I know much has been written about this so-called USRA tank car, but I have a question.  What was the gallonage of said USRA design?

The reason I ask is I am decaling said Tichy tank car to represent a Milwaukee Road water car, which apparently was built by ACF in 1923 (if I read the fuzzy scan right).  It is a 10,000 gallon ARA III with a barrel made from four longitudinal courses.  Which basically matches the Tichy car.  But when I started putting decals on it I noticed they don't quite fall where they should.  So yes, there are several variables here, but when I measured the actual model I found its body has a volume of about 9000 to 9200 gallons.  Can't say I've ever laid eyes on a tank car that size.

So is the Tichy tank about 10% undersized?  Or is it correct for the plans for the never-built USRA tank, which I always thought was a 10,000 gallon tank.

Oh, while said Milwaukee Road water car is a post-1960 paint job, it will occasionally be switched by an NW2....