On Nov 19, 2009, at 2:41 PM, Anthony Thompson wrote:

Frank Greene wrote:

Who was this tank car's builder and type? I think it's safe to say
the trucks were changed and brakes converted from a K type to an AB
type. Would it have had the high running board and inboard hand rail?
http://tinyurl.com/yjywtus

As Richard Hendrickson often says, this bolster is an
unmistakeable spotting feature: it's Standard Tank Car Company's
signature. Cars like this WERE built by STC with high running boards,
so this could be original. And duplicating this weathering
accumulation would be challenging but fun.

I will add that a sizable number of STC cars were built during the
first couple of years of tank car construction (approximately
1916-1918) with high running boards like this car, and I have
photographic evidence that many of them continued in service into the
1950s and even the 1960s. The L&N company service car shown in the
photo was obviously second hand (or perhaps even third or fourth
hand) and, as Frank says, had been converted to AB brakes and modern
trucks (the original trucks would have been arch bars or Andrews).
The high running boards and handrails were original. Many railroads
(including, obviously, the L&N) purchased older tank cars in the
1950s when the advent of diesel locomotives created a demand for
diesel fuel cars.


Richard Hendrickson