Wow! Great Article.

One of the best 'how to' articles I've seen in a long while.  Informative, detailed, and instructive; really hit the mark on this one.  Thanks for putting this gem together Tony.  

Absolutely great .... as

Absolutely great .... as usual Tony!

As an aside note the link to your blog at page 56 report "page not found" on my landscape file.

http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2012/11/vehicle-license-plates-in-ho-scale.html%0D

correct links are:

http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2012/11/vehicle-license-plates-in-ho-scale.html

http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2013/12/associated-oil-company-background.html

Joe: delete the last 3 char ( %0D )

MODERATOR NOTE: Links fixed.

A really good article!

A really good article! Thanks.

Gave this one an "awesome" rating....

....because it's very timely for me. I've been struggling with industry choices for my HO layout and a bulk oil dealer seems like a perfect idea for one of them.  Way back when I had an Interstate Fuel and Oil on one of my N scale layouts. It was built pretty much stock.  This article prompted me to look at the McGraw Oil kit and I'm liking it a lot.

Michael

Another fine article

This article has some great prototype and modeling information.  The prototypes involved were mostly before my era, but I still found plenty to use for a future project.

I had a blog entry with some prototype photos of a small bulk oil dealer that may be helpful for those interested   https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/fuel-dealer-photos-12193855 .  It's similar to those in the article, with additional variations in tanks, supports and piping.

Rob those are some great

Rob those are some great photos with stacks of useful details. Thanks for the link which I hadn't seen before.

I'm thinking something like that might spring up on my layout some day.

Mike

XLNT article & prototype info!

I too have been thinking along the lines of a bulk oil dealer. Great article with plenty of prototype info! Thanks for putting it together and sharing with us.

Virg

Another Great Artical.

This is the best that MRH has had. Love the real and the model approach. Great work this will always keep me looking for more from you. 

Just out of curiosity....

If I wanted to try and totally scratchbuild a facility to try and save some money.....What would you guys say the diameter in HO scale is of a typical vertical and horizontal tank? Is it something that could be modeled out of common ordinary materials?  PVC pipe and various sizes of wire for the tank seams and piping is what immediately comes to mind.

Michael

Good work, Tony

the diameter in HO scale

 I think you'd need to find a photo of the type of facility you want to model and scale the tank diameter and length from some known item in the picture. I'm sure something close enough could be found at a hardware store or landscape supply store. In HO scale a 10 foot diameter tank would need about 1.38 "diameter pipe, 20 foot about 2.76 " ,etc. .DaveB

Don't really have a prototype in mind

65' Tank Cars

Hey Bruce!  If your sick of the Walthers 65' LPG cars, I will gladly relieve you of them! 

Bulk oil facilities

This is a terrific article:  it moves from defining the topic in some detail (what, why, where, when) to alternative practices to chronology to kitbashing to scratchbuilding to creating the rolling stock.  Impressive.

I am just back from a trip in the Big Bend area of Florida where I saw lots of similar facilities serving small towns, particularly those with commercial fishing operations.  I paid enough attention to know that all of Tony's elements were there, though now clearly no longer rail served.  Something similar may show up on my railrod.

Don't have any 65' cars, Nelson.

Wonderful Article, I'll need 3 or 4!

Tony, A wonderful Article! I'll need 3 or 4 of these things on my O scale (2-Rail) Oregon Trunk. Seems like every town of any size on the trunk in the late 60s and early seventies had 2 or 3 oil dealers, a couple potato warehouses and a lumber mill. Oil dealers were as common as grain elevators in fact. Thanks for the great and through article. 

Bob Courtney 

Great article!

Thanks for a great article which provides some nice background info for which I've been looking.  Poking around the rural inland northwest turns up a bunch of small town fuel dealers that are still rail served, and not all have pristinely kept tanks, see pics below (maybe they are not in use anymore - although dealer is active).  The tanks at Plummer, ID are particularly rusty, while those at Oakesdale WA are clean. (All pictures taken from public roads)

Plummer ID

and Oakesdale, WA

(Yes, before anyone has a cow - those are anhydrous ammonia tankers (UN1005) likely spotted from the McGregor fertilizer dealer just to the east - but it gives the general idea and scale at trackside).  For aerial view check them on Google earth or maps, both are easy to find along the tracks.

Frank

Great article

Thanks for the information and modeling ideas. I was on the fence as far as some sort of oil plant on my layout and now will be including a similar as your write up. I have had a small corner that has been crying for a business as this.

Pumping Functions

Hello Tony,

I'm also using the Walthers McGraw Oil Company for my railroad, but without modification. It's obvious that the functions of the two provided buildings are to contain office space and a pump to feed oil products from the storage tanks to the delivery pipes that fill trucks in front of the buildings. What isn't obvious is how oil products are pumped from the tank car unloading standpipes and ground pipes to the storage tanks. In your research of various dealerships was there a separate pump, maybe housed in a small shed, for this purpose, or was there some arrangement of valves located with a single pump (in this case, in one of the two buildings) that could be opened and closed to either fill (from tank cars) or drain (for truck delivery) the storage tanks? 

          -Chuck