Tank car from PVC pipe?

[Boyd]

Being short on money and long on time I'm noticed I don't have any tank cars. I have some nice MTH trucks sitting around. I have some 2.5" wide cardboard tubes sitting around. I could use them but I'm not sure how easy it would be to paint them. Another route would be to use white PVC pipe. Do hardware stores sell sections as short as 2 feet? What would I use for the ends?

[lionelsoni]

You may already know this, that 2 1/2-inch pipe has an outside diameter of 2 7/8 inches.  Two-inch pipe is 2 3/8 inches, just a little under scale but possibly what you want anyway.

If you're modeling modern cars, be aware that they're not truly cylindrical.  The middle is lower than the ends, presumably to make it easier to empty them fully.  They look like they are made by cutting a full-length cylinder in two with the cut just slightly inclined from the vertical, then rotating one half by half a turn and welding them back together.  http://www.gbrx.com/Tank_Cars.php  You could do the same with the plastic pipe, of course. 

[jmkk]

If I remember correctly Home Depot has 3' sections for small projects.

[dwiemer]

Yes, Home Depot does have the short pieces and it sounds like a good project.  I have seen a few Tank Car kits that folks have made using beer and soda cans.  Perhaps you can look on the net for such and gather some more ideas.

Dennis

[rtraincollector]

For your ends we use to have what we called punch out test plugs ( when I did some plumbing back about 8 years ago( and yes they still make them they actually indent in but you could fill with some type of putty / bondo even go as far to make the ends bulge out and rounded.

[Andrew Falconer]

Someone who is a plumber, who has left over sections from construction or remodeling, could give you some left over sections of PVC Tubes.

There is alos the route of an old Aluminum Flagpole or Windchime for the tube,. Cut the ends off of aluminum beverage cans for Tea and Snapple using a band saw and Dremel Tool to size them properly.

The length and commodity determine the diameter and shape of the tank cars.

Andrew

[baberuth73]

If you have a full service landscaping company in your area they might give you some scrap pvc pipe left over from irrigation installation jobs. Better to make something useful out of it than have it wind up in a landfill.

[phillyreading]

I have seen some add-on PVC fittings for use with sprikler systems, half pipe(across), and you could use this for the tank car filler on the top.

Lee F.

[Boyd]

I stopped at Home Depot tonight. They had a display of 2 foot lengths of 1", 2", 3" & 4" inside diameter white PVC pipe. The 2" was a little under 2.5" outside diameter,, the 3" was 3.5" outside diameter of which I thought was too big and was $4.95. I looked but did not see any 2.5" or 3.5" pipes. If I went with PVC  I think the 2.5" inside diameter would be just right for size. Anyone know where I can find it? My O scale cars looked to be just under 3" wide.

The four free 18" cardboard tubes I brought home from work are 2-5/8" wide outside diameter. I'm not sure how I would be painting the cardboard tubes buy hey they are free. Another thing I got from work are the little plastic dowels from the inside of 3" wide paper rolls for a small printer. I've been saving them for 2-3 years and have about 200 of them now. Problem is that I have no idea what I am going to use them for.

[jmkk]

With the limited plumbing knowledge I have. I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as 2.5" ID pipe. If there is I'm almost positive it would be a specialty item and would cost a fortune.

[Andrew Falconer]

The websites you need to find the sizes of real Tank Cars :

https://www.trinityrailcar.com/productcategories.aspx?id=35

http://americanrailcar.com/RailcarManufacturing/Car.aspx?car=tank

Andrew

[Andrew Falconer]

Boyd,

The average diameter of a tank car would be 9' to 10' which translates into 2.25" to 2.5",

Andrew

[ChiefEagles]

Drill holes in top of your tank [PVC pipe], insert smaller PVC pipe with a rounded end cap to make your domes.  Go for it and then post photos.

[lionelsoni]

The loading gauge for American railroads is 10 feet 8 inches; so I'm pretty sure you won't find any prototype tank cars wider than that.  This is 2 2/3 inches in 1/48 scale.  As I posted above, the outside diameter of nominal 2-inch pipe is 2 3/8 inches and of 2 1/2-inch pipe (not common; but it does exist:  http://www.spudtech.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=70), 2 7/8 inches.  The latter will result in cars larger than scale, which I think will look especially out of place with toy trains.

(The nominal diameter of pipe was originally the inside diameter of iron pipe.  Modern pipe made of steel, PVC, or other materials preserves the historic outside diameter of that pipe, which is of course always larger than nominal, so that pipe fittings are compatible.  But the inside diameter varies with the material and the strength required of the pipe and no longer equals the nominal diameter.

For example, 1-inch pipe always has an outside diameter of 1.315 inches.  But the inside diameter varies from 1.049 (schedule 40, or standard weight) through .957 (schedule 80, or extra-strong) to .599 (double extra-strong).  The outside diameter of 1-inch pipe is also the standard for clothes poles, whose diameter is 1 5/16 inch.)

[Boyd]

I'm happily surprised with the detailed response in this thread. Another one would be Pringles potato chip cans but they might be too large. I should have bought the 2" pipe when I was there. There is a Lowes in town. I'll have to stop there next time I am close.

[GGOOLER]

you could also check on the saran wrap tubes that you can get from costco. not the little ones from the regular food stores that you see. i just measured one and it was 2.5" dia. by 13" long .25 thick. different brands may have different sizes.

later

g

[Banks]

You should be able to find 2 1/2" PVC conduit at Lowes or Home Depot