Got my collection of Penn Central rolling stock on the track today and I noticed Lionel and Atlas O produced the same road number for a cylindrical hopper. Obviously, Lionel (top) and Atlas O (bottom) have two rather different interpretations of this hopper, and I couldn't find any photos of an actual Penn Central cylindrical hopper to compare these to. I wonder which one is more accurate?
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If the Atlas O hopper came out in the Jim Weaver era I guarentee it was more accurate and he had pics to prove it.
as far as the spacing between the words "PENN CENTRAL", the bottom graphic is more accurate based on examples i've seen.
Given that Atlas O is a much more scale-oriented company, I too am inclined to trust that they have the more accurate markings on the car. My biggest curiosity though is which one has the better shade of green. I actually think Lionel's might be closer based on these restorations:
without a doubt, since Jim Weaver was involved, the Atlas car is 100% accurate and no questions exist. I would go with their shade of green as well. You need to know Jim was totally accurate with his assessments-- his loss is totally missed in the hobby...Geez, I wonder who was first with their model of this car. Hands down-- ATLAS!!
Given that Atlas O is a much more scale-oriented company, I too am inclined to trust that they have the more accurate markings on the car. My biggest curiosity though is which one has the better shade of green. I actually think Lionel's might be closer based on these restorations:
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61115&whichpage=1
here is a discussion about PC green on the Atlas forum.
apparently there are a number of shades which might be accurate.
Nick:
I have a copy of the "Penn Central Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment" book from Morning Sun. On page 101 (Covered Hopper section of the book) is a picture of this very car, right down to the road#, taken in April 1973. It's clean and shiny in the photo, and the description states that it was only one month removed from the Altoona paint shop.
It is definitely very close in color to the Atlas car pictured above. Also, the spacing between the words Penn and Central on the Atlas matches the photo of the real thing. I'm not saying that PC didn't use varying shades of green over time, but for this particular car, Atlas appears to be spot on. Everyone is so right about Jim Weaver's accuracy. He is truly missed. Hope this helps!
Someone at Lionel might have used the same photograph for the reference, but as font styles, lettering locations, and graphic sizes got interpreted differently by each new person that handled the information, slight changes occured. That has happened on many Lionel locos and cars in the past few decades.
Andrew
I would put my money on the Atlas car. As to the prototype color, for a car in service the cyan pigments would fade faster than the magenta, causing a slight color shift. A different shift and a different Foreman may explain the lettering differences
Remember unlike Atlas Lionel is a toy company that only recently stated making accurate models.
Whelp, that settles it then. Atlas wins by knockout victory 
Being that I am new to collecting Atlas O, I was not familiar with Jim Weaver and his vaunted commitment to accuracy. I too am sorry to hear of this remarkable person's passing.
Consistancy was not a Penn Central virtue.
Rusty
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