Large Scale Central

Gatx 81663

Another one for @manimal ?

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How long is this tanker ?

Not one, he will have to build 5 to complete the fleet.

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/railwhales/bynumber/gatx081663-081677.htm

Maybe even more, your stat page says 15.

And to avoid trademark issues…

I was being realistic Cliff!

Interesting. I didn’t realize so many were built.

About 90 feet I believe.

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Looking at the pictures, there are 11 full width band and one smaller one. If I assume that the band widths are 8’-0" (a common plate width) for the 11 bands and 2’-0" for the narrow band, that would make the car on the side shell11 x 8 = 88 feet plus 2’-0" for the narrow band would equal 90’-0" confirming Dan’s assumption.

I found data stating the car is 37,400 gallons capacity. That would equal 5,020 cubic feet. 5,020 ÷ 90 = 57.777 sq ft.
57.777 ÷ π = 18.3909 = R²
√18.3909 = 4.28847 ft. x 2 = 8.57697 ft diameter = 8’-6.9223" diameter.

For those who might like to try, this would be 3.596 inches in diameter for a 1:29 tank. Standard 3" PVC pipe is 3.50 OD. Close enough for gub’minit work.

The tank itself is 106 feet long, or 106 x 12 ÷ 29 = 43.862 on the shell. The heads appear to be flanged and dished style, so those will be approximately 20.5 inches deep or .708 inches. Plastruct offer a 3.50 diameter flanged and dished head, VHE-350 in multiple materials. This head is .797 inches high. This is approximately 24 inches. Add the ladder and walkway on the end for another 36 inches and this will add another 10 feet total to the length.

Trucks can be acquired from Charles Ro in the USAT line R2042. Couplers, would choose Kadee.

There is not much to be garnered from the photos for either the body bolster or the span bolster for the trucks. In this aera I would defer to the drawings published in Railroad Model Craftsman of the 83699 RailWhale. (Sorry I didn’t clip the issue).Some clips from my docs.




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Bob, I think you need to revise your recommendations.

Actually there are 13 larger bands.


6’ is also typical plate width for tank car construction which would make the vessel about 80’ and the diameter closer to 9’

A sister car was 97’ long, but had almost 2x the capacity (but with a whale belly).

Another GATX has a similar capacity, but only 67’ long.

Another style. :open_mouth:

tk8

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Cool that you were the photographer, Shane!

Dan
So how far along are you on this :slight_smile:

Good catch on the number of segments, thanks Dan. Working too late into the night.

At 9 foot diameter that is a bit less then 3.75 inches in 1:29. Plastic-Craft Products | Industrial Plastic Supplier & Custom Fabrication | West Nyack, NY has Ø3.75 acrylic tubing that will be close.

This is why I model by eye cause I wouldn’t follow the exact math anyway. Just pick a piece of tube I could work with and slap some trucks under it that look good then go from there.

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Gosh guys;

That may explain why I’m still enamored with my favorite Hooker!

She may be small, but she makes up for that with “personality”!

Regards, David Meashey

This is where I found the most info and why I said I didn’t realize there were so many (100’s of them) and got the 90’ length from.
http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/railwhales/