Butane tank cars and usage locations

[ericsp]

Due to butane's relatively high condensation temperature, it does not make a good winter fuel in colder climates.

[gmpullman]

At least ONE butane car almost made it through Ashland, Ohio.

http://ashlandohiogenealogy.org/trainwreck2.html

As I read through the above article I was reminded of the differences in today's "news" reporting compared to what was the standard then.

Crew names, engine number, quotes from foremen, etc. Not once is there a "no details at this time" or a "calls to officials were not immediately returned" statement in there...

It was a different time 

Happy Modeling, Ed

[maxman]

Zippo has been around since about 1932.

[gmpullman]

Hi, Tom

While not all-encompassing, I understand that large amounts of butane are used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber and some plastics. Paints and some consumer products use butane as a propellant in aerosol cans.

I'm familiar with a plant in the Cleveland, Ohio, area that has several large butane tanks used as a back-up to their supply of natural gas for the production (steam reforming) of hydrogen. These tanks were filled from railroad tank cars.

Tank cars are a fun addition to any roster 

Regards, Ed

[tstage]

I recently purchased a somewhat unique piece of RTR rolling stock for my HO roster.  It's an 11,000 gal. insulated tank car manufactured by Kadee and lettered for the "Foley Butane Co." (FBCX #99 - BLT 3-48):

I like unique rolling stock and this one caught my eye while I was on a popular vendor's website last week.

According to the informaton on the side of the tank car, Foley is located in Foley, AL.  What I wanted to know is: Would Butane have been a commodity used all over the US (even Canada) in the late 40s and throughout the 50s?  Or, would it have been isolated to one particular region of the country than another?

Thanks for your input...

Tom