FULL THROTTLE Home Page keywords = "Z scale William Dean Wright Marklin Uncle Will Onkel Wille Willi Märklin Maerklin Pennzee Freudenreich FR MT M-T Micro-Trains"

Updated: 05 Feb 2010, 20:00 ET
(Created 26 Nov 2002)
[Ref: This is index.html (URL http://sbiii.com/fulthrtl/index.html )]

William Dean Wright
FULL THROTTLE

128 Burma Island Road
Leesburg, Florida 34788-2914
Tel.: 352-589-0303
e-mail: dewaa128@aol.com.

Hosted by S. Berliner, III

FULL THROTTLE
Home Page

SITE INDEX:

[This site was heavily reorganized on 30 Jan 2006 and again on 12 Jun 2008, featuring new releases and background information on this home (index) page and putting older material on the products page. As the product line has grown, it has outstripped this format and so archival pages have been added, listing all the older models offered and providing links to their photos and descriptions.]

This Full Throttle home (index) page (with approx. release dates).

What's New?.

[to go directly to the item(s), click HERE!]

Jan 2010 and on:

Open 70-Ton, 3-bay Offset-Side Hopper WDW #4011 Collector Pack #4 'blue coal' (25 Jan 2010)
GN (Mountain Goat) 33' Open Offset Side 2-Bay Hopper WDW #3024 (16 Jan 2010).

- - - - - - - - - -

Jul 2009 - Dec 2009:

On Full Throttle 2009 Archive Page 2:

Southern Railway Open 40' 70-ton Offset-Side, Three-Bay Hoppers
WDW #4004R Southern Railway (Red) and WDW #4005B Southern Railway (Black) (09 Dec 09)
Pennsylvania Railroad 33' open, rib-side, two-bay MoW Hopper PRR MoW WDW #2028 (04 Dec 2009)
Bowser Bucklers (trucks with couplers) WDW #100-8 and
Will's Wheels (wheelsets with 33" wheels) WDW #600-24 & #600-48 (22 Nov 2009)
Collector Pack #3 - Ohio Haulers - NKP offset-side hopper and
ACY rib-side hopper - WDW #CP3 (14 Nov 09)
November 2009 Offering - CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) 40' Open Offset-Side 70-ton 3-Bay Hopper WDW #4006 (01 Nov 09)
New Bowser Bucklers! (Talgo trucks with Couplers - 10 Oct 2009).
October 2009 Offerings (07 Oct 09):
NYC (New York Central) Open 40' 70-Ton Offset-Side Hopper WDW #4009 (07 Oct 09).
CP (Canadian Pacific) silver ACF 51' Center-Flow Cylindrical Hopper WDW #1031 (07 Oct 09)
September 2009 Releases (14 Sep 09):
Alaska RR 40' 70-ton Open Offset Side Hopper (WDW #4008),
C&O 33' Open Offset Side Hopper (WDW #3025), and
AT&SF 51' Center-Flow Cylindrical Hopper (WDW #1007).
PRR Shadow-Keystone 33' Open Rib-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #2026 (20 Aug 09).
WM (Western Maryland / ball herald) Open Rib-Side 33' 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #2025 (02 Aug 09)
DT&I (Detroit, Toledo & Ironton) Open Offset-Side 40' 70-ton 3-Bay Hopper Car WDW #4003 (02 Aug 09)
AT&SF 1930's AAR "Standard" 70-Ton Offset-Side Three-Bay Hopper Car WDW #4001 (01 Jul 09).
1930's AAR "Standard" 70-Ton Offset-Side Three-Bay Hopper Cars - WDW #4000-series
(27 Jun 09) [repeated here as background for #4001 AT&SF hopper]
C&O 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #3026 (01 Jul 09).

On Full Throttle 2009 Archive Page 1:

1930's AAR "Standard" 70-Ton Offset-Side Three-Bay Hopper Cars - WDW #4000-series (27 Jun 09).
D&RGW 33' Open Rib-Side 2-bay Hopper WDW #2024 and
EL 51' ACF Center Flow Cylindrical Hopper WDW #1030 (17 Jun 09).
Appalachian Drags 33' Open Rib-Side 2-Bay Hoppers -
VGN WDW #2019, L&N WDW #2023, WM WDW #2025, and N&W WDW #2020 (17 May 09).
AC&Y 33' Open Rib-Side 2-Bay Hopper WDW #2027 (07 May 09).
AGWAY 51' ACF Center Flow Cylindrical Hopper Set #4 WDW #1029 (07 May 08).
NKP 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #3018 (20 Apr 09).
L&N 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #3016 (07 Apr 09).
C&S 33' Open Rib-Side 2-Bay Hopper WDW #2021 (26 Feb 09).
RDG 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #3012 (06 Feb 09).
Ztrack Monon 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Cars WDW #3014R (CIL) and #3015B (MONON) (28 Jan 09).
B&O 33' Open Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper Car WDW #3013 (07 Jan 09).

On Full Throttle 2008 Archive Page 2:

Full Throttle Products Page
Märklin.
PennZee.
Freudenreich.
Full Throttle's Own Products.

Full Throttle Archive, et seq. - older releases; a full index by date and WDW number is included on the main archive page.

e-mail: dewaa128@aol.com.

Z-scale aficionado William Dean Wright, d.b.a. "Full Throttle",
specializes in American prototype Z equipment.

Will has a large and constantly changing stock of in- and out-of-production
American prototype Märklin, PennZee, and Freudenreich
items, as available, plus products uniquely available only from, or produced solely for, Full Throttle.

Will can also assemble small regional USA train consists for you,
cleans and services locomotives he sells, and offers five-pole motor
retrofits for older Marklin American diesel locomotives.

All FT cars are weighted and carry working knuckle couplers.
The Open Twin Bay Hoppers come equipped with Hay Bros. Garage custom coal loads.

WHAT'S NEW?

Will advised that Father Nature (John W. Kreider, M.D.) passed away on Friday, 29 Jan 2010 from complications related to kidney failure. Dr. Kreider was both a dedicated cancer researcher and a passionate model railroader and will be sorely missed by all who knew him and all who dealt with him as a hobby manufacturer [SB,III].

BRRRR!

Why not warm up with

BlueCoalLabel
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

BlueCoal3BayCar
(photo courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)
WDW #4011 'blue coal' FT Collector Pack #4 (LNE #18472 shown)

In the Summer of 2008, FT released a 2-bay hopper car in homage to the Glen Alden Coal Co. from Ashley, PA. For some 25 years or more they sprayed their anthracite coal, blue, marketing it as 'blue coal' for home heating throughout the Northeastern USA. Though most FT Dealers "passed" on the issue, it became enormously popular, and was "SOLD OUT" within a week's time. It was so successful that Bowser Mfg. asked to use the original concept drawings to create an HO scale 70-ton hopper model of their own, which by the by, is in it's third "run!" Along with Bill Hay of Hay Bros. Garage, Will had done much research for the model, and wrote an article on the subject which appeared in Ztrack Magazine. Will's sister and he visited what remains of the Huber Breaker from where 'blue coal' was prepared and distributed, and talked with members of it's preservation society. He announced the release of the model at Ron Ruddell's "London Bridge Toys" shop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, accompanied with a "Meet and Greet" at which many of the original "Zedheads" from Ron's seminal Z Scale Mid-Atlantic Club were in attendance. But, despite all the PR which included an illustrated "blurb" and explanation, many FT Dealers didn't ask to stock the model, and by the time it "caught on," it was too late for them to make an order.

So, here is 'blue coal' information for a brand new issue of 'blue coal' hoppers! This time around FT is using the 70-ton, 3-bay, offset-side hopper model to honor the anthracite coal industry. Will assembled a large "run," so that all the FT Dealers might order as many of the cars as they wished! He thinks there is plenty to sell directly from the FT workshop. So, please all my Dear FT Friends, order as many as you would like. These do come as 4-packs. Don't be afraid to order, and don't miss this exciting and very collectible Z scale model. Thanks!

Open 70-Ton, 3-bay Offset-Side D&H Hopper
BlueCoal3BayCarD&H

(photo courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)
WDW #4011 'blue coal' FT Collector Pack #4 (D&H #7066 shown)

BRRRR! What an appropriate time of the year (Jan. '10) to release Full Throttle's "Collector Pack #4" 'blue coal'! A wonderful 70-Ton, 3-bay Offset-Side "Billboard" Hopper Car Set honoring the anthracite industry! It is a "Collector 4-pack" with four rail lines represented that distributed this unusual commercial coal fabrication. Hay Bros. Garage created the realistic 'blue coal' loads and as always, the cars are weighted and equipped with Bowser trucks, knuckle couplers, and metal wheels. The 4-pack is housed in FT 's clear plastic cases with liner notes and foam cradles. The four rail lines represented are: D&H, CRP, LNE, and RDG.

This is the fourth of the FT "Collector Pack Series". Other "Collector Packs" will periodically be offered as Special Release Sets. Now is the time to place your orders should you be interested. Don't miss out! Please consider this fantastic four-pack, decide if you would like some for your Z Scale Collection, and let Will know by e-mail. Along with your order, PLEASE send him your name and shipping address! He will then make up an invoice/bill for you with all the pertinent information needed to make your 'trainsaction' and get these out to you as soon as possible. Please let him know if you want to use Pay Pal so he can send a PayPal bill/invoice. Again, Will thanks you so much for all the Zeeriffic support you have given Full Throttle and sends his very best!

BlueCoalAd
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

What in the heck is
'blue coal'?

[The Shadow Knows - heh, heh, heh!^*]

Let Uncle Will tell you a condensed story about 'blue coal'!

Anthracite is a dense, hard, shiny-black, smokeless, clean-burning, coal mined in Pennsylvania and perfectly suited for home-heating. As early as 1928, for a distinguishing feature and marketing ploy, the Glen Alden Coal Co. of Ashley, PA, sprayed the nuggets with a blue colorant as they tumbled down the loading chutes from their huge, historic Huber Breaker. During the 30's and 40's, 'blue coal' was the sponsor of the popular early radio show, "The Shadow," starring detective Lamont Cranston, whose voice was eventually dubbed by Orson Wells! Thus, 'blue coal' became an enormously popular commodity for keeping warm in the cold winters of the burgeoning urban and rural areas of America's east coastal states! And so it remained until the advent of natural gas and fuel oil for domestic heating, well after WW II into the 1950's. In honor of these inventive entrepreneurs, FT pays tribute to the anthracite industry using Z Scale models of open 70-ton, 3-bay offset-side "billboard hoppers" adorned with the original 'blue coal' logo, and represented by several of the major rail lines that distributed this unique, ubiquitous product throughout the northeastern USA! Hay Bros. Garage has created the very realistic 'blue coal' loads.

[This largely repeats material posted with the Collector Pack #1 2-bay "blue coal" release of August 2008, as augmented by my own personal recollections - SB,III]

Anthracite coal being sprayed blue as it tumbles from the chutes:
(photo courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)
[Click on thumbnailed image for larger image]

BlueCoalRadioPromo
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

[See? I TOLD you the Shadow Knows! - SB,III^*]

Denville, NJ delivery:

BlueCoalDenvilleNJDelivery
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

Blue coal towers of the Atlantic Coal Co., now destroyed:
BlueCoalTowers
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

A blue coal magazine ad clipping (date unknown):

(photo courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)
[Click on thumbnailed image for larger image]

Blue coal patch worn on back of blue delivery jackets by retail truck drivers;
measures 9¾" wide and 4" high):
BlueCoalBackPatch
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)

A blue coal ad clipping (date unknown):
(image courtesy of Full Throttle - all rights reserved)
[Click on thumbnailed image for larger image]

* - [The Shadow was a 1940s radio show that opened with, "Who knows what the Shadow knows?", and then answered itself with, "The Shadow Knows - heh, heh, heh!" - SB,III]

@ - [I also remember the coal being delivered by scissor-lift coal trucks with very long, highly-polished, steel chutes though which the coal ran, in a cloud of black dust, over the sidewalk and through cellar/basement windows into the coal bin; here, from the history of the Woolley Fuel Co., the oldest business in Maplewood, New Jersey (1924), is a picture of just such a truck (although the ones I remember were unbelievably FILTHY!):

(cropped from image courtesy of Woolley Fuel Co. - all rights reserved)
[Click on thumbnailed image for larger image]

Although the ones I remember had older (unstreamlined) cabs; here's a somewhat-newer one with the dump body up on extended scissor arms:

(image courtesy of Woolley Fuel Co. - all rights reserved)
[Click on thumbnailed image for larger image]

Now that I think of it, some even had small doors on the sides of the dump body so that chutes could be attached in cramped quarters. - SB,III]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

January Short Run

Here is a wonderful January Short Run! An open 33' two-bay offset-side hopper car marked for the Great Northern Railway. The models were manufactured with great details by Bowser Mfg., painted GN red to a slight sheen inside and out, and equipped with custom Hay Bros. Garage coal loads. They sport the new Bowser Bettendorf trucks with super-gliding blackened metal wheels and knuckle couplers, feature white printing, immaculate, tiny and clean, in several sized fonts and include the GN "mountain goat" logo. These Full Throttle hopper cars will be sold to FT Dealers as four-packs with four different reporting numbers and there are only 30 of these four-packs available! FT Dealers may sell these by the two-pack case.

GNGoatHerald

January, 2010
33' Open Offset-Side Two-Bay Hopper Car
WDW #3024 Great Northern (Mountain Goat)

New Offset-Side Twin Bay from Full Throttle

The Great Northern Railway (GN), running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, more than 1,700 miles, was the creation of the 19th century railroad tycoon James J. Hill and was developed from the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The Great Northern's route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the United States and was north of the Northern Pacific Railway route. The Great Northern was a privately funded transcontinental railroad, though some of its predecessor roads received land grants. In 1970 the Great Northern, together with the Northern Pacific, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway merged to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, today part of the BNSF Railway.

Open 33' Offset-Side 2-Bay Hopper

We've had many requests for a GN hopper car. This should make our Northern USA Z Scale fans very happy, indeed! It's a sweet short run of a rail hobby favorite. Only 30 of these four-packs are available!

Set #1 reporting numbers: 73305 and 73324
Set #2 reporting numbers: 73309 and 73367

This is a very limited-sized run. All FT cars are weighted and wear knuckle couplers. The realistic custom coal loads are created by Hay Bros. Garage! This January Short Run FT Hopper Release is really well-detailed and should be very popular with all Z Scalers ... great to run or collect.

- older offerings have now been moved to the Full Throttle Archive, et seq.:
Full Throttle Archive - Main Page All-Time Archive Index).
WHAT'S OLD? (What Sold!).
2008.
2007.
2006.
2005.
2004.
2003.
2002.

Full Throttle Archive Page 1.
Archive Page 01 - 2007.
Archive Page 02 - Jan-Feb-Mar 2008.
Archive Page 03 - Apr-May-Jun 2008.
Archive Page 04 - Jul-Aug-Sep 2008.

Full Throttle Background.

You can find out more about "Uncle Will" on eBay at:

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/uncle.will

and see his product line at his ZeBay OnLine store.

[Will is as American as apple pie and an earlier Germanicization,
"Onkel Wille/Willi", just didn't fit - SB,III]

This page continues on the Full Throttle Products Page.

William Dean Wright
FULL THROTTLE
128 Burma Island Road
Leesburg, Florida 34788-2914
Tel.: 352-589-0303
e-mail: dewaa128@aol.com.

Hosted by:

S. Berliner, III
Consultant in Ultrasonic Processing
"changing materials with high-intensity sound"
Technical and Historical Writer, Oral Historian
Popularizer of Science and Technology
Rail, Auto, Air, Ordnance, and Model Enthusiast
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