Who is Sharon?

e*Train Issue: Mar 2022 | Posted in: 1900-1942 PreWar Era, Collecting

By Timothy P. Ring, TCA #06-59760

In the Pre-war Era, Lionel produced numerous versions of the 1680 style Oil Car from 1931 to 1942. The last versions made in 1941 and 1942 had aluminum or later gray tanks, the Sunoco Gas & Oils decal on the right side of the tank, and were lettered S.U.N.X. 1680 or 2680 on the left side of the tank. The 2680 differed from the 1680 in that the cars had automatic box couplers instead of the latch or manual box couplers found on the 1680. Below the car number was a line of capacity and weight data ending with “Sharon 5-29”

So the question comes up, “Who is Sharon?” And why is her name on some Lionel Prewar Tank Cars? Was Sharon the wife, daughter, sister, or mistress of Joshua L. Cowen?

Lionel 1680 S.U.N.X Oil Car C.1941

It turns out that Sharon is not a person, but a place! Sharon, Pennsylvania is located along the Shenango River in Pennsylvania, Northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio border near Youngstown.

In the early 1900’s, Sharon was home to a Carnegie Steel Mill and shops that produced railroad tank cars. These included the Pennsylvania Tank Car Co. and the Standard Tank Car Co. which was bought by General American Tank Car (now GATX) in 1927. The Pennsylvania Tank Car Co. had built tank cars for refining and oil companies including Galena, Gulf, Texaco, and others. A successor to the Pennsylvania Tank Car Co., the Petroleum Iron Works Co., was also later absorbed by GATX[1]

SHARON 5-29

Railroad Blotter Image- BigLittleRR.blogspot.com

Advertising images from the Standard Tank Car Co. and the Pennsylvania Tank Car Co. are shown. Both images show the Sharon, PA location at the right of each tank car.

It turns out that Lionel added a touch of realism to its late 1680 and 2680 tank cars when the lettering was designed. Sharon was not a name, but a reference to where tank cars were built in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Question answered!

Pennsylvania Tank Line Playing Cards- Potter & Potter Auctions

[1] Railway Car Builders of North America, https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/list/bldr_list_P.htm#P

Shop Amazon and Help TCA

TCA members who shop at Amazon.com can have each of their normal purchases generate a modest payment to TCA! And it won’t cost you anything!

The Train Collectors Association is now a participant with AmazonSmile, which is a special website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

The difference is that when customers shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

The process is simple. Just search for and select Train Collectors Association when you sign up and shop at smile.amazon.com.

You use your regular Amazon.com username and password, but when you log in to smile.amazon.com, you’ll see that you are supporting TCA with your purchases:

Note that if you just log in to the regular amazon.com, this benefit does not operate.

There are no costs to either you or TCA, but TCA benefits!

This is a great way for TCA to earn extra cash to offset costs, so sign up today to help support TCA.

* Note: TCA is not a party to any of your Amazon transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors.

Helping TCA with your ebay purchases when you use PayPal

If you’re an ebay user and have a PayPal account you use to make payments, you can designate a donation for TCA when you’re checking out — any amount, small or large.
If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can pre-designate a percentage of your sales to be donated automatically in your name to TCA as long as the purchaser pays with their PayPal account.

In both cases, you will receive a donation receipt from the PayPal Giving Fund, and enjoy applicable tax advantages.

How to do it:

Click on the image above, or use this link. This will take you to ebay, where you will see the following page (log in to ebay if you are not already):

This offers TCA as an option. Click on the “Add to My Charities” button where indicated with the red arrow. Thereafter, when you make a purchase, at checkout you will be offered the option to make a donation to TCA in any amount of your choosing. Small amounts add up, larger ones are great! It’s always up to you!

The option will appear at the lower part of your checkout page, something like this:

If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can allocate a portion of your sales proceeds to be donated to TCA. Look at the green arrow marked “Optional” above to see how to do it. Details on how ebay calculates the donation may be read here. This is a wonderful way to share the financial benefits of your hobby with the organization that promotes it!

An added benefit to TCA is that these donations are not subject to normal processing fees, so that makes your donation work harder!

* Note. TCA is not a party to any of your eBay transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors. PayPal issues the receipts to you for your donation, not TCA.

Who is Sharon?

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