Shorty tank cars

[BerkshireSteam]

You mean like these little guys??

Both are Atlas units, bought both new on sale for $9.99 at local train hobby store. Also have a third, but it is marked for load, molasses. It looks a little neater with the center 1/3rd of the car painted white. It is also a, sorry if I get this wrong, HOCX car as opposed to a GATX car. Scaled up it worked out to 28 foot long outside length, not including couplers. I was also going to start a thread about this because I just like these critters and would buy them again if the local train store has any next time I go shopping.

I haven't checked the link yet, but I did start a thread a while back asking about beer can tank cars. The answers I recieved follow along with those given here with 2 basic responses. The first being they were produced to haul heavy liquids that would load out in weight before gallons (IIRC my little tank cars are marked for 110 000 lb LD WT). The second common response I recieved was that these little cars were made to haul products to customers who may only need the 110 000 lb, 10 000 gallon capacity instead of typical 180-200 000 lb load of modern 50-60 foot tank cars. Mine are N scale and also do not have any details on the bottom, but that could also have just been an Atlas thing. If I went by what is there then the Milwaukee Road 40 foot PS-1 box car I have has an internal length of 50'. Now theres a typo for ya.

[ericsp]

Modern sulfur and sulfuric acid tankcars are from about 40' long to 45' long. Modern 30' tankcars are extremely rare. In addition to the commodities listed in the thread linked to in my previous post, I have found fairly recent photographs of tankcars around 30' long carrying sodium hydroxide.

[richg1998]

 Hello All

Thanks for the info. I have been woldering about these cars.

I found a source for fourteen different numbered kits of these 30' cars for about $6.50 each.

Rich

[BNSFNUT]

I have seen them used to carry sulfuric acid which is heavy use to have unit trains of acid in my area.

[Hamltnblue]

 They also have beer can tank cars used for things like syrup or other food stuffs.

 http://www.garethbayer.co.uk/blog/images/original/athearnbeer03.jpg

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Magnum019

 I have some approx 30' footers and made Decals for Molten Sulphur Tankers:  Here's the Link.....Hope this helps........if you want pics I could send them to you of what I did.

 

 

http://www.hiddenimages.ca/railroad/freightcars/search.aspx?reportingmark=GATX

 

 

I'll just make that a clickable link for you.

[Magnum019]

 I have some approx 30' footers and made Decals for Molten Sulphur Tankers:  Here's the Link.....Hope this helps........if you want pics I could send them to you of what I did.

 

 

http://www.hiddenimages.ca/railroad/freightcars/search.aspx?reportingmark=GATX

[ericsp]

Below is a link to a similar thread.

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/169915.aspx

[mobilman44]

Hi!

The shorty cars (in my experience) were used to move smaller quantities of petroleum derivatives or chemicals.  This especially applied to situations where you didn't want air or a large "empty space" in the vessel, and often the fluids were pressurized.  In my years at various refineries and a couple of chemical plants, I didn't see too many of them, but I sure did notice them because of their size.

Mobilman44

[wedudler]

 I own one of these "shorties" too. And I've learned they're used for mineral slurry. Or other heavy fluid materials.

Wolfgang

[Baghdad firefighter]

 

For all you building/factory  experts out there. I just bought a small lot of 30’ shorty tank cars what types of factories might use them? And what would be the purpose over a say a 40 or 50’ cars These look like pressure cars with round ends and no bottom outlets.