SHPX
GATX
HOKX
SCCX
SCPX
UTCX
UTLX
And many more. Most tank cars belong to leasing companies or to shippers. The car type depends on the commodity. What industries do you have on your layout and what era are you modeling?
The most efficient way to ship a product is to fill a car to its weight capacity. For liquids the volume needed to reach maximum weight capacity changes with the density of the product.
For 50 ton cars an 8,000 gallon tank car is the right size for a very dense liquid like 50% caustic soda. A pressurized tank car of 11,000 gallons capacity is the right size for 50 tons of chlorine but can not be loaded to its weight capacity with a lighter liquified gas like propane. A 50 ton tank car for a light refined liquid like gasoline or diesel could hold up to 16,000 gallons.
In the 1960s new tank cars were built for a gross rail load of 263,000 pounds. While most cars of that GRL are referred to a "100 ton" cars some tank cars carry less of their specific commodity. A chlorine tank car with a 263,000 pound GRL is about 17,000 gallons and referred to as a 90 ton car since it has a strong and heavy shell. A 100 ton caustic soda tank car will hold about 16,000 gallons. Petroleum tank cars will be in the 25,000-30,000 gallon range. 100 ton propane tank cars hold 33,000 gallons.
