Which Hoppers Are Best? Tangent or Intermountain Model Train Cars

#modeltrain #modelrailroad #trainlayout
In this episode, I will run and review the PS-4750 covered hopper car models made by Tangent and Intermountain.

Have you checked out our new Main Track hobby shop affiliate page on Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/shop/maintrack...

CHECK US OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.themaintrack.com
   / themaintrack  
  / maintracktrains  
  / maintracktrains  
  / themaintrack  

One thing I have a lot of on the layout is covered hoppers. It’s easy to see it’s my favorite type of freight car. In this episode, we’re going to take a look at some of those, in particular the PS-4750. We’ll do a comparison between versions made by two brands— Intermountain Railroad Company and Tangent Scale Models. Intermountain Railroad Company and Tangent Scale Models. Both of these are top-notch companies with super-detailed models. I own models from both companies.

I bought my Intermountain hoppers from a train show a few years back and they’ve been great models. These are older cars. According to the information I can find, these were released back in 2013.

But, one thing that has sort of bothered me is the color. The green shade Intermountain used for these is not the best match for the “Whitman green” Katy used in real life. But, they were “good enough” and I figured I could live with the incorrect shade of green. They would be a good stand in until something else came along.

That “something else” was Tangent's version of the PS-4750. In recent years, the company has released the car in various schemes. In the spring of 2022, it came out with an MKT version with 12 different road numbers. At the same time, Tangent released units painted for Burlington Northern, Illinois Central Gulf, Rock Island, Kansas City Southern, Klemme Co-Op, and Garvey Grain. Additionally, in July 2022, the company released more options including Frisco, Santa Fe (white scheme), Soo Line, Family Lines System (SCL and L&N), Illinois Central, Lapeyrouse Grain, and PLCX Leasing.

I purchased some of these Tangent models (some directly from the manufacturer, and others from Midwest Model Railroad in Kansas City, MO) to see how they compared to my Intermountain hoppers.

First off, let me say the colors of these new Tangent cars are spot on with the coloring! The green and yellow are accurate, and you can definitely tell the difference when compared side by side with the Intermountain units.

Let’s take a look at some of the other differences. First off, the crispness and detail of the lettering on the Tangent cars are top-notch. The lettering is sharper. The Intermountain lettering is good- especially on the larger markings. But, with a lot of the smaller reporting marks and data, the text isn’t quite as defined.

Both the Tangent and Intermountain have Kadee couplers, which is a plus.

While we’re down here below, let’s take a look at the unloading gates…these are the chutes where the commodity is unloaded. You can see on the intermountain chutes…are a bit oversized for this particular make and model of the hopper— this is appropriate for some cars on some railroads but not for these. Tangent has the correct sized gates here-representing outlet gates made by the Miner Enterprises company.

On top, both cars have see-through running boards. The Intermountain walkways are a little more basic—with the boards looking solid but perforated with holes. The Tangent looks closer to the real thing- with a style closer to the grating.

Also, the Tangent has loading hatches that are more detailed with more prototypical dimensions. They’re bulkier on Intermountain.

Tangent also has jacking pads and a brake system closer to the prototype. You’ll also find the same high level of detail with things like the plumbing for the air brake system and uncoupling levers. Along those lines, you get finer ladders, grab irons, and stirrups. On the Intermountain models, the details are good but bulkier.

With these models, it boils down to you getting what you pay for. Tangent models, with their higher level of detail, are generally more expensive than Intermountain. But the price difference is not huge, and you get a lot for those few extra bucks. But if things like exact coloring, or an abundance of details aren’t a big deal to your eye, then you may feel like it’s worth saving that little bit of cash.

So what do you think? Would you rate Intermountain or Tangent as having the best model of the PS-4750-covered hopper?