Tank CARS

Nice cars and not easily found, especially the GATX three dome. Good find. 

Only one dome, but really easy to add them when you have wood dowels and cotter keys laying around:

 

Very true.

True O three dome is on my wish list.

One of many overlooked items needed in “O”

 

 

 

I have been hounding dealers and manufacturers to make 2, 3, 6, etc. dome tank cars for awhile. These would be huge sellers.

agree much needed. to me the best scale tankers are the atlas cars but all single dome

Absolutely!

I will add more as I gather images.

Intermountain 8000 gallon
U.S. hobbies made oodles
PSC made all kinds of tanks
Drake imported the best in my opinion
Atlas redid the Intermountain cars
Red Caboose did 10,000 gallon insulated
Pecos River Brass did several

On and on.


Video: http://youtu.be/8BtCs7zUt5I

Our man Gene has some thoughts on tanks too

https://myp48.wordpress.com/

Thank you Car Builders Cyc Fifteenth Edition 1940
Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp.

Did that 6 dome originate with Thomas molds?  It sure looks like theirs.

The 3rd Rail 6-dome tank car is built up from brass. It is not a die casting. It's a really nice car (I have two of them), but the original trucks are subject to zinc pest. I've replaced the trucks on both of mine. 

I would love to see some affordable scale models ($50-100) of two-, three-, or four-dome steam-era tank cars. I think the Rail King 3-dome car, and maybe some of the other 2-and 3-dome cars from Lionel and K-Line, may actually be at or close to scale size, but I don't have scale drawings to check them against. These were very small cars - there's one in the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum and it's dwarfed by an ordinary 40' boxcar.

 

I once got my hands on a scale drawing of the old Heinz closed-side pickle vat cars and discovered, to my surprise, that the K-Line car, advertised as traditional size, was actually to scale. The Rail King tanker and some of the others may well be at or near scale, but I'd still like to have a well-detailed scale car without having to find, pay for, and convert a 2-rail brass model. 

 

And many thanks to Erik for posting the photos!

If you look around and are patient, you can find brass cars within that price range,   I picked up one at the Chicago meet in March for $40.  The only ones that I have ever paid more than $100 for have been the high walkway cars from MG or Yoder. 

 

However, as far as I know, 4 dome cars have never been produced or imported.  Might have to think about scratching one together just to have 1,

 

I will confess that I find some of those more unusual chemical tank cars quite interesting.

Thanks Guys,

 

After seeing 3RD Rail 3 dome tank cars at York I also suggested to Jim Weaver at Atlas years ago that Atlas should add a 2 and 3 dome O scale tank cars to their Steam Era Classic line. I have several Inter  Mountain and Atlas 8000 gal. tank cars The detail on these cars is outstanding.  

 

I looked at the tank cars long and hard at the Chicago show. The 3rd Rail cars were very pricy, even after Norm worked with me if I purchased two cars. My uncle  worked for Koppers in Memphis for many years, so I had to have that car. The Roma wine tank car was also too nice to pass up, so I ended up with both of them.

 

I found the 2 and 3 dome cars on a table across from Norm's display. I made a few stops at the table and finally made a deal to buy the two tank cars and a single dome Sunoco  tank car. I am keeping the two rail trucks and Kadee coupler on the Sunoco tank car. I am assembling a string of two rail O scale freight cars.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures of the prototype tank cars.

 

Richard

 

There is some really good info on the tank cars here. Thanks for the post

If I start with these tank cars will I be subject to "tanker madness"? I have already succumbed to that dreaded disease "reefer madness". Don't want to have to go through all that therapy again.

A little information from Lionel on multi-dome tank cars:

 

Freight Car Friday – 3 Dome Tank Cars

The three dome tank car has been a model train tradition for more than half a century. Far more common on our rails than the prototype, the cars are not without authenticity however. Nor were one and three domes the only options.

K-Line did some two and three dome tank cars, which are actually nicely detailed and plenty large enough to run with scale rolling stock. They're a good deal larger than the traditional Lionel versions. I have this 2-dome version, and a Pennsy tuscan 3-dome car as well.

 

This is what the K-Line 3 dome looks like. These were made by K-Line, and also by "K-Line by Lionel" after Lionel absorbed K-Line.

Don't count out small tank cars--they have come in just about every size.  An 8,000 gallon tankcar is very small in 1/48 scale.

Don't discount Lionel's offerings. The pre war and post war tin cars are scale size if lacking in ultimate detail. They would make a good starting point.

 

Intermountain 8000 gal car:

Williams semi scale car:

 

 

 

Lionel Post War Car:

 

 

Pete

http://www.sanjuancarco.com/rtr-o-scale-tank-cars/

Indeed Palallin, I was smitten by the evil of the dark side of 2 rail O scale upon my first visit to the Lewis Ertz "West Tennessee Central Railroad." The urge to rip up my third rail is hard to resist at times. Thankfully the force emanating from the spirit of the GREAT COWEN is stronger!

 

Love your response,

 

Richard

Dark side!

We're the Jedi Knights man



       

Ralph,"Tanker Madness" is a little more difficult to catch than Refer madness, since the germ associated with the multi dome variety of tanker mandess  is rare and more expensive, which helps build up your resistance.

 

Richard

Breezinup,

 

That K Line 3 dome tank car is very nice. You would think Lionel would produce this car again since it is so much nicer than the Lionel garden variety 3 dome tank car.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

Richard

Pete,

 

Yes, those pre and post war Lionel single dome tank cars are very nice. A few years ago I picked up a repro black, silver and gray Sunoco tank car shell from East Coast Train parts, and replaced the shells on my Sunoco cars.

Richard

The Williams car in Pete's photo is made of brass and based on the die-cast Lionel cars. It was available lettered for Sunoco or Shell. It may be necessary to replace the trucks due to zinc pest. I have two of them, which I got on the Bay for a very reasonable $50-60 per car. 

Tank cars! Whoops! I thought you meant TANK cars! Roll in the big guns...

We don’t like to talk about things that are not yet in our warehouse in the states but I could not resist letting you all know we have in production some very nice $19.95 (+/-) 3-dome tank cars in 6 road names for hopefully September or October availably!

 

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

The only tank car Weaver has is a 1960's frameless car. Rail King had some nice single dome cars that are close if not scale; they were available as kits at one time.

Don

Here's a brass scratchbuilt.  A tube, some freeze plugs, a couple of PSC domes, and presto . . .

 

Or a Locomotive Workshops kit:

 

This one is in fact the Thomas version of the Roma car:

 

The venerable prewar Lobaugh:

 

Finally, an old Max Gray:

 

 

Sorry - Photobucket seems to have lost my uneven triple-dome Magnolia and the famous J&L tank.

 

Bob 2,

 

You scratch built all of these tank cars?

 

Very nice work

 

Richard

I picked this gem up at York.  It is a 3rd Rail B&O Chlorine Tank Car.