Tank Car Paint Schemes - 1950s Era

Tank Car Color Guide, vols 1 & 2, by Morning Sun Books.

ChipR 

What I would like to find out is there a real prototype paint scheme for the Lionel 6315 Gulf tankcar?

Before I spring $$ for the above two books, can anybody who owns them tell me if there is a framed (early/pre-war) Frontier Oil Company tank car pictured in one?  Thanks.

Thanks for the reference on the Morning Sun books.  I was already aware of them.

I was looking for something a bit more comprehensive.  I quickly thumbed through Vol 1 at a book store and it didn't appear to me to cover many of the paint schemes available in O scale, except for the more common/popular ones like Hooker Chemicals.  Granted I didn't look at it in detail.

With regard to Vol. 2, I was under the impression that it didn't cover 1950s eras cars but left off where Vol. 1 ended and started with 1960s era cars and newer.  Again not certain but the book description below suggests that is the case:

Tank Car Color Guide Vol. 2: Stub Sill Cars.

The conclusion of a two-part series examining the North American tank car fleet in color.

Contents: Single Compartment Cars without Platforms, pp. 4-19; Non-Insulated Single Compartment Cars, pp. 20-34; Insulated Single Compartment Cars, pp. 34-88; Multi-Compartment Cars, pp. 88-97 Beer Can Cars, pp. 97-105; Whale-belly Cars, pp. 106-113; 6 and 8 Axle Cars, pp. 114-120; AAR Class TVI, pp. 121-126; AAR 207 Covered Hopper Style Cars, pp. 126-127; Miscellaneous Cars, pg. 128.

I know of the ACF books too but those books focus on a single manufacturer.  I was hoping for something that covered most, if not all, of the manufacturers along with build data on many of the cars.  I know tank cars are sort of the backwater topic of freight cars but still think they deserve a good book on history, types (21, 27, 103, 105), and details on the many private companies that leased them from the big manufacturers.

Thanks

Bob

Bob,

Champ Decals printed several books showing where all their decals should be applied.  

ChipR

I have a large collection of train books, and find the Morning Sun books as useful as any.    

May I suggest that if it is not in a Morning Sun book, you probably will not find a color shot elsewhere without some heavy duty effort?  There are some photo sites on- line that may help - for instance, the Chateau Martin series of tanks is extensively covered and easily found with Google.

I try to find the MS books used, but about 3/4 of my collection came in here at list price, and worth it.  Same with most Four Ways West books.

I, too, today, just went through Morning Sun Vol. 1, at a show, page by page, thanks to the above recommendations, and did not find the car I was looking for or many less common or little known ones.  If it had the right car pictured, I was gonna buy it..but...no luck.

Interesting topic! I love tank cars, as it was a large part of traffic around Oklaoma with all the oil fields. Some great pictures of Frisco steam and tanker cars during WWII.

Try some of these Railroad Prototype Cyclopedias:

http://www.rpcycpub.com/RPCYC_Article_Index1-26.pdf

Volumes 2-3 cover ACF Type 27 tank cars.