Guys;
In my on-going research, I have not been able to find many references to
the rail shipment of anhydrous ammonia before the late 50's. I suspect
that it was not generally used as a soil amendment (providing nitrogen)
before then, but I do not know all the facts. USS did not start making
it as a marketable commodity at the facility I am interested in before
the 60's, it appears. Once the anhydrous facility came on line in the
60's, the production of ammonium sulfate (also used as an amendment)
seems to have dropped off, but that is another subject. Where this is
important is that ammonium sulfate was a white powder, bagged and
shipped in boxcars, but anhydrous created a whole new market, and a new
use of pressurized tank cars, it appears.

I have one photo of a UTLX 105A stenciled for anhydrous ammonia, but I
am betting that it is a recent stencil, and the photo was taken in the
60's. It makes sense that the tank car lessors used what was available
at the time before finally getting something more suited when the market
got large enough. The later cars built expressly for this service are
those big "whale bellies" like Atlas came out with a few years ago; they
are prototypes built after 1960; ICC 112A's?

The other form of ammonia that I know of is "ammoniacal liquor", and a
host of "ammoniated" solutions, which were carried in 103's. There are
dozens of these liquids, and that would be a research project just by
itself.

Elden Gatwood