered
Hopper among its more intricate freight car offerings.
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