A modern tank car, owned by the Union Tank Car Company, passes westbound through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois on May 29, 2005.

A tank car on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin.

A tank car is a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry liquefied loads. Many variants exist due to the wide variety of liquids that can be transported. Tank cars can be insulated or non-insulated, pressurized or non-pressurized, and designed for single or multiple loads. Non-pressurized cars have plumbing at the bottom for unloading, and may have an access port and a dome, housing various valving on the top. Pressurized cars have a pressure plate, with all valving, and a protective cylindrical housing (dome) at the top. Loading and unloading are done through this opening. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 339 KB)UTLX 204455, a modern tank car in a westbound Union Pacific Railroad train passing through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois, on May 29, 2005. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 339 KB)UTLX 204455, a modern tank car in a westbound Union Pacific Railroad train passing through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois, on May 29, 2005. ... A UTLX tank car passes westbound through Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, Illinois on May 29, 2005. ... The Rochelle Railroad Park is a city park located in Rochelle, Illinois, where railfans can safely view and photograph trains. ... Rochelle is a city located in Ogle County, Illinois. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links A tank car on display at the Mid Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom, WI Photo by Sean Lamb (User:Slambo) October 10, 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links A tank car on display at the Mid Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom, WI Photo by Sean Lamb (User:Slambo) October 10, 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a heritage railway in North Freedom, Wisconsin. ... North Freedom is a village located in Sauk County, Wisconsin. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ...

Insulated cars (which may also incorporate heating or refrigeration systems) are used when the contents must be kept at a certain temperature. For example, the Linde tank car depicted below carries liquified argon. Cars designed for multiple loads have internal bulkheads to separate the contents. Each compartment must have separate plumbing and its own dome if so equipped. The added complexity of multiple-load cars means that they make up a small percentage of the tank car population. If two loads must be transported, it is often simpler to use two tank cars instead of a two-load car. General Name, Symbol, Number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 39. ...

In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand, tank cars are called cylinder wagons or tank wagons.

History

The narrow domes on these East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad tank cars mirror the designs of the first all-steel units. Image File history File links RR-1331. ... The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC), affectionately called the Tweetsie in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was a primarily narrow gauge railroad established in 1866 for the purpose of the serving the mines at Cranberry, North Carolina. ...

Texaco, Inc. (TCX) #723, a single-dome tank car designed for transporting gasoline, passes through Amarillo, Texas on April 4, 1936. Image File history File links OP-16236. ... Gasoline, also called petrol, is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzenes to increase octane ratings, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Nickname: The Yellow Rose of Texas, Helium Capital of the World, Rotor City USA Location within the state of Texas Coordinates: Country United States State Texas County Potter (and Randall) Mayor Debra McCartt Area    - City 233. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

This double-dome tank car has two separate interior tanks, which allow different products to be transported in the same car. Image File history File links OP-16233. ...

This unusual three-dome tank car has an oversized center dome. Image File history File links OP-19582. ...

Tank cars have always been specialized pieces of equipment. The interior of the car is usually lined with a material to isolate the car's structure from the contents, such as glass. Loading a liquid into a car that is designed to carry something else is unwise and sometimes dangerous. Even after a thorough cleaning, traces of the previous contents may remain. Loading a pesticide-carrying tank car with cooking oil is one example. The cooking oil will at best be unpalatable and at worst become toxic. Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with vegetable oil. ...

As a result of this specialization, tank cars have always been "one-way" cars. Other cars, like boxcars can easily be reloaded with other goods for the return trip. Combinations of the two types were attempted, such as boxcars with fluid tanks slung beneath the floors. While the car could certainly carry a load both directions, the limited size of the tanks made this style unsuccessful. A boxcar (the American term; the British call this kind of car a goods van) is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to hold freight. ...

Because of their one-way nature, tank cars are simply dead weight half of the time, making them unappealing to major railroads. Virtually all tank cars are owned by companies serviced by railroads instead of the railroads themselves. This can be verified by examining the reporting marks on the cars. These marks invariably end in X, meaning that the owner is not a common carrier. Reporting marks on two CP Rail covered hoppers passing Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, June 20, 2004. ... A common carrier is an organization that transports persons or goods, and offers its services to the general public. ...

Timeline

Chicago and Northwestern Railway tank car #6093 sits on a siding in Lusk, Wyoming on August 1, 1947.

A carro cisterno (tank car) of the Eritrean Railway (Ferrovia Eritrea, or FE), date unknown. The 2-axle car is 7,000 mm (23 feet) long, and has a 6,650 kg (14,660 lb) load capacity.

• 1865: Flats with banded wooden tanks mounted on top are employed for the first time to transport crude oil from the fields of Pennsylvania.
• 1869: Cast iron tanks (with an approximate capacity of 3,500 gallons / 13,200 l per car) replace wooden tanks.
• 1888: Tank car manufacturers sell units directly to the oil companies, with capacities ranging from 6,000 gallons to 10,000 gallons (22,700 l to 37,800 l).
• 1903: Tank car companies develop construction safety standards; more than 10,000 tank cars are in operation.
• 1915: A classification system is developed by the tank car industry to ensure the correct match of product being shipped to car type. Some 50,000 tank cars are in use.
• 1920: Welding technology replaces riveting in tank car construction, enhancing the safety of cars.
• 1930: 140,000 tank cars transport some 103 commodities (in addition to oil) to market.
• 1940s: Virtually every tank car is engaged in oil transport in support of the war effort.
• 1950: Pipelines and tanker trucks begin to compete for liquid transport business.
• 1963: The Union Tank Car Company (UTLX) introduces the "Whale Belly" tank car.

Image File history File links OP-3471. ... Image File history File links OP-3471. ... Lusk is a town located in Niobrara County, Wyoming. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Image File history File links Carro_cisterno_de_Ferrovie_Eritrea. ... Image File history File links Carro_cisterno_de_Ferrovie_Eritrea. ... The Eritrean Railway is the only railway system in the African nation of Eritrea (on the Red Sea coast between Sudan and Ethiopia, and independent from the latter in 1993). ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... A foot (plural: feet) is any of several old units of distance or length, measuring around a quarter to a third of a meter. ... The international prototype, made of platinum-iridium, which is kept at the BIPM under conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889. ... The pound is the name of a number of units of mass, all in the range of 300 to 600 grams. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

Specialized applications

Gas transport

Tank cars such as Canadian National Railway #51860, shown passing through Québec in August, 1937 were designed to transport industrial gases under high pressure.

This Linde gas tank car transports its cargo in liquid form, and is equipped with a refrigeration unit that prevents the contents from evaporating.

Image File history File links OP-20296. ... Image File history File links OP-20296. ... The Canadian National Railway (CN; AAR reporting marks CN, CNA, CNIS), known as Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Flower Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor Linné) Tree Yellow Birch Bird Snowy Owl Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Industrial gas is a group of gases that are commercially manufactured and sold for uses in other applications. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1524x709, 130 KB)Linde compressed gas tank car RAIX708. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1524x709, 130 KB)Linde compressed gas tank car RAIX708. ... Linde Logo The Linde Group (previously known as Linde AG) is an international company with three principal activity areas: industrial gases, plant engineering, and materials handling, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany. ...

Milk cars

Borden (BFIX) #520, a restored milk car on display at the Illinois Railway Museum.

A milk car is a specialized type of tank car designed to carry raw milk between farms and processing plants.
Image File history File links BFIX 520, a milk car preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. ... Image File history File links BFIX 520, a milk car preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. ... The only surviving EMD E5 is used regularly on the museums excursion trains, usually pulling the Nebraska Zephyr. ... A glass of cows milk Milk is the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). ...

Pickle cars

A pickle car is a specialized type of tank car designed to carry pickles. Look up pickle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Tanktainers

A Union Pacific Railroad "Bulktainer" and another container aboard a flatcar.

A tanktainer is a specialized type of container designed to carry bulk liquids on standard intermodal equipment. The tank is held within a box-shaped frame the same size and shape as a container.
Image File history File links Railroad_car_with_container_loads. ... Image File history File links Railroad_car_with_container_loads. ... The Union Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark UP) (NYSE: UNP) is the largest railroad in the United States. ... Shipping containers at a terminal in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. ... FEC 37066 passing Glen Haven, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River, is carrying two containers. ... Shipping containers at a terminal in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. ... An intermodal train carrying both shipping containers and highway semi-trailers in piggyback service, on flatcars, passes through the Cajon Pass in February, 1995. ...

Vinegar cars

Two double wooden-tank vinegar cars owned by the Speas Co. wait for their next assignment in Denver, Colorado circa 1965.

A vinegar car is a specialized type of tank car designed to transport vinegar. The largest such car built was built by Morrison Railway Supply Corporation in 1968. The car's underframe included all of the modern conveniences of freight car design including roller bearing trucks and cushioning devices built by FreightMaster, while the tank that rode on it, made of Douglas fir, could hold 17,100 gallons. The car, called the largest wooden tank car ever built, took 18 months to complete construction.^[1]
Image File history File links OP-16131. ... Image File history File links OP-16131. ... Nickname: The Mile-High City Location of Denver in Colorado, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area    - City 401. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Vinegar is often infused with spices or herbs—as here, with oregano. ... A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. ...

"Whale Belly" cars

GATX 96500, the largest railroad tank car ever built at 63,000 gallons capacity.

In the early 1960s, the Union Tank Car Company (UTLX) introduced a series of "whale belly" tank cars which offered increased capacity over the standard cars of the day. Capable of carrying 33,000 gallons (125,000 l) (for example CSOX #31084) to as much as 63,000 gallons (238,500 l) in the case of GATX #96500, which had been conceived as a 'rolling experiment' of sorts. The largest tank car ever placed into regular service, UTLX #83699, was rated at 50,000 (189,200 l) gallons, and is now on display at the Galveston Railroad Museum -- first hit the rails in 1963 and remained in service for over twenty years. This behemoth is 89 feet (27 m) in length and weighs 175,000 lb. (79,400 kg) empty; the car, which rides on four two-axle trucks to distribute the additional weight, was used to transport such diverse substances as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and anhydrous ammonia.
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x606, 113 KB) GATX 96500, the largest railroad tank car ever built at 63,000 gallons capacity. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x606, 113 KB) GATX 96500, the largest railroad tank car ever built at 63,000 gallons capacity. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... A UTLX tank car passes westbound through Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, Illinois on May 29, 2005. ... General American Transportation Corporation or GATX (the company changed their name to their most common reporting mark) is a railway equipment leasing company. ... Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG or LP Gas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing fluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ... An ionic crystal is said to be anhydrous if it contains no water. ... Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. ...

References

• History Of The Rail Tank Car. e-Train, the online magazine of the Train Collectors Association. Retrieved on December 3, 2005.
• White, Jr., John H. (1993). The American Railroad Freight Car. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. ISBN 0-8018-5236-6.

1. ^ (October 28, 1968) "Week at a glance: Vinegar by rail - in giant wooden tanks". Railway Age 165 (17): p 11.

December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Tank car

• Modern Tank Car Homepage

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...