6 axle tankers

[samfp1943]

Thanks, Mac!

                        I appreciate you response, and the confirmation of some tings I suspected, and were relevant, where the "Rail Whale" Tank Cars were concerned.     

         In some industrial areas, as you stated the low number switches could be problematic for the articulated trucks under such a large car.

      Did you notice the more or less recent photo of the eight axle tank car Ericsp posted ? In La Port, Tx.

     I'd guess Ed Blysard would possibly have some dealings with the big tank cars on his territory in Houston (?) at PTRA.

[ericsp]

It appears that some were still in use as of August 8, 2010. It also appears to have been recently repainted. I wonder if they have undergone a service life extension program.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2173547

[PNWRMNM]

Sam,

As a general matter carload freight rates decrease on a per hundredweight basis as the minimum shipment weight increases.  The result is that the railroad gets a higher rate per car and the customer gets a lower rate per pound. 

The car builders got into a size race in the 1960's.   Take the commodity anhydrous ammonia.  In 1955 the nominal 50 net ton specification 105 insulated tank car carried about 12,000 gallons.  The uninuslated specification 112 car was introduced about 1957 and 50 ton cars grew to about 14,000 gallons due to removal of the insulation.  By 1960 or so the builders figured out they did not need separate underframes for steel tank cars and 100 ton roller bearing trucks were available.  The spec 112 cars grew overnight to 33,000 gallons.  At the same time specification 114 was created.  Spec 114 cars could have an other than round cross section.  The race took off when the builders went to 6 axle trucks and to paired four axle trucks.  Ammonia cars grew to about 60,000 gallons on 8 axles.

Also during the 1960's, as the 112/114 cars began to move in multiple car blocks, they became involved in derailments where one or more car carring flammable gas was punctured and the resulting fire caused violent failure of otherwise intact cars.  There were a lot of these accidents, Crescent City IL and Laurel MS come to mind as typical examples.

In partial response the ICC or DOT created a rule to the effect that as of a date around 1970 new tank cars for hazardous materials could not exceed 33,000 gallons and 263,000 pound gross weight (100 ton capacity).  Cars then in existance were not prohibited from operation.

Heavy cars were not limited to tanks but they were the most prominent.  The Army, DODX reporting marks, has a series of 6 axle flats for moving their big tanks two to a car, for example.

I was never involved in trying to rerail a six or eight axle car, but those who did said they were a big pain in the rear.  As to assignments the cars were leased to particular shippers who used them as they saw fit.  In practice I suspect most of them were assigned to a plant and the plant used them to ship to specific customers.  The railroads had some ability to influence this by not granting lower rates on the bigger cars, but I have no knowledge as to the actions of any carrier.  They could also embargo the big cars to specific destinations if there was a physical handling issue at a specific point or via a specific route.  The axle loading would have been the same as a nominal 100 ton car, 65,750 pounds, so axle loading should not have been a problem.   Low frog number switches and sharp curves would have been where the cars constantly got in trouble.  

Mac

[samfp1943]

     These six axle (on 2 three ax axle trucks) and the 8 axle (on 4 two axle trucks) tankers were a unique sight in trains either silgle cars or multiples coupled together; they were always interesting and drew comments from those of us who were trackside during their hayday in the 60's and 70's.

   I am curious; was there some particular tarriff or rule that sparked their construction or use during the period of their active use? 

   Why were they confined toi tankers ( excusing the heavy duty multi axle flat cars)?       Was their demise due to just being too large to handle in a universal service?       Were the 'railwhales'  assigned to specific comoditiy services between two or more specific points?   Was it simple, just 'not a good idea' that finally went away?

Thanks!

[anb740]

All of the 6 and 8 axle tank cars have reached the end of their 40 year life span and have been retired. The 8-axle Dupont tanks were the last to go. Most have already been scrapped; an outfit in Alabama has scrapped quite few over the last year. The rest can be found on storage dead lines awaiting the scrappers torch. I'm personally going to miss these cars as they were definitely some of the most unique (and huge!) cars to ride the rails on a daily basis! Please check the following link for a detailed list of full roster of these "rail whales."

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/railwhales/a-roster.htm

 

[beaulieu]

bkpigs

What ever happened to the 6 axle tankers? Years back I saw them routinely (I live about 40 miles East of St. Louis on the NS line) but have not seen one in quite a while. If my memory is correct, the tank was a wet concrete color with a black frame.

 

Thanks in advance,

Brad

There are still a handful out there. Newer regulations mean that no new tank cars will be built with that much capacity.

[bkpigs]

What ever happened to the 6 axle tankers? Years back I saw them routinely (I live about 40 miles East of St. Louis on the NS line) but have not seen one in quite a while. If my memory is correct, the tank was a wet concrete color with a black frame.

 

Thanks in advance,

Brad