SOEX tank car in Springfield, IL up for sale

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

The city of Springfield, IL owns a tank car that’s been sitting idle for more than 20 years. It’s reporting mark is SOEX and the numbers 2 24 are visible in the photo. They’re putting this tank car up for auction.

http://www.sj-r.com/bakke/x1298144776/Dave-Bakke-Be-the-first-on-your-block-to-own-a-railroad-car

Auctions of merchandise owned by the city of Springfield are usually ordinary affairs. A desk is sold here. A used car goes up for bids there. But when city purchasing agent Jay Wavering heard about the item that is up for sale now, his reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding. That’s a first!”

For the first time in recent and not-so-recent Springfield history, the city finds itself the proud owner of a railroad car. The tanker, adorned with graffiti, has been sitting on an abandoned train track in the woods on the southeast side of town for more than 20 years.

“Just a long-forgotten parking spot,” says City Water, Light and Power spokeswoman Amber Sabin.

The city has known for years that the railroad car was there. It’s just that officials recently decided to declare it surplus property and solicit bids.

Tracy Peterson, CWLP project manager, says the tanker car is on an old railroad spur that goes through CWLP property. The utility used to use that spur to haul things to the power plant.

“It predates me,” she says. “I’m not that old.”

It appears that the track in front of and behind the car has been removed, so the car can’t just be hooked to an engine and pulled out of the woods. Whoever buys it will be responsible for finding a way to move it.

The tanker car used to be filled with creosote. That’s the tar-like stuff used to

2

To answer your question on the Prototype information for the modeler forum, the saddles look similar to Union Tank Car built cars but I am not sure if it was a UTC built car. It looks like the missing digit may be a 7. I could not find any similar tank cars on Railcar Photos, RR Picture Archives, or Fallen Flags websites.

Creosote is also used to treat railroad ties (http://www.koppers.com/htm/PandS_Rail_PTW.html).

3

I would fully expect the car is too old to be usable. Only bids, if any, would be based on scrap metal value.

4

Balt,

I think it still has some callendar life but can not imagine anyone in the leasing business would want to fuss with it to get one old car that would have to be cleaned to be useable.

As to a scrapper, the cost of removing and disposing of the residual creosote would be prohibitive.

I expect the city will still own the car after the auction.

Mac

5

Sounds like the City of Springfield is about to throw a bidder( Call that a Tarbaby) into a Briar Patch. Most likely the cheapest way to get rid of the car is to cut it up’ in situ’. Possibly the most useable par will be the trucks(?). Any residue wil have to be mitigated before any disposal can happen.

As was previously noted: Creosote is a carcinogen. Here is a way to determine how to dispose of problematic chemicals. ww.drs.illinois.edu/regwaste/pdf/WasteDisposalGuide.pdf The link is to a Univ of Ill site that helps to determine how chemicals may be disposed of. One of the major steps is call in the Div of Research Safety, and probably the State EPA.

The City of Springfield is probably going to learn really fast WHY that tank Car has sat for 20 years without being mitigated by previous entities. The key working element will be the expense involved in mitigating that cars contents ( maybe just residue?). It will not be CHEAP in any way due to current environmental regulations.

Best guess ids that if it is out of the way and that land is not needed for any building or new facility, it will sit until it rusts through and then it will be dealt with. [2c]

6

I, too, have had no luck with determining the missing digit. Can’t find anything in my files that would help, and can’t find another saddle support like that in any photos of SOEX or former SOEX equipment in possible series. I’ve e-mailed the article to a couple of “specialists” who might be able to help.

SOEX 2524 and 2924 are active, but I don’t think they qualify. SOEX 2524 would be a multi-compartment car, so that’s not it.

Edit: one specialist says it does look like an early Union Tank car, and I’m pretty certain that 2724 (or possibly 2824) would be a likely number. Yes, there should be a few years left in her yet.

7

My question is what was it doing out in the woods in the first place. The tracks in both directions where removed so the railroad must have deliberatly left it there. But why?

8

Geep,

I suspect the city bought the car and used it to store creosote. At some time, somebody, could have been either railroad or the city, or both, tore out the track. Railroad would do that to remove a switch that did not generate traffic (revenue) and the cost to maintain it, especially if switch was in main track. City would remove spur to recover scrap value of the rail.

Mac

9

Come on, what are you up to.

Why on earth would you bring up leasing and scrapping? That sounds like you are bating people.

The point of selling the tank car is for HISTORICAL purposes.

Example: a Railroad Museum that would like a representation of this old tank car for a static or occasionally operation.

Andrew Falconer

10

Andrew,

How do you know the city’s intent? How do you know the buyer’s intent. How do you know who will be high bidder?

Your imaginings have nothing to do with reality. As my dad used to say. It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

Mac

11

So the point is from everyone is, if the railroad item is not steam or first generation diesel, you will just call it modern junk that has to be scrapped immediately. Everything that was built after 1960 is not worth saving in any form. All the new stuff is too cheap and it has to go. You say you like real railroads, but all the new stuff is not worth the metal it is made out of. If you hate the new stuff, then just stick to Classic Trains.

Andrew

12

Remember - the CITY wants to be rid of this - they want to get MONEY in getting rid of it. They don’t care about any historical signifigance that this item may or may not have. They don’t know or care about todays equipment or yesteryears equipment. They just want it GONE!

13

Does Springfield by any chance have any use for a large culvert? About 30 years ago my town needed to bridge a stream and someone got some scrapped tank cars, cut the ends out and used them as culverts. Of course, you still have to handle the creosote problem.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/8023549998/in/set-

14

The creosote issue looks like it’s going to be a dealbreaker for whoever was thinking about bidding on the tank car. The city may have to pay somebody to take it off their hands.

15

If the car has a rubber liner and has only residue, no big deal. Partial load or water in with the creosote, then it gets to be fun.

Wonder if the car’s picture was on the side of a milk carton or did somebody forget to whiteline the car. (and the taggers managed to miss it)

(Darn - I was in Springfield last week and didn’t look for it in the spiderweb of track in that burg.)

Seriously doubt it has museum value and does not hold a candle to what’s hiding in the weeds in certain East St Louis abandoned industries.

16

It seems that most railfans and model railroaders are primarily interested in the locomotives they saw growing up. Probably most historical societies and museums are run by guys who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, therefore that is what they want to preserve and write about. Maybe in a few decades the people in charge will want to preserve and write about today’s railroading. Also, keep in mind that a worn out switcher from the transition era is probably going to be much less expensive than an SD40-2.

Also, most railfans are only fans of locomotives. Therefore they do not care much about preserving or writing about freight cars.