I’ve been looking for PRR-flavored tank cars to fill out my tank car roster but I’m having trouble figuring out what they looked like. I’ve seen six or eight car diagrams so I’ve got that part figured out, but I can’t find any photos of actual PRR-liveried tank cars-- does anybody know of any images? (Not talking about the big behemouth thing sitting at Strasburg). Alternately, is it perhaps the case that the Pennsy didn’t own that many tank cars? Can anybody set me onto the path of PRR tank car enlightenment???
I have a PRR tank car numbered #959. It is only 4” long and the legend marks say it is 6,000 gals. and weighs 40,000 lbs. I have picture of the real one in one of my books but unfortunately I picked it up at a model train show and don’t know who made the model. It is a very detailed model with some metal parts.
Wish I could be more helpful but at least you know that there are some models out there.
I have seen a model or two but I cannot seem to find any pictures (of the prototype) to “prove it”. I figured I’d type in “PRR Tank Car” into google and be inundated with pictures of PRR Tank Cars… but, uh… nope-- that didn’t happen. All I got was crickets quietly chirping in the background.
There are models of PRR tank cars out there – Athearn blue box had one for years – but back when I was a Pennsy modeler I had books and resources and can hardly recall ever seeing anything about PRR tank cars in the “modern” – post 1920 – era. Most railroads had tank cars for their own purposes not for shippers. This website has some general info but no photos:
I will search for the photos I have and send them along but it will take a little time since I have back-to-back doctors appointments.
I believe that my tank car was only used in the PRR yards for lubricating and servicing locomotives. The prototype car also had different car numbers than the model.
I suspect that most PRR tank cars were used for company service(fuel oil/water/etc). Very few railroads owned large fleets that were used in customer service. This is usually one of those ‘private’ owner things…
But, since this is the ‘Pennsy’, they may very well owned a class of revenue tank cars. Most pictures I have seen are company service tanks cars.
The vast majority of Class 1 railroads had few or no tank cars for general revenue service in the 1950s. Instead these came from leasing companies such as General Amercian Tank Lines (GATX, et al), Union Tank Car Company (UTLX, et al) and others.
The Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) for 1953 (reprinted by the NMRA) indicates the PRR had tens of thousands of Box Cars, Hoppers, Gondolas, etc. in general revenue service, but there does not seem to be a single tank car in revenue service owned by the PRR (which is not a surprise).
Any PRR-lettered tank cars would be in non-revenue service for maintenance-of-way and similar duties, and these would be few in number.
I don’t know wwww about the Pennsy, but most tank cars were privately (not railroad) owned. I say look for xxxX (like UTLX) tank cars to fill out your roster.
The P co. had a few in non revenue service that were retired tanks from the tank leasing companies. Most of the time the shops would convert an old tender from a retired steamer for most terminal and Mow service that needed some sort of liquid storage and transport. There are plenty of pictures of tender tanks mounted on retired flats for fire fighting and weed spraying service. Lube and fuel oil were ordered and shipped by the distributor with leased cars from UTLX or even the fuel company owned cars from Oilzum and others.
Tank cars are not all the same. Most spent their entire lives in dedicated service hauling only one product. There were many special cars that were built to only haul a particular product. Corrosive product tanks were lined. Heavy oil and other viscous fluids were hauled in cars with steam heat coils to heat the liquids for better unloading. Most special cars were exempt from per-diam charges while being loaded and unloaded. The rail roads could not make money on cars sitting on foreign roads while being unloaded. Shippers and receivers were responsible for turning the cars around.
Easy, maybe not true prototype: Athearn Blue Box undecorated tank car + Accupaint black paint + Champ Decal ----- OOPS they do not make those any more [:(] [swg]
A 1981 book from Wayner Publications, “Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger and Freight Car Diagrams” shows just two tank car diagrams, with no indication whether they were revenue cars or company service. The diagrams are not dated.
Class TM8 is a 34’10 1/2" 8000 gallon tank - typical generic tank car.
Class TP-1 is a huge 80’ 2 1/2" monster with 6 wheel trucks, capacity 268,000 (lbs presumably). Sort of a whale belly car.
I checked a 1967 Equipment Register for PRR. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place but I found just two tanks cars
500000, a 74’11" 277,000 capacity tank Pennsy class TM-1
500001, same length and 268,000 capacity, Pennsy class TP-1. That is the car shown in the diagram book and I assume the discrepency in length is due to what is being measured.
Based on the numbers and that there was just one car of each class I suspect they were company service cars although perhaps being in the Equipment Register meant they were at least lawful to interchange even if it never happened. The drawing definitely portrays a modern (1960s) era car when tank cars were getting bigger and bigger.
