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tank cars for food

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tank cars for food
Posted by nscsx on Monday, February 17, 2020 11:41 AM
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Posted by mbinsewi on Monday, February 17, 2020 12:01 PM

Any general service tank car will work.  Just make sure your getting a car with data only generac graphics, as some cars might have labeling on them such as molten sulphur,  asphalt, etc.

Generally speaking, the Huber cars I have seen contain kaolin slurry, used the paper making process, but the JM Huber Co. handles food products as well, and there is a food grade kaolin clay product, but it's usually in a powder form.

Cars for thick stuff like tomato paste, and molases should be insulated and have steam line connections to heat the product, for unloading.

Mike.

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Posted by Don Z on Monday, February 17, 2020 12:44 PM

The first car you linked is for molten sulfur. The last car linked is for clay slurry. What timeframe are you modeling? Intermountain makes several tank cars for specific types of food products (chocolate, lard, cooking oil, etc.)

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Posted by nscsx on Monday, February 17, 2020 12:48 PM

Don Z

The first car you linked is for molten sulfur. The last car linked is for clay slurry. What timeframe are you modeling? Intermountain makes several tank cars for specific types of food products (chocolate, lard, cooking oil, etc.)

 

Thanks so much, thats the mistake I didnt want to make. So the middle link could be used for food industry? Im Modeling 1980's to early 90's

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Posted by mbinsewi on Monday, February 17, 2020 2:26 PM

nscsx
So the middle link could be used for food industry? Im Modeling 1980's to early 90's

Yes, Staley car is alright.  Just remember, as I pointed out earlier, and as nscxs pointed out, watch the small writing on the cars, and you would have caught the molten sulphur car before asking.

Mike.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Monday, February 17, 2020 2:37 PM

I will suggest ADM and Cargill since both carry food stuffs like corn syrup,corn starch,corn sweetner and vegetable oil..

Larry

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Posted by doctorwayne on Monday, February 17, 2020 4:21 PM

Don Z
...The last car linked is for clay slurry....

Actually, here's the listed uses for the third car...

"* Used for Food Products, Chemicals, Slurries & More 1960s to Present"

Some covered hoppers might be useful for that industry, too, along with some boxcars, for shipping out product.

Wayne

 

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Posted by Doughless on Monday, February 17, 2020 5:29 PM

Corn syrup is transported in the middle car you link, or in 17,600 gal tank car, like the cars sold by Atlas.

http://archive.atlasrr.com/HOFreight/arc-hotcstc.htm

Vegetable olis is usually transported in larger tank cars, like 20,700 gallon cars

http://archive.atlasrr.com/HOFreight/arc-ho20ktank.htm

or 23,500 or 25,500 gallon cars too.  Walthers and Athearn make similar tank cars.

Walthers produces a lot of the shorty tank cars.  Most seem to be for Kaolin or Sulpher and fewer for corn syrup, however.

 

- Douglas

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Posted by Hillyard on Monday, February 17, 2020 6:26 PM

I have been satisfied with both atlas and walthers modern tank cars.  As  mentioned earlier, ~16k sized cars are commonly used to carry corn syrup, and ~20-26k cars for vegetable oils  (as I understand it).  The densities are different, hence the size capacity varies.

In addition to ADM & Cargill as Brakie suggests, you might also consider cars lettered for AGP [ag processing, IIRC ], CHS [cenex harvest states, I think], and Midwest Corn Products. 

With plain black tank cars, you have to be sure they are not lettered for non food products.  If so, this is usually this is lettered on the far right of the car.

Hope this helps.  My opinions only, facts may vary.

 

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Posted by csxns on Monday, February 17, 2020 6:36 PM

Doughless
Walthers produces a lot of the shorty tank cars.  Most seem to be for Kaolin or Sulpher and fewer for corn syrup, however.  

Intermountain has a neet Corn syrup tank.

Russell

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Posted by cv_acr on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 10:55 AM

That 16,000 gallon car in the first post is the right TYPE of car that can be used for corn syrup. It's an insulated, general service design for heavier/denser liquid commodities.

However some of those paint schemes as noted aren't good for that.

The yellow middle band is seen on sulphur service cars (matches the colour of spillage). Huber is a clay slurry company.

AE Staley is (was?) a large food products company and the Staley branded tank is good for syrup. (I think Staley is now owned by Cargill?)

For vegetable oil, larger tanks like the Walthers 23,000K tank is good; this is a larger version of the same sort of insulated general-service tank design. It's a very common car for all types of commodities like vegetable oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt and various chemical loads. If you can get some generic UTLX marked cars, or some with food company logos like ADM or Cargill you're in a good place for veg. oil tanks.

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 11:10 AM

For what it's worth, I used to see pretty much nothing but black tank cars at the Hunt Wesson tomato plant near where I used to live in north Davis CA.  In the fall when the wind was blowing the right direction, the whole area smelled like tomato soup.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by dknelson on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 11:43 AM

There was an article -- might have been in Model Railroad Planning rather than MR -- about shipping high fructose corn syrup in tank cars, and how different food industries and different food uses needed different concentrations of HFCS.  The point of the article is that the different cars with different concentrations needed to be spotted at different places at the plant.

If I recall the article correctly once a tank car was dedicated to a certain concentration, it was not to be used for the other concentrations.  I know cars devoted to particular commodities (food and not food) are not to be contaminated or used to carry anything else, but I had no idea that a simple change in concentration of the same commodity -- high fructose corn syrup -- was regarded as a form of contamination.  It must be very precise in concentration, and not just "close enough."  

Dave Nelson

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