Piko 37799 G - GATX cement silo freight car, Era V

Model of a cement silo wagon in GATX leasing livery

Cement travels by rail quite differently from coal or timber – sealed inside pressure containers from which it is blown by compressed air straight into the silo of a concrete plant. This PIKO G scale model presents exactly such a wagon, in the livery of the private wagon leasing company GATX, in an Era V version. The distinctive outline with two bulbous tanks, ladders and a working platform is particularly effective in the large scale, and the wagon looks good both on its own and in a uniform rake of several examples.

The model stands out with sharp, contour-accurate printing that faithfully reproduces the arrangement of lettering and ownership markings. Numerous finely executed details – handrails, ladders and discharge fittings – build the impression of a genuine industrial machine. The construction is solid and made for year-round running on garden track, where rolling stock has to cope with sun, rain and shifts in temperature. Excellent rolling characteristics ensure quiet running behind a G scale locomotive.

Model specifications:

• scale: G (garden railway)
• item number: 37799
• manufacturer: PIKO
• length over buffers: 350 mm
• vehicle: cement silo wagon
• wagon owner: GATX (private operator)
• era: V
• finish: sharp, contour-accurate printing, numerous fine details
• reinforced construction for outdoor operation
• excellent rolling characteristics
• minimum radius: 600 mm
• ready-to-run model, no assembly or painting required
• age recommendation: 14 years and up

Please note: this wagon has no drive of its own.

It is a trailing vehicle for trains hauled by a locomotive – to set it in motion you need a G scale locomotive and a powered track. The minimum radius is 600 mm, matching the curves typically used on garden railways. The wagon contains no electronics whatsoever, so it can be added to an analogue-controlled rake or to a digitally controlled train alike.

About cement silo wagons:

Silo wagons for powdered goods were developed to solve two problems at once: protecting the load from moisture and speeding up discharge. The classic version is a two-axle vehicle on roller bearings with two cylindrical containers of roughly 12.5 m³ each, made up of a conical section, a cylindrical section and a domed roof. The load is filled through hatches in the upper part of the containers, closed by hinged covers with butterfly catches, while discharge is pneumatic, using compressed air at around 2.5 bar. Besides cement these wagons also carry other bulk and powdered materials such as quicklime and hydrated lime.

Designs of this kind were built in large series – wagons of the Ucs-v variant were delivered to the Deutsche Reichsbahn between 1976 and 1980, and private versions were built for wagon leasing companies as well. Privately owned wagons hired out to cement works and chemical plants gradually came to dominate this traffic, and their liveries, often far removed from the austere colours of state railway stock, became a permanent feature of European industrial sidings.

GATX is one of the largest freight wagon leasing companies in the world. The American-rooted business also operates extensively in Europe, where alongside its wagon fleet it maintains its own maintenance facilities – among them a freight wagon workshop in Ostróda, Poland, with more than a century of history. A model in GATX colours is therefore not just a freight wagon but a trace of that part of the railway market where the rolling stock does not belong to the operator but is leased from a specialised owner.

Prototype specifications (powder silo wagon of the Ucs-v type):

• type: two-axle silo wagon for powdered goods, on roller bearings
• containers: two cylindrical tanks of approx. 12.5 m³ each
• tank construction: conical section, cylindrical section and domed roof
• loading: top hatches with hinged covers and butterfly catches
• discharge: pneumatic, using compressed air at approx. 2.5 bar
• commodities carried: cement, lime and other bulk and powdered materials
• Ucs-v deliveries to DR: 1976–1980
• users: state railways and private wagon leasing companies, GATX among them

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO is a German model railway manufacturer active since 1949, based in Sonneberg in Thuringia with more than seventy years of achievement behind it. The brand is among the most popular in Europe and develops its range in parallel across scales H0, TT, N and G. The garden railway programme is distinguished by durable construction and by a design approach aimed at outdoor use all year round. The company is also a leading producer of models of Polish rolling stock, including PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo vehicles.