Description

In 1929 and 1930, the Pressed Steel Car Co. of McKee’s
Rocks, Pennsylvania constructed a total of 625 steel tank cars
for North American Car Corporation’s N.A.T.X. leasing unit.
The cars were similar to many of the other designs of the era
with three longitudinal course tanks, center sills comprised of
two channels, channel section stub-side and end sills, center
tank anchors, and tank bands at the body bolsters where
the tank supports were located. The cars had ladders and a
dome walk only on the left side. The tanks were of the longer,
narrower style that came into favor in the mid-to-late 1920s.
Initially, the cars were stenciled for North American’s leasing
fleet in the NATX reporting marks and placed into the 5000
series. In the late 1940s, A. E. Staley, the manufacturer of
corn products, including corn syrup, sold its tank car fleet to
North American and leased cars back to meet its needs. The
A. E. Staley fleet included many older, radial course tank cars
from builders like Standard Tank Car Co. These older cars
were swapped for the newer Pressed Steel tank cars and given
A.E.S.X. reporting marks. The cars initially had white tanks
with black bottom courses and black stenciling on the tanks.
They used an emblem that included the phrase “Products from
Corn.” In the early 1950s, the tanks were painted orange and
used a newer emblem that used the phrase “Products from
Corn and Soybeans.” There were also some mid-1950s era
cars that were all black with A.E.S.X. reporting marks and
rectangular “NORTH AMERICAN” emblem in what appears to be
silver stencil paste. Includes two of the artwork shown.