I spent most of this summer on a variety of tank car projects. This has driven a large amount of research and verification of existing ready to run models. I thought I would share some of the more obscure facts I ran across. Mainly the accuracy of the Accucraft and Spectrum models.
First You Need the Oil
Crude oil was discovered in Titusville Pennsylvania in 1859 by Edward Drake at just under 70 feet. A railroad conductor by trade he had no knowledge of drilling anything. He partnered with William Smith a local blacksmith and “salt well” driller. Together they created a system called the drive pipe conductor. This was essentially a metal pipe driven through the upper layers of sediment and then the drill bit lowered through it to operate at the bedrock level.
The project was originally funded by Seneca Oil Company but as weeks turned into months the investors pulled out and left Drake and Smith to press on alone using their own meager resources. Dead broke by August 26 the well hit and came in on August 27 saving their operation and restoring their fortunes…at least temporarily.
The well produced between 20 – 40 barrels a day but it proved drilling was possible and profitable. In just five years the annual production of Pennsylvania exceeded 500,000 barrels annually. This heralded the end of whale oil as kerosene replaced it for heating and lamp fuel.
Roll Out the Barrel
When I say barrels, I literally mean barrels. Wooden commercially available barrels were loaded with the crude and shipped to the refinery. These first barrels varied in capacity from 36-45 gallons. This was quickly standardized to 42 gallons in 1866. Weighing over 300 lbs. each they were moved first by wagon to river barges and later to train stations. In the case of railroads, the barrels were moved on flatcars, gondolas and boxcars. The average load was 20 barrels. This increased to 60-80 with the addition of multilevel racks.
Barrels, though plentiful, had a number of disadvantages. The saltwater used to extract the oil from underground had a corrosive effect on the glue liner. After just a few uses, the barrels would begin leaking. This problem was compounded by the use of “greenwood”. Coopers eager to cash in on the demand would skip the crucial step of seasoning the barrel staves. Once in use the wood could shrink and again cause substantial leaks. Even the barrels that worked posed a hazard as off-gassing from the crude could build up dangerous levels of methane and cause explosions. Also resulting in leaks but in a more spectacular fashion.
Despite these dangers, handling remained the biggest problem driving a need for change. In 1865 two brothers James and Amos Densmore created the first true tank car. Using two wooden vats mounted on flatcars the brothers were able to ship 80 barrels of capacity in a single car while slashing loading and unloading times. Made from closely fitted glued pine with iron bands leaks were greatly reduced. They unfortunately had a high center of gravity making them prone to tipping over. As quickly as they came the Densmore cars were gone, replaced by horizontal tanks mounted on flatcars.
Getting Tanked
Metallurgical advances in the 1870s including the development of wrought iron allowed the construction of tanks that could lay horizontally with internal baffles to stand up to the stress of carrying large capacities of bulk liquids. These early cars were rated to carry 6,000-to-10,000-gallons.
Made from .25-inch steel plating the joints were riveted together and caulked to prevent leaks. The first version was carried on wooden flatcars in permanent wood block cradles. Riveted steel bodies began to replace the wood in the late 1890’s but the invention of arc welding in the 1920’s along with new designs finished them off for commercial use.
The steel tank cars featured a number of beneficial features. An expansion dome with relief valve was located on top, usually in the center. This gave liquids room to expand in warm weather preventing the rupturing of the tanks riveted seams. It also contained a hatch, along with a drain underneath allowing for “top in / bottom out” loading and unloading. To help with the flow of vicious liquids many of the cars had internal heaters.
It’s a Frame Job
The last major change to tank car design before the modern era was redesigns of the frame. The earliest version was the X-car. John Van Dyke, an engineer with Union Tank Car Company, designed the frame with a long center sill to help absorb the push and pull of coupler forces. Heavy bolsters and side slings were prominent features. The main drawback was the cars had a high center of gravity.
The next version was the framed tank car or X-3. These cars used a box frame to cradle the tank body. This also lowered the center of gravity making them more stable. They are the basis for the narrow-framed tank cars sold to the DRGW.
The final version was the frameless or V-car. This design used the body of the tank itself for structural integrity with the trucks attached by bolsters to it. The Gramps cars of DRGW fame are standard gauge frameless cars dropped directly onto Andrews cast steel trucks.
So how do the 1/20.3 models from AMS Accucraft and Bachmann Spectrum line up with reality?
The Envelope Please…
Accucraft uses a single model design for all of its narrow-gauge tank cars. This is a steel riveted tank on a wooden flatcar circa 1880ish. All of the cars feature glad-hands, retaining bands over the tank and a circumferential handrail. There are no ladders or platforms on the car for accessing the dome. This design is based on the first generation of horizontal flatcars made by multiple manufacturers in both standard and narrow-gauge versions. They represent cars from the riveted wrought iron era.
The cars are available unlettered in black and silver on red oxide flatcar bodies.
The cars are available lettered in six different designs.
Shell Oil Company – Black tank with black car body, white lettering
Busted – Shell never shipped crude oil or refined products on narrow gauge lines in its own fleet. This car never existed.
Conoco – Silver tank with red car body, green lettering
Conoco - Black tank with black car body, white lettering
Real – The Continental Oil Company used a mix of different cars and styles in both standard and narrow gauge including the tank on a flat design. Both paint schemes were used. The silver tank version in the 1920s – 30s and the black and white from 1940 into the 1960s.
Associated - Silver tank with red car body, green & red logo
Busted – Associated did operate narrow gauge cars on the Nevada County NG but they were all- steel American Foundry cars in solid black. The only thing Accucraft got right was the older logo (but not on the later cars).
Standard Oil Company - Silver tank with red car body, blue lettering
Busted – Standard’s narrow-gauge fleet were all framed or frameless X or V cars. (A pair of two-foot narrow gauge cars exist in the flat car style.) Prior to 1912 they were red oxide with black or white lettering. Post 1912 they were all painted black with white lettering. They were lettered for UTLX and a car number. Notable exception were the leased Gramps cars. None were ever painted silver with blue lettering.
Zerolene - Silver tank with red car body, red & blue logo, red lettering
Real – The Zerolene narrow gauge cars were UTLX Standard oil company tanks mounted on flats owned by the Sumpter Valley Railway (circa 1923 - 38) and the Nevada, California and Oregon (circa 1915 – 1927). The SVR cars were silver with multi-color logos as per the Accucraft model but the flatcars were black with white lettering or red with black lettering. Accucraft’s model is for the NCO using oxide red cars with white lettering.
Bachmann Spectrum line uses two different styles for its narrow-gauge tank cars, The X-3 framed design and the V frameless design. All of the cars feature glad-hands and a circumferential handrail. There are no ladders or platforms on the frameless cars for accessing the dome. The framed cars have a center mounted ladder and short walkway on each side of the dome.
Both car styles are available unlettered in black, silver and red oxide.
The cars are available lettered in two different designs
White Pass and Yukon (framed) – Black with white lettering.
Real - It is based on the narrow frame X-3 design and matches the car as it would have appeared post 1968 with the “Flying White Pass” logo.
Gramps (frameless) – black with white and yellow lettering.
Real - It is based on the V design and matches the car as it would have appeared on the DRGW from 1939 to 1964. Features the “Gramps” logo and markings for the 20+ cars that Lafayette “Gramps” Hughes had painted for his grand kids.
Nothing But Net
Not often that anything Bachmann beats the high-end model companies for accuracy but the 1/20.3 Spectrum line was Lee Riley’s baby and he put his heart and soul into it.