I was looking to build up my supply of tankcars and was just wondering what everyone’s favorite models are?
My only one so far is a Blue Box tank I found on sale. It is ok, rides up and over some switches though.
Any gimmick models out there you can load and unload? Not that water or whatever would be the best idea for fancy layouts. Are there sources for mini placards? Chlorine and molten phenol loads used to get attention in real life. Just knowing they were in my rails might make me smooth things out a bit.
While I own several four-axle tank cars, they’re embargoed from the coal-originating shortline - they can’t handle the curves.
Diesel fuel runs up the shortline (Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo) in four wheeled cars, handled with appropriate care in the daily mixed freight and NEVER in mixed train service.
The other tank car, never run in the same train as a fuel tank, carries anhydrous ammonia. Upon arrival it’s routed to the magazine at the larger colliery.
Why route fertilizer to a colliery? Ever hear of ANFO? (The Powder River Basin mines use it in multi-thousand-ton lots!)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with 2-part explosives)
Re the original post, if the blue box car derails easily, I’d check the wheels to make sure they’re clean. The older cars with plastic wheels can pick up dirt pretty easily. Also make sure the trucks aren’t screwed into the body too tightly. Sometimes just easing them back a half a turn or so makes a lot of difference.
Tank car and other hazardous material placards are available from a number of decal vendors. Note that if you’re picky, you want to do some research and determine which style was used in your era. They have changed over the years.
I only have a few smaller tankers (e.g. 8K and 10k) on my layout but they are all Proto 2000. If you are wanting to build a nice tanker, these are the ones to get - i.e. if you can still find one in kit form.
WARNING: These are NOT for the faint of heart. Lotsa small parts but beautifully detailed. First one took my 8 hours to assemble. The 2nd one about 1/2 that time.
Intermountain also makes some nice tanker kits. Both companies have pretty much gone the RTR route as far as kits are concerned. If you are wanting more modern tankers or RTR, Athearn, Atlas, Intermountain, and Walthers should have what you want.
The only Kit Tank cars I have are some MDC and Athearn - I built a couple of the 45’ tank cars from MDC and have a 62’ Athearn and a 40’.
All the rest are RTR tank cars from Atlas 4 Kaolin tank cars, 4 26k gallon tank cars 3 propane tank cars and a single of another, plus around 12 or so Walthers RTR of plain jane varieties (CONX, CITGO, TILX etc.
Tankcars are pretty well-represented in HO. I’m not familiar with the more modern ones, but I have ones from Proto (all kit-built, with upgraded details and, in most cases, custom paint and lettering):
This one is, I think, from Intermountain:
Red Caboose:
Walthers:
A re-worked Varney car:
A modified Varney tank on a Tichy (Gould) frame:
…and a few Athearn cars:
This more modern one, long since sold, is a re-worked Athearn 62’ tankcar… I re-built it to match field-made drawings of the prototype car:
Gidday, Further to the advice from Stix, I’d also be checking the wheels for gauge. From memory I also added 1 oz of weight to my Athearn BB tank cars, which make up the most of my small tank car fleet, also 1 Roundhouse “Old Timer” and 1 2nd hand Proto (I think).
My favorites are the single-dome Type 21 cars similar to what Dr. Wayne showed in many of his pictures. Mine are Proto 2K. I found 3 of them on eBay, RTR for a very good price.
You should, though, make sure that the tankers match the era you’re modeling. These short 10,000 gallon models wouldn’t be on the rails today, just as the big modern tankers wouldn’t show up behind steam power.
Good-looking cars, Rick, [tup] and nice to see examples, especially for those of us modelling a different era and not so familiar with cars outside of that particular time frame.
Having been in the “earl bizzness” for 40 years, I have a soft spot for tankcars. I’ve got a “bunch” of those applicable to my time frame ('50s), all kits from the various manufacturers. But the one thing that I’ve found lacking is a two dome T/C in HO.
Thank you Wayne! I always enjoy seeing your cars in posts also they are always well done. [tup]
As I stated in my original post I am now doing some 50’ s era cars for when we change time periods at the club. Right now I have a Walther’s Tank painted and decaled for Texaco but have to dull coat it first. Have some other cars to do in the future.
Also doing my first Athearn 20,000 gal acid tank, just got the car so will be assembling it soon.
Need to get some spare parts, I have a decal for a 20,000 gal two compartment modern tank car and need extra dome parts to kitbash onto the existing MDC kit.
I purchased a painted, weathered, and lettered tank car at a swap meet for a couple of bucks where it is evident the prior owner was a very skilled meticulous guy. I did not have to change trucks, wheels, couplers, weighting or anything. Rivet details seemed quite good
I do intend to add the correct hazardous material signs
I was quite surprised when I turned the car over and saw that it was Tyco.
Way way back I bought some tanks cars at a swap meet that were all metal – one was cast metal w/two domes probably circa 1950 but I cannot seem to trace the manufacturer. The other is painted steel or tin, very cleanly lettered, I assume from the early 1950s. Perhaps Varney? I mention this only because in some ways our choices for tanks cars (and, as long as I am ranting, flat cars) has not kept pace with the many and varied boxcar models out there, particularly for those of us who model the 1960s, the last gasp of the friction bearing truck era. So for both tank cars and flat cars I often haunt the swap meets for old scale models that are acceptable in detail and lettering.
