Wine tank cars would certainly not have been seen on branch lines in places like Kansas or Georgia. But there is abundant photographic evidence of them in the trains of the major transcontinental carriers that served California such as the Santa Fe, Union Pacific/C&NW, and Southern Pacific/Rock Island/T&NO/SSW, sometimes several of them at one time, en route to widely scattered destinations.
I wonder sometimes whether the "abundant photographic evidence" is more related to the oddity of a car than to quantity.
Tim Gilbert
We had one come through the Emporia Ks yard on the Santa Fe one night. It was leaking. Interesting night that night. Thank you Larry Jackman ljack70117@adelphia.net It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them.