Would anyone know what is transported in these tankers...would it be the finished product, or possibly an ingredient such as vinegar?
Atlas offers these in HO maybe N as well
Google McElheney Tabasco Sauce Sauce Superbowl Ad. This was back n those few years when the ads were genuinely funny. It has nothing to do with the question, but it's right up there with Herding Cats.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Probably vinegar.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Writing on the tank says not to clean it with caustic soda. Caustic soda is generally a term used to describe Sodium Hydroxide, a base. If the car had been holding vinegar, an acid, a reaction would ensue. Similar to vinegar and baking soda. So if I had to guess, that signage would indicate the car held something acidic, most likely vinegar. But I'm no expert, this is just my personal speculation.
JJF
Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing.
Yesterday is History.
Tomorrow is a Mystery.
But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present.
It might be the Costco size Louisiana Hot Sauce for a large crawfish boil gathering.
McIlhenny family company makes Tabasco. Louisiana Hot Sauce is a different company. Both are great, but different.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Hot_Sauce
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Curious then, what would a vinegar loading facility look like, meaning, a vinegar factory? I'd like to see a pic of one big enough to make enough product to load railroad tank cars.
- Douglas
I Googled "vinegar distilleries", found that the Fleischmann Vinegar Company has 7 plants across the country. According to their website they are the worlds largest producer of vinegar.
Below are Google map captures of the ones in Montgomery AL (top), Chicago IL, & Montebello CA
If I remember correctly, vinegar (and products shipped in vinegar, like some types of pickle) were an early item bulk-shipped by rail. Ed will have pictures of those Heinz 57-varieties-of-pickles wooden tanks, like two vats on a flatcar, from when the state of the art in rock-oil tankcars was two vats on a flatcar...
Obviously the packaging at a 'branded' hot-sauce facility is going to involve bulk vinegar in and a great number of cases of little glass bottles going out. I would be surprised if bulk users of 'peppersass' ever used anything above carboy size; I'd think the first research target would be traffic in and out of plants that produce products that use hot sauce as an ingredient for mass production -- salsa or frozen Mexican dishes, for example.
For some reason, I recall a discussion about vinegar plants here years ago. The process involves not one but two separate selective microbial activities: the first is conversion of suitable materials like sugars or corn into ethyl alcohol and the second is conversion of the alcohol into acetic acid. For regulatory reasons I suspect there are advantages in keeping both stages of the process in-house.
I long ago learned the joys of being able to pick and choose my own peppers and spices, and my own mix of vinegars, in making table hot sauce. To me, Tobasco is impalatable, sinking tiny invisible viper fangs into your tongue, a kind of analogue to Starbucks in institutionalizing something wack as a desirable quality experience. But Louisiana Hot Sauce (and indeed a wide range of cheap and generic hot sauces of various origin) can be quite tasty... go figure!
This one was built in 1964 on an older frame:
We had many acid tanks at the plant where I was employed. They were made of cypress wood which, I imagine, was used here for the vinegar tanks.
This fascinating view at the Heinz plant seems to show a construction/repair area of the plant.
https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt%3AMSP57.B024.I02/viewer
While the twin-vat car isn't shown there is one in the foreground which I presume is used to transport Gherkins? On the track behind it is a "coffin" car with rectangular bins perhaps to ship brined pickles.
There were other users of vat cars:
9064 003 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
9064 002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
More on pickle cars here:
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/271370.aspx
American Model Builders has several kits for making wooden tanks and cars here:
http://www.laserkit.com/725.html
Good Luck, Ed
dbduckWould anyone know what is transported in these tankers?
Answer: Enough Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce to keep me happy for about two years.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
dbduck I Googled "vinegar distilleries", found that the Fleischmann Vinegar Company has 7 plants across the country. According to their website they are the worlds largest producer of vinegar. Below are Google map captures of the ones in Montgomery AL (top), Chicago IL, & Montebello CA
The distillery in Montogmery AL is interesting. Has a rail spur with tank cars parked, and seems to have a small enough footprint to compress reasonably well for a layout. All three seem relatively compact.
Time to see what Street View can tell me......
......older two story brick building about 100 years old...DPM Modular's?....and a bunch of smaller tanks obviously.
Edit: Checking out the Montgomery satellite view, there are a lot of tracks in the area of the distillery. The footprint of an old roundhouse and servicing area is just to the south. I never knew that Montgomery AL was such a railroady area.