Re: Pennzoil tankers? (Now Gramps)
Richard Hendrickson
On Jan 16, 2007, at 7:20 AM, coronadoscalemodels wrote:
argument here. Obviously it was possible to apply AB brakes to a Van
Dyke tank car, as is evidenced by the photo he cites. However, AFAIK
there are NO extant photos of Class V or VV tank cars in UTL revenue
service with AB brakes. Furthermore, all of the Van Dyke cars were off
the UTL roster by August, 1953, the AAR deadline requiring AB brakes on
all cars in interchange, and that's hardly a coincidence. By that time
the Van Dyke tank cars were between forty and fifty years old and the
mounting of AB equipment on them would have required cleaning the tanks
and drilling holes through the thick bottom sheets, as well as
fabricating the mountings themselves and the necessary plumbing,
certainly a more elaborate project than was required where there was a
center sill to which mountings could be bolted or welded, as on the
similar Class X cars. For economic reasons, UTL obviously decided to
retire the Class V and VV cars rather than equip them with AB brakes.
As for the car in the photo in my Santa Fe tank car book, its Arch Bar
trucks are proof that it left UTL ownership and went into MW service,
either on the Santa Fe or some smaller RR from which the Santa Fe
acquired it, at some time before the 1941 AAR ban on arch bar trucks in
interchange. So whoever put AB brakes on it, it wasn't UTL. Putting
AB brakes on a single car in MW service was a very different matter
from doing it on several hundred cars which were obsolete for revenue
service and approaching retirement age in any case.
Now, Stan, what was your point again?
Richard Hendrickson
If it was so difficult to convert a Van Dyke car to AB brakes, then whyFor some reason – I'm not sure why – Stan seems to be looking for an
did the quaint Santa Fe car shown on page 100 of "Santa Fe Tank Cars -
Vol. Five" (by Richard Hendrickson) have AB brakes? Did the Santa Fe
puchase this loan car with them, or did they spend the time and money
themselves to convert it to AB for work train service?
argument here. Obviously it was possible to apply AB brakes to a Van
Dyke tank car, as is evidenced by the photo he cites. However, AFAIK
there are NO extant photos of Class V or VV tank cars in UTL revenue
service with AB brakes. Furthermore, all of the Van Dyke cars were off
the UTL roster by August, 1953, the AAR deadline requiring AB brakes on
all cars in interchange, and that's hardly a coincidence. By that time
the Van Dyke tank cars were between forty and fifty years old and the
mounting of AB equipment on them would have required cleaning the tanks
and drilling holes through the thick bottom sheets, as well as
fabricating the mountings themselves and the necessary plumbing,
certainly a more elaborate project than was required where there was a
center sill to which mountings could be bolted or welded, as on the
similar Class X cars. For economic reasons, UTL obviously decided to
retire the Class V and VV cars rather than equip them with AB brakes.
As for the car in the photo in my Santa Fe tank car book, its Arch Bar
trucks are proof that it left UTL ownership and went into MW service,
either on the Santa Fe or some smaller RR from which the Santa Fe
acquired it, at some time before the 1941 AAR ban on arch bar trucks in
interchange. So whoever put AB brakes on it, it wasn't UTL. Putting
AB brakes on a single car in MW service was a very different matter
from doing it on several hundred cars which were obsolete for revenue
service and approaching retirement age in any case.
Now, Stan, what was your point again?
Richard Hendrickson