I just committed a classic model railroading faux pas.... I came across a great deal on a pair of blue Walthers 54' modern tank car kits on eBay. I decided it was too good a deal to pass up, so of course I bought them. The only problem is, now I have to figure out how to use them on my layout
For now, I'm just thinking some kind of transloading type scenario at the team track, but it would be helpful to know what's supposed to be inside these things.
So that's my question.... what commodity is typically transported in blue tank cars?
Generally speaking, is there any significance to the color of a tank car? Are certain colors used exclusively for certain commodities?
Dan Stokes
My other car is a tunnel motor
Since most tank cars are black, I'm assuming it's the cheapest most effective color. So, to not use black, there's a reason. White can be used because it's the least energy (heat) absorptive. I haven't heard of any color coding for tank car colors, so other than the above two reasons, I think it's purely decorative. Just like boxcars.
BUT.
When you get your rather attractive new tank cars, you might find that a careful examination of the applied lettering will answer your question. I was recently watching a train with a buncha tank cars, and noted the magic word "sulfur" on the side. Other times, you can figure out the load from the owning company. Or, at least, get a good start.
Ed
Dan,
''What's in a Blue tank car''?
Anything you want. If it is hazardous...that will be designated by the placard that will be placed in the holders on the four sides of the car. They have been around for quite some time. You just may have not seen any around in the area that You live.
A three dome blue tank car...built 1938:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chandler-Arizona_Railroad_museum-Three_Dome_Tank_Car-1938.JPG
Take Care!
Frank
Fifty years ago on Dads and my layout we had blue tank cars that said "Mobil gas" on them. So who knows.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Blue tank car? well duh, the reporting marks should be something like SSLX, and they are used to carrry...SMURFBERRY JUICE!
--Randy
SSLX - Smurf Shipping Lines (X is for private owner)
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Blue tank car? well duh, the reporting marks should be something like SSLX, and they are used to carrry...SMURFBERRY JUICE! --Randy SSLX - Smurf Shipping Lines (X is for private owner)
LOL.
DING DING DING We have a winner. Johnny, tell us what he's won.
A NEW ................
Color doesn't determine the load. Most companies probably use black to hide spills, leaks, or overflows. It is your railroad, and you could use them for whatever you want. Though I would stay away from liquid asphalt, since some can spill on the sides of the car during loading, so black would be a better color.
There's nothing stopping you from using those blue tank cars to carry liquified improbabillium from somewhere east to somewhere west. It's just that they shouldn't show up in every through freight.
A train of improbable cars resides in one of my cassettes. Once or twice a timetable month the superspeed container cars, auto racks and reefer get hauled one lap around the mainline with a DE10 on the point and the green brake van carrying the markers. Then it's back into their cassette and back to the wall rack 'til next time.
There is not now and never will be a place for any of those cars to unload on the visible part of my layout. But Japan is a big country, and I'm only modeling a few square kilometers in the approximate heart of nowhere.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Well, no blue cars here, but perhaps a few suggestions for loads (click on images for a larger version):
GERN also offers many additional products suitable for shipping via tank car:
GERN has you covered for covered hoppers, too:
And some info on other fine products from GERN:
Wayne
dehusmanThe color means almost nothing.Do you have the Walthers part number or the car initials and number? Are there any slogans or company names? Can you tell if it's a pressurized or non-pressurized car?
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
stokesda So that's my question.... what commodity is typically transported in blue tank cars?
Authorities need to know in the event of a spill !
Rich
Alton Junction
Great post Wayne! As usual, I learn so much from your posts. Although you would think capacitors would probably be shipped in a box car, not all of them are, as the Gern Flux Capacitor is shipped in tank cars, also. I read in the Gern literature that Gern ships them in blue colored tank cars! Therein lays the answer to the O.P.'s question!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
A local sugar refinery used to ship liquid sugar in blue tank cars.
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
Thanks for everyone's responses. You guys kill me! Smurfberry Juice, Blueberry Juice, Gern, etc...
The cars are lettered for UTLX. From the auction photos, I couldn't make out any special markings, but they did have what I think are the generic yellow and black labels that say "in case of emergency, call this phone number". Once I get them, I'll check them out with a magnifying glass to see if there's any tiny writing that gives any more clues. Otherwise, Smurfberry Juice it is!
Like I said earlier...You may put any commodity in a tank car, whatever the color, if it contained Hazardous material....by heavily enforced law, a hazmat placard one on each four sides must be displayed in the placard holders, those diamond shaped holders on each side of the car that a lot of people don't have a clue what they are used for. Different hazmat placards in use throughout the transportation industry..below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Transportation_Placards.jpg
I vote for ''Booberry juice''.
zstripe I vote for ''Booberry juice''.
Rich,
I just got a buzz...looking at the bottle's. Quit drinking two years' ago. LOL.
Whoa, there's a GERN product that's NOT 3% better, it's a full TWENTY percent better? Wow. Who knew...
zstripe Rich, I just got a buzz...looking at the bottle's. Quit drinking two years' ago. LOL. Frank
zstripe Quit drinking two years' ago. LOL. Frank
Quit drinking two years' ago. LOL.
This is better for you
Jim
I think that's in a song, somewhere...but if you were a 'blue tank car', you'd be, like, really down, y'know? (Probably over some previous hook-up...)
Soo Line fan zstripe Quit drinking two years' ago. LOL. Frank This is better for you
Jim,
I will have to agree with You 100% on Your comment. I used to think that it was not much difference....Wrong. The thing is...I don't miss it one bit, either. Believe me I did my share of it and more.
Take Care! Oh and my left hand stop shaking too, took about a year.
Ahhh, tankcars - something near and dear to me...........
In the "olden days", crude (and other "not so volitle petroleum products") were typically transported in black tank cars. Reasons were black paint was easy and cheap, it absorbed heat to help maintain fluidity, and the load/unload process got the cars dirty - fast. Gasolines and the like tended to go into silver colored cars to reflect heat, as the product was pretty volitle.
However, as time passed companies tended to use their own colors - a trend that has continued to this day. There are two ways to help guess the contents. One is the reporting marks, and of course the placard on the side/end of the car, and both can be looked up on the web.
Keep in mind that these days, petroleum products are likely the minority of "stuff" moved in tank cars. Vegetable oils, syrups, chemicals, and even water are moved via tank car as well.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
stokesda I just committed a classic model railroading faux pas.... I came across a great deal on a pair of blue Walthers 54' modern tank car kits on eBay. I decided it was too good a deal to pass up, so of course I bought them. The only problem is, now I have to figure out how to use them on my layout For now, I'm just thinking some kind of transloading type scenario at the team track, but it would be helpful to know what's supposed to be inside these things. So that's my question.... what commodity is typically transported in blue tank cars? Generally speaking, is there any significance to the color of a tank car? Are certain colors used exclusively for certain commodities?
Dan, I was down in Ohio last week, railfanning with a good friend, and thought of your query when I saw this car. It's not the best of photos, but enough to allow me to look it up for some more info.Here's my crummy photo of SHPX 205105...
...and a link to a better one of the same car, along with some UTLX cars:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rrpicturearchives.net%2FshowPicture.aspx%3Fid%3D738089&ei=0zVRVKXaAYSqyQSasIC4AQ&usg=AFQjCNGs4vg2wZkKDqabor4K5XcH8tMlVQ&sig2=cZPYcEu9bpA3kDo3RafpCg&bvm=bv.78597519,d.aWw&cad=rja
The cars are leased to Omya Corp., a manufacturer of fillers and pigments, and carry clay slurry.
Ummm, that tank car has a HAZMAT placard, it's not carrying clay slurry.
Also, clay slurry is usually shipped in the 16,000 gal tanks not the 22,000.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
Bayfield Transfer Railway Ummm, that tank car has a HAZMAT placard, it's not carrying clay slurry. Also, clay slurry is usually shipped in the 16,000 gal tanks not the 22,000.
Well, I did wonder about that, but got the info about clay slurry here:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDAQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffreight.railfan.ca%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsearch.pl%3Fcar_owner%3Dall%26car_type%3Dall%26builder%3Dall%26build_date%3Dall%26photographer%3Dall%26photo_date%3Dall%26marks%3Dall%26searchtype%3Dand%26keywords%3DSHPX%2B206076-206400%26display%3Dfull&ei=b1tRVJaFG8zLsASOp4C4Ag&usg=AFQjCNEqb909H38o5Pf722FUNgrEiV06KQ&sig2=xwRlBqqkEWHiYiN_LaqCPQ&bvm=bv.78597519,d.cWc&cad=rja
EDIT: I just checked the above link and it shows, as anyone can see, the car numbers all starting with the digits 206. I am almost positive that they were 205 earlier today - there was another link which I had intended to use, but it was non-functioning, perhaps because the original poster made the same error regarding the clay slurry and had removed the photo.
But upon further investigation, I discovered this mis-numbered photo of 206105, which actually is a clay slurry car.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCYQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffreight.railfan.ca%2Fupdates%2Fjanuary2004.html&ei=WF1RVLy0C7PfsASd14CIBA&usg=AFQjCNH6mOVgvJLNwweprWge1w1usaIluA&sig2=dap0UjJ3to_IdJjsQMUbyw&bvm=bv.78597519,d.cWc&cad=rja
Scroll down to SHPX 205105 to see what I mean.
Here's the photo shown at the listing for 205105:
http://freight.railfan.ca/shpx/shpx206105.jpg
While the placard in my photo is difficult to read, it appears to read 1114, which is for benzene - definitely a hazardous material.
Glad you caught my error Michael, thanks.