Hey Guys, I am looking for some info on gasoline and heating fuel tank cars that would have been in regular service in the mid 1960’s. I model HO and would like to find some reasonably good looking cars for for my layout. I know Athearn did a lot of them in the BB line, but I would like something a little more detailed any ideas?
Didn’t MR have a fairly extensive tank car article in 2009, last half of that year? It covered historic development, era-appropriate styles, etc. A search on this website should pinpoint the specific issue of MR that contains the article.
That would be a good place to start.
Cedarwoodron
I have some Atlas 33000 GAL. Tank Cars that were built in the mid sixties. Most have the B/A ( British American) logo. This was a popular Gas station here in Canada before Gulf took over.
BAPCO Paint (British American Paint Company) was also in existence. I plan on using these tank cars both at my tank farm and paint factory when the time comes. These cars came in to existence about seven years later than the year I’m modeling. But I liked the detail on them, so I thought I’d cheat.
All my Atlas tank cars are the best performers on my layout. Real solid.
Sorry the pic is a little blurry.
Brent
I occasionally see LPG type tankcars placarded for gasoline (they are probably carrying natural gasoline), however, I doubt they carried gasoline back in the 1960s.
Would gasoline moving by rail have still been common in the 1960s?
I recommend searching Walthers’s website. Tankcars without underframes were being built in the 1960s, so those may also be an option.
It is a pricey item but the 1966 Car and Locomotive Builder’s Cyclopedia is a great resource for anyone modeling from the mid 1960s to the early 1990s (assuming an average 30 year lifespan for a freight car). The Cycs are seen at railroadiana shows and swap meets; expect to pay over $100, sometimes well over that.
Copies of Railway Age from your chosen era often have useful ads by freight car building companies.
Less pricey is Kalmbach’s The Model Railroader’s Guide to Freight Cars by Jeff Wilson which has a chapter on tank cars, but obviously cannot afford to spend a great deal of time on any one decade or era.
You may want to explore the Railway Prototype Cyclopedia series to see if they have focused on tanks cars of your era. This is an excellent series of booklets. http://rpcycpub.com/
The types of framed and riveted tank cars in the old Blue Box line were often older prototypes from the 1939s and even 1920s – cars that were still seen, but often on their last legs, when some of the Blue Box tooling was first started in the early 1950s. And by the 1960s those cars that were still running usually had very different paint schemes. The three dome Deep Rock car is an example.
Frameless tank cars were first introduced in the mid 1950s, Running boards were still required until 1961 according to Wilson’s book. Wilson does point out that cars with domes and frames were built into the 1960s. And again cars from the mid 1930s on would be found in a 1965 freight train.
the 1950s and 60s were also a time when the freight car builders were experimenting with really large tank cars of 100 ton/20,000+ gallon capacity.
Dave Nelson
I’m modeling the C&O in the late 60’s (and the Chessie in the mid 70’s) and was also wondering about tank cars (I investigate each car class as I get around to finishing my models and I haven’t gotten to my tank cars yet). I think that article in MR just missed my era but it had good info for the transition era and I figured some of those cars would still be rolling in the 60’s.
The 1966 Car and Locomotive Builder’s Cyclopedia might be exactly what I’m looking for to build up an accurate rolling stock fleet. Thanks for the tip!
The more I investigate the details the more questions I usually walk away with! I’ve got a few Roundhouse 50’ GATX tank cars I have grouped into my mid 70’s roster; are they appropriate for the Detroit area in late 60’s? I’ve got one Athearn BB 40’ tank car, but I’d rather get kits with more detail; Red Caboose, Tichy, etc.
I beleive the roundhouse 50 footer has no real prototype, and athearn’s 40’ is based on a few UP(I think) fuel cars. Atlas did a few lp and other tank cars for around your era.
Thanks for the info, I’ll have to look into it more. Once I find out exactly how incorrect they are, I won’t be able to ignore it anymore.lol It’s a good thing better, more accurate, models keep coming out!
I have a roundhouse car and think it’s one of those close enough cars, but it’s under weight. Atlas has some new 11000 gallon cars that will work.