Hawk OO freight cars

The newest issue (June, 2008) of The OO Road (the publication of the NMRA American OO SIG) contains an article by Edward Morlok on the Hawk OO gondola, with information on the unusual wood sided prototype (it is a sulfur car) and a photo of a nicely built up car.

The Hawk Model Company was located at 3521 Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. A producer of model airplanes, they advertised their line of OO gauge freight cars little. I have never seen a catalog and only have this one complete kit for the gondola, a nearly complete caboose kit, parts for an automobile boxcar that could be rebuilt, and a few extra frames. The most recognizable feature of the cars is the die casting for the frame. Note also the original glue and paint which is in a glass vial with a cork stopper. These were included in the kit which sold in 1941 for 50 cents. They also sold O gauge kits that sold for $1.

Hawk seems to have produced the OO line only for a short while before WWII. The instruction sheet is dated 11/26/40. I found an advertisement for Hawk in the April, 1941 issue of Model Railroader with photos of four of these five cars:

No. 500 Gondola (wood)
No. 501 Box car (outside braced)
No. 502 Steel caboose
No. 503 Auto car ( 50’ double door box car, steel)
No. 504 Flat car

I have been told that Hawk produced a stock car and a tank car but these models are unconfirmed by other sources. If you have more information on Hawk OO, especially the catalog they list in a later advertisement, I would welcome hearing from you. My contact info is in my profile.

UPDATE: I note that the draftsman of the plan for the gondola is P. L. Mates. The cover photo of the April, 1941 issue of Model Railroader is of a Philip Mates of Chicago working on an O gauge interurban, there is a good chance it is the same person.