Refinery tank cars

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
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Sorry for the multiple topics on the same theme.

I’m trying to narrow down the brand for the 1940s bulk petroleum distributor so that I can model the correct tank cars. So far I have three that I’m mulling over:

  1. Pure
  2. Ohio Oil (Marathon)
  3. Cities Service (pre-Citgo)

I presume the refineries name would be displayed on the side of the distributor’s storage tanks for identification purposes.

Q1: Would they ALWAYS be displayed on the incoming tank car?
Q2: Would refineries ever use unheralded “leased” tank cars for delivering their products?

I appreciate the answers ahead of time. Thanks again for the discussion on the other two similar topics.

Tom

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There were tank car leasing companies. Union Tank Car Company and its Canadian subsidiary Procor come to mind.

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Gidday Tom, once again you raise interesting questions worthy in this case of quite a number of cups of coffee!
I’m afraid though that my answers may lead to more questions!

Perusing the large John W. Barringer National Railroad Libraries Photo Collection on Flickr I thought I was on a winner until I saw the date. The reporting mark OCGX is correct for the date.

8834 001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

Then, much later on I came across the following photo in a Facebook post by Mr. Greg Eyler, the photos source, a booklet “Illustrated Story of Ohio River’s Greatest Flood Cincinnati District - January 1937.” The reporting mark PX is allocated to the Products Tank Line (Union Tank Car Co) 7/1930-7/1935, then the Union Tank Car Co, 7/1937-4-1970.

Pure Oil tank car. by Bear, on Flickr

My photograph evidence for the Cities Services car came from the Tangent Scale Models site, the CSOX reporting mark was held by various guises of Cities Oil from 1930 -2020.

The prototype photo for the Ohio Oil (Marathon) car also came from the Tangent Scale Models site. However, I believe that the car is problematic for your modelled time line as the TROX reporting mark, was allocated to the Transcontinental Oil Co, 8/1920 to 7/1930. A pity because that is such a colourful tank car.

Looking at the photos you posted in your first thread on this topic, and other similar ones, Tom, I’d suggest that there is no hard or fast rule. I would presume that those that did, and this I suspect would not always be the case, had roadside viewing which was used for advertising purposes. As you will have already noted, the pumps were definitely “branded.”

Looking at that Ohio River Flood photo, there are also “plain black” tank cars, a thing I noticed in other period photos. In fact, I’d be bold enough to suggest that for the transportation of petroleum fuel products, that the “unheralded” (leased) cars are in the majority!

“Muddying the waters,” I do wonder that by the 1940s, if the majority of the refined petroleum products was delivered to New York State bulk fuel tank farms by sea, then transhipped to those smaller fuel distributors, serviced by the New York Central Railroad, in leased tank cars??

Probably only 1½ cents worth,
Cheers the Bear. :slightly_smiling_face:

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As before, Bear, I appreciate you “cupfuls” of research on this topic and photo evidence. :grinning_face:

Prototype evidence for the pre-Citgo Cities Service brand is the most prevalent of the three in regards to the tank cars. Tangent released several road numbers of the 1937 CSOX car in 2022.

Ohio Oil Company (OOC) purchased Transcontinental Oil in 1930, which gave them the Marathon brand and 376 filling stations. OOC didn’t start using that brand until 1945 and became Marathon in 1962. It looks like the Pure Oil Company emblem logo began in 1930.

I agree with you about the likely use of “black lease” tanks cars for transporting petroleum - especially during WW2. That’s probably the route I will go but would still like to find as much supportive evidence of that as possible. And I think the use of 3-dome tank cars for smaller batches would be equally plausible.

Thanks again for your input, Bear. I would at least consider it 2½ cents worth. :wink:

Tom

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Some years ago, I was looking at an MDC Roundhouse Old time tank car kit at the local hobby shop, wondering if it had any place on my mid 1950ish freelanced railroad. I decided to buy it anyhow thinking, at the worst, the tank could be used in a bulk fuel distributers depot.

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Sometime later in one of the Model railroad magazines, I can’t remember which, I read a review of that kit, and the reviewer noted that while long after it able to be interchanged, the Illinois Central had one of those cars in home road service delivering fuel to the local city distributors, up until 1976.

As I see it, the relevance of the above to this current topic is that there a certain amount of leeway as to what tank cars could be used, if one was comfortable using them on one’s layout.

Cheers, the Bear. :slightly_smiling_face:

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