A Limited Edition HO-Scale ScaleTrains BSC Finger Rack Flatcar painted for freelance model railroad Davies Steel Corporation!
The Davies Steel concept was developed by the late Dean Freytag as an industry for his South Ridge Lines layout. The name Davies was Dean’s wife Anne’s maiden name. The South Ridge Lines Railroad delivered the raw materials for the steel making process and picked up finished materials and byproducts. The steel mill was located along the railroads mainline in Iron City, Ohio. The South Ridges Line was one of four railroads that was part of the Cardinal System which was formed so the railroads could coordinate their railroad traffic.
Prior to his death on December 25, 2010, Dean Freytag had drawn up a Bill of Sale with four close friends that would be executed upon Dean’s death. Dean’s layout, rolling stock and buildings would be divided up between these four individuals. Today, Davies Steel is alive and well on a 26’ x 32’ layout in Jim DiPaola’s basement. It is still served by the South Ridge Lines but is not a part of the Cardinal System.
Davies Steel has expanded to include an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Blast furnaces and the continuous caster have been upgraded to include modern day practices and facilities.
New Date: x-xxxx
About the Prototype:
Introduced in 1969, the Bethlehem Steel Co. (BSC) F68-series of 100-ton, 68-foot long (over end sills) flats represented a new generation of high-capacity flats. Extremely versatile, the basic design could be equipped from the factory with various appliances to handle different loadings. At the end of 1969, BSC introduced the “F68BH” class of cars for trailer trains. The Rivet Counter™ HO Scale model is accurately rendered from builder drawings and photos, featuring road number-specific details like steel decks, transverse deck risers, MacLean-Fogg transverse tie-down apparatus, distinctive upright “finger racks” near each end, a complete underbody brake system with over 18 separately applied parts including the air reservoir, control valve, reduction relay valve and retainer valve, plus wire form plumbing and trainline piping.
The ScaleTrains BSC Finger Rack Flatcar features:
- Fully-assembled
- Multiple road numbers
- Factory-applied finger rack details
- MacLean-Fogg tie-down details on decks
- Decks with transverse risers
- Early H-shaped jacking pads
- Vertical handbrake staff and housing with finely detailed wheel
- 36” machined metal wheels
- Complete underbody brake system including air reservoir, control valve, reduction relay valve, and retainer valve plus wireform plumbing and trainline pipe
- Durable die-cast metal semi-scale long-shank Type E couplers
- Highly-detailed 100-ton trucks with hydraulic snubber and bracket details, rotating Timken three-sided bearing caps, separate truck-mounted brake beams, and side bearing detail