PENNSYRR.COM by Jerry Britton

 

440px General American Transportation Corporation logoGATX Corporation (NYSE: GATX) is an equipment finance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, GATX's primary activities consist of railcar operating leasing in North America and Europe. In addition, GATX leases locomotives in North America, and also has significant investments in industrial equipment.

GATX derives its name from its primary reporting mark for its North American railcars, "GATX". The mark itself was derived from GATX's prior corporate name, General American Transportation Corporation. Since all non-railroad owners of railcars must append an "X" to the end of their mark, GAT became GATX.

The General American Transportation Corporation became GATX Rail Corporation, a unit of the GATX Corporation, on January 1, 2000.

 

GATX mainly applies the GATX mark to tank cars, although the mark has been used in other examples such as with hoppers; GATX's primary freight car marks are GACX (for general-service freight cars), GGPX (for coal cars), GIMX (for intermodal cars), GPLX (for plastic pellet cars), GMTX and LLPX (for locomotives), and GPFX (for pressure-differential cars). GATX also owns a number of other marks, including GABX, GAEX, GFSX, GOHX, GSCX, IPSX, and TRIX. Many GATX cars carry a large "GATX" logo in the upper right-hand corner of the car regardless of the reporting mark they carry; this logo is applied for marketing reasons and does not have any operational significance.

GATX engages in both full-service and net leasing of railcars. In a full-service lease, a GATX-owned mark is applied to the car, and GATX maintains the railcar and pays for any required property insurance and property taxes. In a net lease, the lessee applies its mark to the car, and the lessee pays for any required property insurance and property taxes. Often, on a net-leased car, there is no evidence of GATX ownership, although some net lease cars carry a GATX logo.

The most common type of car in the GATX North American fleet is the tank car; other major car types include covered hoppers, open-top hoppers, and gondolas. GATX invests in nearly every type of railcar operated in North America. In Europe, tank cars also make up GATX's largest fleet, but unlike in North America, GATX's European fleet includes substantial quantities of intermodal cars which are owned in a GATX joint venture called AAE Cargo. In contrast, GATX's North American intermodal car fleet is relatively small. This is true of most North American operating lessors; historically the bulk of the industry's intermodal investment has been made by TTX Corporation, which is jointly owned by North America's Class I railroads.

CAUTION: Intermountain Railway offers numerous paint schemes labeled as GATX but their model is an ACF Type 27 car and is inaccurate for the purist.

 

 

Tank Cars

Paint Schemes

Listings are sorted by Lessee, then Paint Scheme Year

GATX "Black Lease"

1941+ 

GATC 1928-design 6,000 Gallon 3-Comp. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent gatx triple 1941

GATX “Black Lease”

1948+ 

GATC 1928-design 6,000 Gallon 3-Comp. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent gatx triple

GATX “Black Lease”

Original 1948+ 

GATC 1948-design 8000 Gal. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

68230.3.41200logo.x40443

GATX “Black Lease”

1952+ 

GATC 1952-design 8000 Gal. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent gatx black 1952

GATX "Black Lease"

Dec. 1974+

GATX 1957-design 8,000 Gal. Welded Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

80181.3.41200logo

GATX Clinton Corn

1958+

GATX 1957-design 8,000 Gal. Welded Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

clinton.3.41200logo

GATX Diamond Chemical

1952+ 

GATC 1952-design 8000 Gal. Acid Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent gatx diamond 1952

GATX Diamond Chemicals

1959+

General American 1952-Design 8000 Gallon Welded General Service Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

diamond.3.4.1200logo.x27777

GATX DOW Chemical

1953+ 

GATC 1952-design 8000 Gal. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent dow 1953

GATX DOW “Pittsburg CA"

1964+

General American 1952-Design 8000 Gallon Welded General Service Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

dow.3.41200logo.x27777

GATX Globe Soap Cincinnati

1920+ 

GATC 1917-design 8000 Gallon Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

 tangent globe soap

GATX Hooker Chemicals

1950+ 

GATC 1952-design 8000 Gal. Acid Tank Car 

Tangent Scale Models

tangent hooker 1950

GATX Hooker Chemicals

1953+ 

GATC 1948-design 8000 Gal. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

hooker.3.41200logo.x40443

GATX Roma Wine California

1940+ 

GATC 1917-design 8000 Gal. Insulated Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent romatangent romap

GATX Stauffer

1953+

GATX 1952-design 8000 Gal. Tank Car

Tangent Scale Models

tangent stauffer 1953

Refrigerator Cars

Notable Number Series

Most refrigerator cars owned by General American were operated and maintained by General American without regard to the reporting marks on the car. Exceptions were the cars leased to Swift and the Union Refrigerator Transit cars. Swift cars were handled separately from all other General American cars and URT continued to operate as a separate subsidiary.

General American did not use the GARX reporting marks until the mid-1930s.

Series 1587-1699 were 1950s rebuilds, originally built in 1930 and leased to Libby, McNeill & Libby (Libby's) and bore the reporting mark LMLX.

Series 2900-3599 included cars leased to Kingan

Series 3800-4999 included cars leased to the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern and Kingan. 

Series 9325-9599 included cars leased to United Packers.

Paint Schemes

Listings are sorted by Lessee, then Paint Scheme Year

GARX

Built 1939, delivery scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

GARX Abraham Bros. Packing Co.

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido

general american 37 wood meat reefer 4 pack ready to run 606 121026 big

GARX American Stores

Built 1940, mid-1950s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

DMRX Decker

1935 scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121031 big

GARX Dugdale Packing

1939 scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121005

GARX Dugdale Packing

1950s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121035 big

KGNX Hygrade

1950s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121011

KGNX Kingan

1940s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121013

KGNX Kingan

Built 1940, 1950s "Large Logo" scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

SRLX Swift

Built 1937, mid-1940s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121043 big

SRLX Swift

Built 1937, late-1940s "Red Block" scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

SRLX Swift

Built 1937, limited WWII "War Bonds" scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

SRLX Swift

Built 1937, 1950s "Red" scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

GARX Tobin Packing

1937 scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer 4 pack ready to run 606 121022

GARX Wimp Packing

Early 1950s scheme

GARX 37' Meat Reefer

Rapido 

general american 37 wood meat reefer ready to run 606 121047 big