1. Topics
  2. ammonia cars

ammonia cars

Clark Propst <cepropst@...>
 

A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars hauling ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?

What type of rural industry would have used ammonia? Cars were routed to SE MN.

Thanks,
Clark Propst
Bruce Smith
 

On Mon, October 24, 2005 8:10 pm, Clark Propst wrote:
A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars hauling
ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?

What type of rural industry would have used ammonia? Cars were routed to
SE MN.
Fertilizer! Agriculture is a huge user of Nitrogen and ammonia is a major
source.

Regards
Bruce

Bruce Smith
Auburn, AL
Gregg Mahlkov <mahlkov@...>
 

Clark,

Any sort of industry that would manufacture ice for its own use or for sale. The manufacture of ice using ammonia was invented just down the road from here by Dr. John Gorrie, in Apalachicola, FL.

Gregg Mahlkov

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clark Propst" <cepropst@...>
To: <STMFC@...>
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 9:10 PM
Subject: [STMFC] ammonia cars


A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars hauling ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?

What type of rural industry would have used ammonia? Cars were routed to SE MN.

Thanks,
Clark Propst






Yahoo! Groups Links
Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
 

Gregg Mahlkov wrote:
Any sort of industry that would manufacture ice for its own use or for sale.
The manufacture of ice using ammonia was invented just down the road from
here by Dr. John Gorrie, in Apalachicola, FL.
Gosh, all these years I understood it was invented in Germany in 1884. Can you tell us more about Dr. Gorrie?

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history
Richard Hendrickson
 

On Oct 24, 2005, at 6:10 PM, Clark Propst wrote:

A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars hauling ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?
Those would have been 10,500 or 11,000 gal. ICC-105 high pressure cars. Most were built to UTL's own designs, but AC&F sold some cars of AC&F design to UTL ca. 1947-'48, and UTL's AC&F cars are modeled in HO by Atlas. However, in all of the builder's photos I have of these cars, they were stenciled for LPG service only.

Richard Hendrickson
Gregg Mahlkov <mahlkov@...>
 

Tony,

See this URL about the state museum in Apalach:

http://www.floridastateparks.org/johngorriemuseum/default.cfm

Gregg Mahlkov

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Thompson" <thompson@...>
To: <STMFC@...>
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 9:30 PM
Subject: Re: [STMFC] ammonia cars


Gregg Mahlkov wrote:
Any sort of industry that would manufacture ice for its own use or for
sale.
The manufacture of ice using ammonia was invented just down the road
from
here by Dr. John Gorrie, in Apalachicola, FL.
Gosh, all these years I understood it was invented in Germany in
1884. Can you tell us more about Dr. Gorrie?

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history




Yahoo! Groups Links
Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
 

It's clear that Gorrie received the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration, but the first patent anywhere was issued to Jacob Perkins in 1834 by Great Britain (though Perkins was an American). Gorrie was also the first to patent a system using ammonia, though other gases were known to work the same way. Whether Gorrie knew about Perkins' invention seems unclear.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history
rockroll50401 <cepropst@...>
 

Thanks everybody. We were thinking fertilizer and the Atlas model.
Thanks again,
Clark Propst
Gatwood, Elden <Elden.Gatwood@...>
 

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

-----Original Message-----
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of
Richard Hendrickson
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 6:39 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: Re: [STMFC] ammonia cars

On Oct 24, 2005, at 6:10 PM, Clark Propst wrote:

A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars hauling
ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?
Those would have been 10,500 or 11,000 gal. ICC-105 high pressure cars.
Most were built to UTL's own designs, but AC&F sold some cars of AC&F
design to UTL ca. 1947-'48, and UTL's AC&F cars are modeled in HO by
Atlas. However, in all of the builder's photos I have of these cars,
they were stenciled for LPG service only.

Richard Hendrickson





Yahoo! Groups Links
Eric Mumper <eric.mumper@...>
 

A while ago Chet French posted lists for Wabash train 72 from
Forrest, Ill. to Streator, Ill. The list for 12/24/1954 shows:

SHPX 5585 ANHY AMON S/DOUG

The list for 12/28/1954 shows:

SHPX 2999 ANHY AMMON SMITH D

The cars were destined for the Smith-Douglass fertilizer plant in
Streator. This plant was built postwar on the site of an old brick
works.
If anyone knows what these cars are, I would appreciate it since I
have no way of looking that up.
The lists also show several boxcars of ammonium sulfate as well.

Eric Mumper

--- In STMFC@..., "Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@h...>
wrote:

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


-----Original Message-----
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On
Behalf Of
Richard Hendrickson
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 6:39 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: Re: [STMFC] ammonia cars

On Oct 24, 2005, at 6:10 PM, Clark Propst wrote:

A friend has some train lists with UTLX 90,000 series cars
hauling
ammonia.

Are there any models of this type of car?
Those would have been 10,500 or 11,000 gal. ICC-105 high pressure
cars.
Most were built to UTL's own designs, but AC&F sold some cars of
AC&F
design to UTL ca. 1947-'48, and UTL's AC&F cars are modeled in HO
by
Atlas. However, in all of the builder's photos I have of these
cars,
they were stenciled for LPG service only.

Richard Hendrickson





Yahoo! Groups Links
Fred Mitchell
 

--- In STMFC@..., "Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@h...>
wrote:

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.
I went to work for Lion Oil Company in January, 1953 and there were
many tank car loads of anhydrous ammonia being shipped from our plant
at that time. I'm not positive, but pretty sure that these cars were
non-insulated and therefore contained the NH3 at pressures up to
around 200 psi on hot days. Our cars had the designation LUX; I don't
know if they were owned or leased by Lion. We made 700 tons of NH3 on
a good day and a large part of this was sold and shipped in tank cars.
The rest went into ammonium nitrate pelleted fertilizer, ammonium
sulfate (crystalline, not powder) and nitrogen solutions which were a
form of liquid fertilizer.

About a year ago I realized that, even though I spent over 5 years
there and had the use of a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic, I did not have a
single picture of a Lion car. Richard Hendrickson was kind enough to
furnish several pictures from his collection, but apparently such
pictures are among the rarest of rail documentation. There was
nothing that I recall to distinguish them from any other single dome
tank car. I believe nitrogen solutions cars were insulated, and there
was some concern about what kind of temperature cycles were taking
place during shipment. I looked at placing a temperature recorder in
the liquid but this never got done.

Fred Mitchell
Gatwood, Elden <Elden.Gatwood@...>
 

Fred;
Thanks for that great information.

Are you saying that the anhydrous was shipped in regular
(un-pressurized) tank cars, which were uninsulated? So, it was an
unpressurized liquid in those days?

How was the palletized fertilizer shipped?

This would make a fascinating theme for a layout.

Thanks again!

Elden Gatwood


I went to work for Lion Oil Company in January, 1953 and there were
many tank car loads of anhydrous ammonia being shipped from our plant
at that time. I'm not positive, but pretty sure that these cars were
non-insulated and therefore contained the NH3 at pressures up to
around 200 psi on hot days. Our cars had the designation LUX; I don't
know if they were owned or leased by Lion. We made 700 tons of NH3 on
a good day and a large part of this was sold and shipped in tank cars.
The rest went into ammonium nitrate pelleted fertilizer, ammonium
sulfate (crystalline, not powder) and nitrogen solutions which were a
form of liquid fertilizer.

About a year ago I realized that, even though I spent over 5 years
there and had the use of a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic, I did not have a
single picture of a Lion car. Richard Hendrickson was kind enough to
furnish several pictures from his collection, but apparently such
pictures are among the rarest of rail documentation. There was
nothing that I recall to distinguish them from any other single dome
tank car. I believe nitrogen solutions cars were insulated, and there
was some concern about what kind of temperature cycles were taking
place during shipment. I looked at placing a temperature recorder in
the liquid but this never got done.

Fred Mitchell






Yahoo! Groups Links
Ed Hawkins
 

On Monday, October 31, 2005, at 12:22 PM, Eric Mumper wrote:

SHPX 5585 ANHY AMON S/DOUG
The list for 12/28/1954 shows:
SHPX 2999 ANHY AMMON SMITH D

The cars were destined for the Smith-Douglass fertilizer plant in
Streator.  This plant was built postwar on the site of an old brick
works.
If anyone knows what these cars are, I would appreciate it since I
have no way of looking that up.
Eric,
SHPX 5585 was one of 200 cars built in 1952, lot 3648, 11,000 gal.
50-ton ICC-105A400W assigned to series 5500-5699. A builder's photo of
5500 (built 5-52) shows a car leased to Mathieson and painted black
with a white dome. These cars essentially match the geometry of the
Atlas model. All cars in the series had steel open grid running boards.
I have not yet researched the AC&F bill of materials for this lot
number, so there's always a possibility that there may be cars leased
to other companies.

SHPX 2999 was one of 90 cars built late 1946 to early 1947, lot 3018,
11,000 gal. 50-ton ICC-105A300W assigned to series 2976-3065. The
builder's photo of 2978 (built 12-46) from the series shows a car
simply lettered for Shippers' Car Line with no lessee. These 90 cars
were painted entirely black with white stencils. Another 10 cars
assigned to series 3066-3075 were built under lot 3018A and the
builder's photo of 3075 (built 2-47) shows a car lettered for Shippers'
Car Line with small lessee stencils for Shell Chemical Corp. These 10
cars were identical to lot 3018, except that they had white domes. The
lot 3018/3018A cars had wood running boards and dome platform decks.
These cars were not of the same geometry as the lot 3648 cars. They
were nearly 4' longer, having 31'-8" truck centers, and the tank
diameter was smaller.
Regards,
Ed Hawkins
Fred Mitchell
 

--- In STMFC@..., "Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@h...> wrote:


Fred;
Thanks for that great information.

Are you saying that the anhydrous was shipped in regular
(un-pressurized) tank cars, which were uninsulated? So, it was an
unpressurized liquid in those days?

How was the palletized fertilizer shipped?

This would make a fascinating theme for a layout.

Thanks again!

Elden Gatwood


I didn't make my post clear. Anhydrous ammonia is very different
from "drugstore ammonia" and must be kept under pressure or it will
rapidly boil away, releasing unpleasant and dangerous vapor. My rough
guess is that the vapor pressure would reach about 200 psi if the
liquid got up to 100 degrees, which could happen in a black tank car
on a hot day. Some cars may have been insulated but they still had to
be capable of containing such pressure.

There is a very nice picture of a Lion car at:

http://www.steamfreightcars.com/gallery/tank/acf/lux2256main.html

As I recall, most cars were actually plain black though.

The ammonium nitrate fertilizer (pelletized, not palletized) was put
into 100 pound paper bags and loaded in 40 foot boxcars. Because we
were on a Missouri Pacific line, most empties we received were MOP,
and I remember them as being typically single sheathed composite cars.
All empties had to be carefully inspected for internal defects that
could damage bags. We probably rejected close to half the empties.
The loading crews had diagrams for stacking the bags according to the
weight ordered. This was specified by each customer. There was a
conveyor belt on a wheeled flexible frame which went right into the
car. When the load was complete, steel straps were nailed
horizontally across the car doors, about one foot apart up to the
highest bag level. Then the doors were closed and sealed. There were
always many damage claims no matter how careful we were with loading.

Our plant had its own little railroad system with a couple of 44
tonners or something like that, for shifting box and tank cars.

Ammonium sulfate loading was essentially done the same way.

The pelleted ammonium nitrate was produced in a "shot tower" in the
same way that shotgun pellets were made, except that the lead shot
would be dropped into water in the bottom. Our tower was about 20
feet square x 120 feet high with large blowers at the bottom sending
air up the shaft to "freeze" the molten droplets on the way down.
Then they had to be run through tumble drying and coated with a
talcum-like powder to try to prevent them from turning into 100 pound
lumps while being shipped and stored.

I believe the same process is still used today. Recently I got a tour
through the old plant: the "shot tower" was still in use, though they
don't make ammonia any longer, but buy it in tank cars from other
facilities. The old 1942 technology for NH3 production that I knew
has been long obsolete. The plant is facing severe price competition
from fertilizer imported from Ukraine today.
Fred Mitchell
Tony Thompson
 

Even for cargoes not loaded under great pressure, the ICC rules make clear that insulation is required to prevent excessive pressure fluctuations as temperature rises or falls. (Obviously the big concern is about the rising temperature.) One reason to try and reduce these pressure fluctuations is to avoid problems with relief valving (which of course cannot vent to atmosphere if cargo is poisonous).

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history
Gatwood, Elden <Elden.Gatwood@...>
 

Thanks for clarifying that, Fred. Great post!

Elden Gatwood

-----Original Message-----
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of
fredmit2000
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 6:00 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: ammonia cars

--- In STMFC@..., "Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@h...>
wrote:


Fred;
Thanks for that great information.

Are you saying that the anhydrous was shipped in regular
(un-pressurized) tank cars, which were uninsulated? So, it was an
unpressurized liquid in those days?

How was the palletized fertilizer shipped?

This would make a fascinating theme for a layout.

Thanks again!

Elden Gatwood


I didn't make my post clear. Anhydrous ammonia is very different
from "drugstore ammonia" and must be kept under pressure or it will
rapidly boil away, releasing unpleasant and dangerous vapor. My rough
guess is that the vapor pressure would reach about 200 psi if the
liquid got up to 100 degrees, which could happen in a black tank car
on a hot day. Some cars may have been insulated but they still had to
be capable of containing such pressure.

There is a very nice picture of a Lion car at:

http://www.steamfreightcars.com/gallery/tank/acf/lux2256main.html

As I recall, most cars were actually plain black though.

The ammonium nitrate fertilizer (pelletized, not palletized) was put
into 100 pound paper bags and loaded in 40 foot boxcars. Because we
were on a Missouri Pacific line, most empties we received were MOP,
and I remember them as being typically single sheathed composite cars.
All empties had to be carefully inspected for internal defects that
could damage bags. We probably rejected close to half the empties.
The loading crews had diagrams for stacking the bags according to the
weight ordered. This was specified by each customer. There was a
conveyor belt on a wheeled flexible frame which went right into the
car. When the load was complete, steel straps were nailed
horizontally across the car doors, about one foot apart up to the
highest bag level. Then the doors were closed and sealed. There were
always many damage claims no matter how careful we were with loading.

Our plant had its own little railroad system with a couple of 44
tonners or something like that, for shifting box and tank cars.

Ammonium sulfate loading was essentially done the same way.

The pelleted ammonium nitrate was produced in a "shot tower" in the
same way that shotgun pellets were made, except that the lead shot
would be dropped into water in the bottom. Our tower was about 20
feet square x 120 feet high with large blowers at the bottom sending
air up the shaft to "freeze" the molten droplets on the way down.
Then they had to be run through tumble drying and coated with a
talcum-like powder to try to prevent them from turning into 100 pound
lumps while being shipped and stored.

I believe the same process is still used today. Recently I got a tour
through the old plant: the "shot tower" was still in use, though they
don't make ammonia any longer, but buy it in tank cars from other
facilities. The old 1942 technology for NH3 production that I knew
has been long obsolete. The plant is facing severe price competition
from fertilizer imported from Ukraine today.
Fred Mitchell







Yahoo! Groups Links
Don Worthy
 

hey guys, that is, also, how kaolin or clay as we call it here in Gordon, Ga., was shipped in the 40s & 50s. It is still put in 50 and 55 lb. bags, even today. But, during the 60s, I think, bulk loading became more popular. Also, the technology to ship kaolin as a liquid had not been successful in the 40s and early 50s.
I'll bet that things such as fertilizer developed along the same lines. A lot of the way a product was shipped had to do with the customers method of handling it's various materials.
Sorry to jump in on your convo but, the discription of the bagged fertilizer was so much like our kaolin.
Don Worthy

"Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@...> wrote:
Thanks for clarifying that, Fred. Great post!

Elden Gatwood

-----Original Message-----
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of
fredmit2000
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 6:00 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: ammonia cars

--- In STMFC@..., "Gatwood, Elden" <Elden.Gatwood@h...>
wrote:


Fred;
Thanks for that great information.

Are you saying that the anhydrous was shipped in regular
(un-pressurized) tank cars, which were uninsulated? So, it was an
unpressurized liquid in those days?

How was the palletized fertilizer shipped?

This would make a fascinating theme for a layout.

Thanks again!

Elden Gatwood


I didn't make my post clear. Anhydrous ammonia is very different
from "drugstore ammonia" and must be kept under pressure or it will
rapidly boil away, releasing unpleasant and dangerous vapor. My rough
guess is that the vapor pressure would reach about 200 psi if the
liquid got up to 100 degrees, which could happen in a black tank car
on a hot day. Some cars may have been insulated but they still had to
be capable of containing such pressure.

There is a very nice picture of a Lion car at:

http://www.steamfreightcars.com/gallery/tank/acf/lux2256main.html

As I recall, most cars were actually plain black though.

The ammonium nitrate fertilizer (pelletized, not palletized) was put
into 100 pound paper bags and loaded in 40 foot boxcars. Because we
were on a Missouri Pacific line, most empties we received were MOP,
and I remember them as being typically single sheathed composite cars.
All empties had to be carefully inspected for internal defects that
could damage bags. We probably rejected close to half the empties.
The loading crews had diagrams for stacking the bags according to the
weight ordered. This was specified by each customer. There was a
conveyor belt on a wheeled flexible frame which went right into the
car. When the load was complete, steel straps were nailed
horizontally across the car doors, about one foot apart up to the
highest bag level. Then the doors were closed and sealed. There were
always many damage claims no matter how careful we were with loading.

Our plant had its own little railroad system with a couple of 44
tonners or something like that, for shifting box and tank cars.

Ammonium sulfate loading was essentially done the same way.

The pelleted ammonium nitrate was produced in a "shot tower" in the
same way that shotgun pellets were made, except that the lead shot
would be dropped into water in the bottom. Our tower was about 20
feet square x 120 feet high with large blowers at the bottom sending
air up the shaft to "freeze" the molten droplets on the way down.
Then they had to be run through tumble drying and coated with a
talcum-like powder to try to prevent them from turning into 100 pound
lumps while being shipped and stored.

I believe the same process is still used today. Recently I got a tour
through the old plant: the "shot tower" was still in use, though they
don't make ammonia any longer, but buy it in tank cars from other
facilities. The old 1942 technology for NH3 production that I knew
has been long obsolete. The plant is facing severe price competition
from fertilizer imported from Ukraine today.
Fred Mitchell







Yahoo! Groups Links








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D. Scott Chatfield
 

TT wrote:

Even for cargoes not loaded under great pressure, the ICC rules
make clear that insulation is required to prevent excessive pressure
fluctuations as temperature rises or falls.

Not so fast, Tony. From the late '50s into the early '70s a number of pressure tanks were built without themal jacketing, since it was felt the carbody was more than strong enough to resist the relatively minor change in pressure caused by ambient temperatures (compared to the starting pressure, which for anhydrous ammonia is about 10 atmospheres, if memory serves). What they didn't consider was how much the pressure would rise if the tank body was exposed to direct flame. This caused several catastrophic failures with loss of life and lots of media attention. In the late '70s a program was instituted to add jacketing and other safety features to large pressure tanks.

The the poster was talking about the late '50s, it could be some of those non-jacketed pressure tanks that he saw loaded. I don't recall any cases of pressure tanks loaded with anhydrous ammonia failing from flame impingement, but since the same cars are used to haul propane, they all had to be refitted.

Scott C
Tony Thompson
 

Scott Chatfield wrote:
Not so fast, Tony. From the late '50s into the early '70s a number of pressure tanks were built without themal jacketing, since it was felt the carbody was more than strong enough to resist the relatively minor change in pressure caused by ambient temperatures (compared to the starting pressure, which for anhydrous ammonia is about 10 atmospheres, if memory serves). What they didn't consider was how much the pressure would rise if the tank body was exposed to direct flame. This caused several catastrophic failures with loss of life and lots of media attention. In the late '70s a program was instituted to add jacketing and other safety features to large pressure tanks.
This is all true, Scott, though off the end of this list's time period. During most or nearly all of the time covered on this list, I will stand by my statement.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history
Chet French <cfrench@...>
 

--- In STMFC@..., "Eric Mumper" <eric.mumper@m...> wrote:

A while ago Chet French posted lists for Wabash train 72 from
Forrest, Ill. to Streator, Ill. The list for 12/24/1954 shows:

SHPX 5585 ANHY AMON S/DOUG

The list for 12/28/1954 shows:

SHPX 2999 ANHY AMMON SMITH D

The cars were destined for the Smith-Douglass fertilizer plant in
Streator. This plant was built postwar on the site of an old brick
works.
If anyone knows what these cars are, I would appreciate it since I
have no way of looking that up. <snip>

I went back through the switch lists for December 1954 and January 1955
and found that the following cars of anhydrous ammonia moved up the
Wabash's Streator branch to the Smith Douglass fertilizer plant at
Streator.
12-1954
SHPX 5590 mty to Council Bluffs
SHPX 5525 mty to Toledo
NDX 10146 mty to Council Bluffs
USAX 8556 mty to Toledo
GATX 77668 mty to Toledo
SHPX 1715 mty to Council Bluffs
SHPX 5505 mty to Toledo
SHPX 5585 mty to Toledo
SHPX 2999
SASX 1133

1-1955
SHPX 3776
UTLX 94664
NDX 10146
WRNX 10035
GATX 67364
SHPX 2992
CSVX 332

Here are the owners of the cars with the not so familiar reporting
marks.

NDX - Nitrogen Div., Allied Chemical & Dye Corp.
USAX - Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of Transportation,
Railway Transport Service Div.
SASX - Southern Acid & Sulphur Co. Inc. (Mathieson Chemical Corp.)
WRNX - Warren Petroleum Corp.
CSVX - Commercial Solvents Corp.

I also checked the almost 8000 cars on the IC to the Milwaukee
interchange at North Forreston, IL, CD that Ted Richardson was selling
at Naperville. This covered the time frame of Sept. 1950 to mid 1952,
and not one tank car of anhydrous ammonia showed up on the setout lists.

Chet French
Dixon,IL
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