6,000 Gal. Tank Car Circa 1906
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Charles Greene
I'd like to find better photos of the subject car than the one I've attached. It's from the 1906 Car Builders' Cyclopedia. I'm in the process of improving the detail on a Roundhouse HO model of it, e.g. changing parts to bring them closer to scale, adding missing detail. The Cyclopedia's drawings of the car are helpful, but they don't show all the detail. The attached 3/4 view photo provides some visual info, but I'd like to see broadside and end views in less, or no, shadow if available. I've searched some of Lib. of Con.'s tank car photo collections, but haven't found this particular car design. I've seen a photo of The Mid-Continent Railway museum's car, but it appears to have been enlarged at some point in its life and possibly had other modifications done as well. The car I have is 27 scale ft. long with a scale capacity of 6,000 gal.
-Chuck 
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Someone on Shapeways has a correct sized frame and walkway for kitbashing the MDC old timers tank car into this prototype.
Doug Harding https://www.facebook.com/douglas.harding.3156/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8X8Yb8NEAZqbZjHT5z0sA
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Charles Greene
Sent: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 7:34 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: [RealSTMFC] 6,000 Gal. Tank Car Circa 1906
I'd like to find better photos of the subject car than the one I've attached. It's from the 1906 Car Builders' Cyclopedia. I'm in the process of improving the detail on a Roundhouse HO model of it, e.g. changing parts to bring them closer to scale, adding missing detail. The Cyclopedia's drawings of the car are helpful, but they don't show all the detail. The attached 3/4 view photo provides some visual info, but I'd like to see broadside and end views in less, or no, shadow if available. I've searched some of Lib. of Con.'s tank car photo collections, but haven't found this particular car design. I've seen a photo of The Mid-Continent Railway museum's car, but it appears to have been enlarged at some point in its life and possibly had other modifications done as well. The car I have is 27 scale ft. long with a scale capacity of 6,000 gal. |
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Kenneth Montero
This is a link to a UTLX frameless tank car in Precision Scale's HO freight/passenger car catalog:
Doe this help?
Ken Montero
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I have attached a side view of the same car. It is the best that I have. I would refer you to the UTLX book for the details, but it is still currently out of print at Speedwitch Media. Ted does promise more copies coming.
Doug Harding is correct. The MDC tank is OK, but the cast underframe is quite oversize.
Here us a slide from a 2018 program that I did showing the MDC tank on the Shapeways underframe.
I hope that these are helpful. Yes, prior to the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911, UTL tank cars were painted red, not black. I believe that K4 now has a set of decals appropriate for this car.
Steve Hile
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Charles Greene
I'd like to find better photos of the subject car than the one I've attached. It's from the 1906 Car Builders' Cyclopedia. I'm in the process of improving the detail on a Roundhouse HO model of it, e.g. changing parts to bring them closer to scale, adding missing detail. The Cyclopedia's drawings of the car are helpful, but they don't show all the detail. The attached 3/4 view photo provides some visual info, but I'd like to see broadside and end views in less, or no, shadow if available. I've searched some of Lib. of Con.'s tank car photo collections, but haven't found this particular car design. I've seen a photo of The Mid-Continent Railway museum's car, but it appears to have been enlarged at some point in its life and possibly had other modifications done as well. The car I have is 27 scale ft. long with a scale capacity of 6,000 gal. 
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Charles Greene
Thanks, everyone, for references to the correct Shapeways design and scale size frame and walkway, Precision Scale's drawing, and the side view photo of the prototype car. When I found the tank, dome and relief valve dimensions to be correct, as well as the length of the frame (well, almost...it's 6 in. too long), I was just about satisfied that the only work needed was scaling down the grab irons, hand rail, relief valve spring adjustment tab and ladders to size and replacing hand rail stanchions. Now I see that the frame's height and width are too large. I wonder if Roundhouse' intent there was to beef it up to provide extra weight to keep the car stable. |
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Andy Laurent
I ordered one of the Shapeways frames last year, and it arrived warped too badly to use. Is there a way to straighten such a part? Also, the space for a coupler is VERY small, what did people use?
Andy L. Madison WI |
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J. Craig Whitcomb
Have you tried contacting shapeways about the problem? I had a problem with a part, and they replaced the whole works. J. Whitcomb I ordered one of the Shapeways frames last year, and it arrived warped too badly to use. Is there a way to straighten such a part? Also, the space for a coupler is VERY small, what did people use? |
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Chuck,
The car was done back in 2013, so my memory may not be complete.
The fussiest thing was mounting a coupler inside the frame. I had to drill a hole in the shank of a Kadee coupler and shorten it.
I don’t recall about weight, but I may have shaped and glued a small piece of lead sheet inside the bottom of the tank. The tank bands graft a styrene rod to a styrene strip.
Some of the smaller details including the hand rail supports and the mounting of the brake wheel shaft came from the Precision Scale tank car kit. The KC brake is Tichy.
I don’t recall all of the situations, but I have/had several of the Precision scale kits and may have appropriated some parts for one of them for this project.
I hope this information is helpful.
Steve Hile
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Charles Greene
Thanks, everyone, for references to the correct Shapeways design and scale size frame and walkway, Precision Scale's drawing, and the side view photo of the prototype car. When I found the tank, dome and relief valve dimensions to be correct, as well as the length of the frame (well, almost...it's 6 in. too long), I was just about satisfied that the only work needed was scaling down the grab irons, hand rail, relief valve spring adjustment tab and ladders to size and replacing hand rail stanchions. Now I see that the frame's height and width are too large. I wonder if Roundhouse' intent there was to beef it up to provide extra weight to keep the car stable. |
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John
The 3D printed frame for the Roundhouse tank car was designed by Bill MacIndoe of the Early Rail group after much discussion of it on that group. He followed the plans in the 1906 CBD. I’ve attached the sheet of assembly tips he provides on his Shapeways store. MDC 26 Ft Tank Car Frame (1:87) (T6Y3BXVEP) by macindoe1 (shapeways.com) The coupler is fussy to install because the scale width frame makes for a very tight pocket. The intended coupler is a Kadee #158 modified as shown. Two knuckle springs provide centering. On my build I found that the springs got tangled up in each other so I added a divider to the cover plate to separate them. This coupler arrangement may not be ideal but it seems to get the job done. Andy and Chuck: The frame is designed to accept lengths of 1/8” square keystock for weight. At least one modeler on the Early Rail group has also reported receiving a warped frame. If you can’t get any satisfaction from Shapeways, try installing the frame weights. They can help to straighten it out. And if you are willing to remove the printed brake levers, (and then make up your own to add back later) you can install one long piece of keystock for weight. That will do a better job of straightening the frame. I’ve attached a couple photos of my build along with the finished car, prior to lettering. I had intended to use Art Griffin decals for UTL 12910 but it turned out that they were too big to fit. Now I’ve got the K4 decals so the next step is to apply them. John Bopp Farmington Hills MI Modeling the Nineteen Aughts |
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Clark Propst
I built one of using the Shapeways frame. I remember hearing there was also a walkway sold by them, but I was unable to find it, so I made my own. Is there was walkway and does someone have a link to it?
You guy's models are very nice. Thanks for sharing your work. Clark |
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Jeffrey White
Clark here is the link: I hunted it down and ordered one last night after reading this thread. Jeff White Alma IL On 2/5/2022 9:05 AM, Clark Propst via
groups.io wrote:
I built one of using the Shapeways frame. I remember hearing there was also a walkway sold by them, but I was unable to find it, so I made my own. Is there was walkway and does someone have a link to it? |
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kevinhlafferty
Very nice looking car John. Did you use the Shapeway’s walkway or is that the MDC walkway? Also, did any of these cars make it into the AB brake era?
Kevin Lafferty
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of John
The 3D printed frame for the Roundhouse tank car was designed by Bill MacIndoe of the Early Rail group after much discussion of it on that group. He followed the plans in the 1906 CBD. I’ve attached the sheet of assembly tips he provides on his Shapeways store. MDC 26 Ft Tank Car Frame (1:87) (T6Y3BXVEP) by macindoe1 (shapeways.com) The coupler is fussy to install because the scale width frame makes for a very tight pocket. The intended coupler is a Kadee #158 modified as shown. Two knuckle springs provide centering. On my build I found that the springs got tangled up in each other so I added a divider to the cover plate to separate them. This coupler arrangement may not be ideal but it seems to get the job done. Andy and Chuck: The frame is designed to accept lengths of 1/8” square keystock for weight. At least one modeler on the Early Rail group has also reported receiving a warped frame. If you can’t get any satisfaction from Shapeways, try installing the frame weights. They can help to straighten it out. And if you are willing to remove the printed brake levers, (and then make up your own to add back later) you can install one long piece of keystock for weight. That will do a better job of straightening the frame. I’ve attached a couple photos of my build along with the finished car, prior to lettering. I had intended to use Art Griffin decals for UTL 12910 but it turned out that they were too big to fit. Now I’ve got the K4 decals so the next step is to apply them. John Bopp Farmington Hills MI Modeling the Nineteen Aughts |
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Charles Greene
Steve,
Thanks for the extra photos and details re the hand brake, tank bands and coupler. Very helpful for my mods to the car. I'd like to see a prototype that might have been saved. The IRM in Union, IL is close to me and has a lot of rolling stock, but don't think it has one of these cars. -Chuck |
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Charles Greene
John,
Thanks for the photos and assembly tips sheet. The brass key stock is a clever idea for weight. All these details result in a nice model! -Chuck |
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UTLX had cars built to this Class X design into the mid 19 teens in capacities of 6500, 8000 and 10000 gallons. The MDC/Shapeways combo represent some of the earliest designs, circa 1905 and 6000 gallons. So, those cars would be pushing 50 years of service when it came time to converted to AB brakes, and so, probably relatively few were converted. However, quite a few of these Class X cars were subsequently converted to AB brakes and photos are available from sellers, like Bob’s Photos or in the UTLX book (shameless plug) from Speedwitch.
Steve
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of kevinhlafferty
Sent: Saturday, February 5, 2022 11:52 AM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] 6,000 Gal. Tank Car Circa 1906
Very nice looking car John. Did you use the Shapeway’s walkway or is that the MDC walkway? Also, did any of these cars make it into the AB brake era?
Kevin Lafferty
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of John
The 3D printed frame for the Roundhouse tank car was designed by Bill MacIndoe of the Early Rail group after much discussion of it on that group. He followed the plans in the 1906 CBD. I’ve attached the sheet of assembly tips he provides on his Shapeways store. MDC 26 Ft Tank Car Frame (1:87) (T6Y3BXVEP) by macindoe1 (shapeways.com) The coupler is fussy to install because the scale width frame makes for a very tight pocket. The intended coupler is a Kadee #158 modified as shown. Two knuckle springs provide centering. On my build I found that the springs got tangled up in each other so I added a divider to the cover plate to separate them. This coupler arrangement may not be ideal but it seems to get the job done. Andy and Chuck: The frame is designed to accept lengths of 1/8” square keystock for weight. At least one modeler on the Early Rail group has also reported receiving a warped frame. If you can’t get any satisfaction from Shapeways, try installing the frame weights. They can help to straighten it out. And if you are willing to remove the printed brake levers, (and then make up your own to add back later) you can install one long piece of keystock for weight. That will do a better job of straightening the frame. I’ve attached a couple photos of my build along with the finished car, prior to lettering. I had intended to use Art Griffin decals for UTL 12910 but it turned out that they were too big to fit. Now I’ve got the K4 decals so the next step is to apply them. John Bopp Farmington Hills MI Modeling the Nineteen Aughts |
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John
Thanks, Kevin.
Yes I used the printed walkway. It is a big upgrade over the Roundhouse version. And, yes, some of these cars did get AB brakes but this was long after my period of modeling interest so I can't provide any details. John Bopp Farmington Hills MI Modeling the Nineteen Aughts |
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From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Steve and Barb Hile
Sent: Saturday, February 5, 2022 12:50 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] 6,000 Gal. Tank Car Circa 1906
UTLX had cars built to this Class X design into the mid 19 teens in capacities of 6500, 8000 and 10000 gallons. The MDC/Shapeways combo represent some of the earliest designs, circa 1905 and 6000 gallons. So, those cars would be pushing 50 years of service when it came time to converted to AB brakes, and so, probably relatively few were converted. However, quite a few of these Class X cars were subsequently converted to AB brakes and photos are available from sellers, like Bob’s Photos or in the UTLX book (shameless plug) from Speedwitch.
Steve
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of kevinhlafferty
Very nice looking car John. Did you use the Shapeway’s walkway or is that the MDC walkway? Also, did any of these cars make it into the AB brake era?
Kevin Lafferty
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of John
The 3D printed frame for the Roundhouse tank car was designed by Bill MacIndoe of the Early Rail group after much discussion of it on that group. He followed the plans in the 1906 CBD. I’ve attached the sheet of assembly tips he provides on his Shapeways store. MDC 26 Ft Tank Car Frame (1:87) (T6Y3BXVEP) by macindoe1 (shapeways.com) The coupler is fussy to install because the scale width frame makes for a very tight pocket. The intended coupler is a Kadee #158 modified as shown. Two knuckle springs provide centering. On my build I found that the springs got tangled up in each other so I added a divider to the cover plate to separate them. This coupler arrangement may not be ideal but it seems to get the job done. Andy and Chuck: The frame is designed to accept lengths of 1/8” square keystock for weight. At least one modeler on the Early Rail group has also reported receiving a warped frame. If you can’t get any satisfaction from Shapeways, try installing the frame weights. They can help to straighten it out. And if you are willing to remove the printed brake levers, (and then make up your own to add back later) you can install one long piece of keystock for weight. That will do a better job of straightening the frame. I’ve attached a couple photos of my build along with the finished car, prior to lettering. I had intended to use Art Griffin decals for UTL 12910 but it turned out that they were too big to fit. Now I’ve got the K4 decals so the next step is to apply them. John Bopp Farmington Hills MI Modeling the Nineteen Aughts |
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Thomas Evans <tomkevans@...>
Charles,
I seem to remember that there might be some of these cars in Colorado (perhaps at the Cumbres & Toltec, perhaps elsewhere) converted to narrow gauge so with different trucks, but otherwise pretty original. Corrections welcome! Tom E. |
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Thomas Evans <tomkevans@...>
I looked again. There are cars of this type at the Cumbres & Toltec & at the Colorado Railroad Museum, BUT they have new & wider frames, so are considerably different from what they originally were.
Tom E. |
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Dennis Storzek <dennis@...>
On Sat, Feb 5, 2022 at 06:15 PM, Thomas Evans wrote:
I seem to remember that there might be some of these cars in Colorado (perhaps at the Cumbres & Toltec, perhaps elsewhere) converted to narrow gauge so with different trucks, but otherwise pretty original. Corrections welcome!As someone just said, those are the 6500 gal. cars, while MDC followed the drawings in the 1906 CBD, which are of the earlier 6000 gal. car. They are similar, but not exactly the same. Dennis Storzek |
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