Weathering a White Tank Car

[bearman]

I have a white CASCO tank car which is used to deliver high fructose corn syrup to my cannery.  After doing the on-line google bit, I cannot find any ideas about how it whould be weathered.  I use either powders or dry brush when I weather a car.  Does anyone have any ideas?

[BigDaddy]

I can't find a prototype picture, but all cars get dirt and grime down low on the car and at the ends, in line with the wheels.  I don't know if Neal Young still owns Lionel, but one of his songs was Rust Never Sleeps.  Add rust, where you see fit.  Google white tank car images for some ideas. 

Either of your techniques work.

[DSchmitt]

These cars are for high frutose corn syrup, but they are black, not white

http://railroadstrains.blogspot.com/2011/02/stsx-staley-corn-syrup-rail-tank-car-e.html

This white car is identified as a corn syrup hauler http://www.arleasing.com/pages/products/Tanks.aspx

Tank car delivering high frutose corn syrup http://nagelfoundation.com/nagel-beverage/nagel-beverage-photos/

[BNSF UP and others modeler]

I dont see any sticky spills, but here is what I do on my tank cars.

Using chalk or pastel, I streak it down the car sides, which I see a lot in pictures. I use white because my cars are black and that is what I see in pictures, but you can use gray and be just as accurate. Another thing I do is add thin streaks of brown paint, which is something else I find in prototype pictures, like this:

You can see these streaks in the above images.

[bearman]

BNSF (etc etc) do you use the pastels directly, or do you grind them into a weathering powder.  BTW, I really like the yellow and white tank car photos.

[chorister]

White tank cars always have vertical dirty stripes on each end caused by grime being splashed there by the wheels.

[doctorwayne]

bearman

...do you use the pastels directly, or do you grind them into a weathering powder....

I sometimes use artists' oil-based pastels for weathering, and simply rub them over some coarse sandpaper, then dump the resultant powder into a suitable container, and apply it using a brush.

Wayne

[BNSF UP and others modeler]

I rub the oil pastels directly on. If it is too thick of a line, I can just smudge it vertically to get rid of it or give the impression of paint fade.