RMT East Broad Top tank car

The history of the tank car dates back more than 150 years. Coworker Carl Swanson from Trains Magazine wrote an article about their history if you’d like to learn more.

This car is a single-domed version, lettered for the East Broad Top Railroad (No. RMT-96899-12). I was surprised to learn that the EBT owned one tank car: No. 116, built in 1925 as a flat car, was converted to a 6,000 gallon tank car sometime after 1936. See a photo of it on the ETB’s website. The car is still in use today. Trains.com Staff Writer Lucas Iverson wrote an article about EBT’s freight cars in the 21st century.

The car is available in 32 other roadnames, including custom runs for RMT dealers. See the website for more information.

Like the other RMT products I’ve reviewed recently, this tank car has new trucks. See a comparison photo of the old versus new trucks in the ore car article.

The sticker on the clamshell packaging suggests O-31 operation, but RMT’s website states O-36. I emailed owner Walter Matuch to clarify, and he confirmed that O-36 is the correct designation. He also stated that the stickers have been updated to reflect this change.

The graphics on this car are nicely done. The EBT logo used is the version released in 2022 for the railroad’s 150th anniversary, versus the traditional “acorn” logo designed by P.F Yaeger in 1937.

The prototype car is 40 feet long, making this model ½” too long in 1:48 scale. The EBT car also does not have an operating platform like this model does (it’s listed as a top dome loading platform on RMT’s website). However, the platform is not adhered, so you could use a hobby knife to remove it for a more prototypical appearance. You could also drill four tiny holes in the platform and replace the handrails if you like.

All in all, this is a decent piece of rolling stock. You can run it as is, or modify it to suit your needs.

Note: If you’re interested in any of RMT’s products, contact your local hobby shop or retailer. RMT does not sell direct to the customer.