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RTR 1920's tank cars? which are good Locos and rolling stock
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Prolific poster 1,660 posts IrishRover Prolific poster 1,660 posts
IrishRover

I'm starting a search for one or two tank cars suitable for 1929.  I would prefer ready to roll.  The number of domes is not important, be it 1 or more.  It will be carrying petroleum products, and the industry doesn't need them all that frequently.  The empty likely won't be hauled away at the same time the new one is dropped off.  Industry will most likely be a boat yard on a river in Maine, or interchange with a narrow gauge line.
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jeffshultz MRH Staff 7,994 posts
jeffshultz

Tangent

Simply put - Tangent Scale Models is your friend: https://www.tangentscalemodels.com/general-american-10000-gallon-1917-design-radial-course-tank-car/

https://www.tangentscalemodels.com/general-american-6000-gal-3-comp-tank-car/

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Jeff Shultz - MRH Technical Assistant
DCC Features Matrix/My blog index
Modeling a fictional GWI shortline combining three separate areas into one freelance-ish railroad.
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bobby pitts Regular poster 339 posts
bobby pitts

The proto 2000 tankers come

The proto 2000 tankers come in several variations, and will fit your period. I second the Tangent cars as being top notch.

Bobby Pitts
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Eric Hansmann Eric H. MRH Contrib. Editor 907 posts
Eric Hansmann Eric H.

Lettering

I agree with both the Tangent and Proto2000 suggestions BUT, be careful with the paint and lettering. Many models are lettered for post-1935 leases. If you find a Proto2000 tank car with K brake system, there's a good chance the lettering will at least be good for the 1920s. I'd avoid the AB brake system cars unless you can get them fro $5 a piece. And yes, they are out there but will need some work .

Eric

 

 

Eric Hansmann
Contributing Editor, Model Railroad Hobbyist

Follow along with my railroad modeling:
http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/
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blindog10 Prolific poster 3,329 posts
blindog10

AB is post-1933

To further Eric's point about brake systems, if memory serves the AB brake system was introduced for general freight service in 1933, so you want cars with K brakes. There were several variants of Ks, but the basic K had the "triple valve", reservoir, and cylinder all bolted together, and this was common on tank cars. The AB system uses separate components, with a larger 4-action "control valve" (which is why it's not called a triple valve), a larger 2-compartment reservoir, and often larger cylinder (its size is directly related to the weight of the car, which has increased over the years). The terms "type ##" were used by the tankcar builders to designate their frame designs and refer to when the design was adopted, but it's not an exact science. And it tells you nothing about the tank body design. General-American's Type-17 went into production after WW1 as demand for refined petroleum products exploded (pun intended), and since G-A was the largest owner of tankcars the variations of Type 17s were the most common tankcars on the rails by the mid '20s. So yes, Tangent is your friend if you just want a car or two. Most G-A tanks wore GATX reporting marks but they sold and leased many cars to other companies so Type 17s wore a number of different lettering schemes and reporting marks. The second largest fleet of tankcars was Union Tank Car Line (UTLX). Formerly part of Standard Oil, it supplied most of the tanks used to ship refined products from the "baby Standards" (Esso/Humble, Socony, Sohio, Kyso, American/Standard Of Indiana, and Calso in your time). It rarely leased tanks to other entities in those days. Union had their own proprietary frame design and other details even though they bought most of their cars from other builders. There are no RTR models of the most common Union design of the time, the X-3 types, which were also built in large numbers in the '20s. The third largest fleet was Shippers Car Line (SHPX), owned by American Car & Foundry (ACF). Their most common design in the '20s was the Type 21, offered by Proto:2000, now Walthers Proto in HO. It was superceded by the Type 29 (Intermountain in HO and N), but the vast majority of Type 29s were built after the mid '30s and were built with AB brakes. Therefore, for a 1929 era layout you want to find a Type 21 with K brakes. The Tichy tankcar models (small and large domes) are based on a proposed WW1-era design put out by the government's USRA (they took over the railroads in 1917 and ran them until mid-1920). Unfortunately for Tichy, this design was never actually built. Very similar cars were built during WW2 but by then they had AB brakes and newer trucks. Intermountain has sold the Tichy cars RTR. 8,000-gallon tanks were more common back then than 10,000-gallon cars. Many of the fuel dealers of the time, called "bulk plants," could only store 8,000 gallons, so it didn't do much good to send them a 10,000-gallon tank. Stay away from Broadway's little 6500-gallon pressure tank, which was built to haul chlorine and similar noxious gases. They weren't used to haul petroleum products. While a few cars had been built to haul propane and butane, for the most part those are post-1940 cars. Lastly, in those days tanks were generally unloaded fairly quickly and sent home for another load. So it might be more realistic to spot a loaded tank at a fuel dealer, pull it a day or two later, leave the spur empty for a day or two, then spot another load. A marine terminal, on the other hand, might go through enough fuel to need a constant supply of cars. And remember, since almost all tankcars were privately owned, not RR owned, the RRs didn't make decisions on car routing, the owners did. So if you're using car cards do not put "when empty return to yard" on them. Scott Chatfield
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Eric Hansmann Eric H. MRH Contrib. Editor 907 posts
Eric Hansmann Eric H.

Photo treasure trove

I'm glad Scott brought up some fleet data as I'm lacking in some of that info.

To get an idea of other details, you do not have to scroll far on the American Car & Foundry album of the Barriger Library Flickr site to find tank car images illustrating details of cars built in the 1920s, 1930s, and into the 1940s. I have used this site as a resource for my 1926 modeling focus as there are many pertinent freight car images. The 1920s tank car images can help you with detailing Proto2000 tank car kits. Don't forget they offered an insulated tank car on the Type 21 frame, too. 

If anyone has done a quick scan through just a few pages of the AC&F photo album, you will see tank cars built for specialty services and tanks of different gallon capacities. Acid tank cars, insulated chemical tank cars, 6,500 gallon tanks, and earlier high-walkway tank cars add variety to a fleet and operations. While none have been produced as HO scale plastic models, many have been available as resin freight car kits. 

Eric

 

 

Eric Hansmann
Contributing Editor, Model Railroad Hobbyist

Follow along with my railroad modeling:
http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/
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blindog10 Prolific poster 3,329 posts
blindog10

oil to Maine

I gather a fair amount of coal and oil that was consumed in Maine arrived by sea (intracoastal shipping) and was transloaded to railcars at Maine's ports. The paper mills upstate were big consumers. Scott Chatfield
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