Ran across the above term looking at a wood craftsman kit on eBay. Can anyone shed light on or any information about this type of tank car?
Here’s one of the very few photos that I could find on one. Note the “ChangeableCar” logo visible on the left end of the car:
It appears from the photo that the tank sits atop of and spans two unconnected truck platforms - i.e. no undercarriage. If this is the case then one tank could be swapped out and fitted with another compatible tank - even if it’s not the same size. I’m guessing also that the tanks would all have the same diameter and only differ in length.
I recall some ‘far out’ car ideas that came along in the '60s and early '70s. There must have been some R&D money available. The ‘pregnant whale’ tank car comes to mind.
The practicality of these designs obviously didn’t quite catch on. I recall a four-unit, articulated hopper car built for Southern Railway that seemed like a good idea, other than it was never repeated.
The C&O worked with Bethlehem Steel and made a one-off, two-unit articulated hopper car that actually had a flexible joint right in the middle of the coal load (!)
Thanks, Ed. So the tank sections (“rings”) are what is changeable. The trucks are each presumably a unit under their own section and don’t change. The changeable rings are added or removed from either side of the center dome section to lengthen or shorten the tank car, as needed.
I wonder how long it took to convert a tank car each time it needed lengthening or shortening? It probably made cleaning easier.
I believe the Union Tank Car ‘funnel-flow’ changeable car concept was simply that you could order a tank of various lengths (capacities) utilizing the same shell design. The all-welded car bolsters negated any sort of post-construction modification (or ‘conversion’). The ‘frameless’ design provided necessary strength and increased capacity by allowing a larger diameter tank without the needed clearance for a center sill. Funnel Flow® was a design feature that promoted gravity unloading without the necessity of a sump, or pressurized discharge methods.
Thanks for the explanation, Ed. So, it’s a modular design for constructing the tank car. Once the tank car seams are welded, however - it is what it is.
That’s exactly what I gather, Tom. UTLX probably paid a marketing company big bucks for that ‘changeable’ logo so management probably wanted to get their value out of it.
For some reason I seem to remember that someone made a wood kit for a changeable tank car.
edit: the first post references a wood kit. Who made that kit?
If the instructions can be found on hoseeker, maybe there will be some info about what the changeable means.
Ah, Quality Craft. Forgot about them. I was thinking more along the lines of Ambroid or Northeastern.
Did not find any instructions on the HOseeker site for this car. However, in the information section, found the following. Looks like the cars came in two lengths, 29 or 47 foot, but this is subject to verification.
Out of curiosity, how many times the original $4.95 list price are they now asking for this model? :<)
It appears from the photo that the tank sits atop of and spans two unconnected truck platforms - i.e. no undercarriage. If this is the case then one tank could be swapped out and fitted with another compatible tank - even if it’s not the same size. I’m guessing also that the tanks would all have the same diameter and only differ in length.
