Big steel balloons

Propane tanks are pressure tanks and all the loading and unloading hardware is inside that "bonnet" on top.  (It's not a dome, it's a protective housing.)

As for the pump house, I'm not sure if one pump does all the work or they need more than one.  I've never asked that question.  I assume they could fill delivery trucks directly from the tank car.

And just in case the question comes up, the stuff going to fuel dealers is usually called liquified petroleum gas since while it is mostly propane it often has measurable amounts of ethane and butane.  An industry needing pure propane as a feedstock for a chemical process can certainly buy it, it just costs more because it's more highly distilled.

Scott Chatfield

Salt Caves and LPG

This is a huge LPG storage facility,   LPG is stored in Huge underground Salt Caves.  100's of car inbound and from above it is just some unloading racks and pipes etc.  Most people have no clue about the size of the reserve under this unloading site.  This is literally and industry you can model on any layout.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5658772,-112.3783116,3a,75y,356.69h,84.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1stzx7qbIqhE3LznfakD3uEA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5662244,-112.3782665,233m/data=!3m1!1e3

The only two I know of

are in Auburn WA and Pheonix OR.  The RR tracks on Google Earth are to the left of the marker pin.  In Auburn go 2 blocks up and in Pheonix go one block down the track.  From the photo it appears that one pump might do it. Although your facility might be larger.  If you're modeling modern day stuff don't forget the overhead rail the worker will use to attach his 5 point safety harness, like the short one shown in Pheonix.

Michael Whiteman

You could put the google link so we can find it other than giving directions as if people know where it is located.

Corken on YouTube

Go to Corken’s YouTube channel. They have several animated videos showing transfer from rail to storage tank and back and forth between trucks and storage tanks.

GS

Replies

Scott, thanks for the reply - I was hoping you would reply, as you seem to know "all things tank-car related" 

Az, that is one impressive facility.  I had no idea that underground storage extends to propane dealers, although, come to think of it, the electric utility I retired from does have a large underground storage operation for natural gas.

Michael, I'm modeling the mid 70's, so I think that is before the date for the safety harness equipped racks, but that's a good idea.

The Walther's kit doesn't really address unloading, nor include any parts to build an unloading (from the top of the tank car) rack.  I did find one image from Tony Thompson in a 2014 MRH article, which helps.

Anyone have any suggestions for modeling a simple, overhead unloading fixture?  I'm assuming they have some sort of booms with hoses on the end to connect to the car's fixtures in the dome?

Thanks,

Al Carter, Mount Vernon, WA

@Al

You might want to take a look at  https://www.cfins.com/wp-content/themes/cf/pdf/RailCarStudentManual.pdf which covers training propane facility students regarding the loading and unloading of propane tank cars. A typical (modern) unloading rack for a small facility would look, in some cases, like the Modern Loading Rack from Walthers.

You really need to go to at least page 50 before it becomes useful, BTW.

You also said the exploded diagrams on the Walthers kit didn't give a good indication of how the flow went. Page 4 does show this. Or else, here is my 3D drawing of it as built. In order to align it differently would require more cutting of the piping. 

Propane Transloading

https://www.transtechenergy.com/ngl-lpg-propane-transloading

More Thanks

Arizona Gary and Highway 70, thanks for the additional info and the sketch!  Very helpful!

I ordered the Walthers Oil Loading Platform kit (933-3104), which I think I can use to make something work.  I only have one track, to one propane storage tank, so using half of this kit will be just right.  Then I can arrange my piping and pump houses to fit the available space, based on the drawings provided.

Thanks, 

Al Carter, Mount Vernon, WA