Peter's Model Railroading | My Library | Magazine Categories
Freight Cars - Tank Cars Articles

2 Rail a Rail King-MTH Tank Car

The author converts an MTH tank car, designed for three-rail use, into one that is compatible with two-rail track.

8,000 Gallon Tank Car

The author shows how he detailed the Intermountain car and applied some realistic weathering to it.

A Tale of Two 1:20.3 Scale Tank Cars

An accurate model of the West Side Lumber Co. #2 tank car. Includes prototype, model, and construction photos.

AC&F Type 21 Tank Cars Part II

This installment covers 10,000-gallon cars from Proto 2000. Includes many prototype and model photos.

Adding Weight to Tank Cars

How to insert sand to add invisible weight to tank cars.

ADMX 29194: Modeling a Modern Tank Car

Prototype and model photos accompany this article about how the author took two MDC tank car kits to create a model of this car. A parts list and brake rigging diagram are also included.

American Flyer Tank Car Frames

The author describes some A.C. Gilbert AF trucks and their couplers used on the company's tank cars. Includes photos.

An 8000-gallon Tank Car in HO Scale

Model and prototype photos are part of this article on how to model a common steam-era oil hauler.

Bridgton & Saco River RR Tank Car 22

Prototype photos and scale drawings accompany this article about the 2-foot-gauge tank car.

Bromine Tank Car

This brief article describes the prototype car, which includes one prototype photo and scaled drawings.

Build a 1915 Pennzoil Tank Car

This article describes how to build a three-domed "old-timer" tank car. The tank is only just under 28 feet long, so it requires quite a bit of kitbashing to build this model. Article includes detail diagrams and one model photo; no prototype photos.

Build a Bromine Car

The author described how he scratchbuilt this short tank car. The article contains lots of construction photos and diagrams, as well as a parts list.

Build Two Small NATX Tank Cars Part I

The author describes how he built set of 4,000-gallon tank cars. This first installment describes how he built a two-dome tank car. Includes detail diagrams, construction photos, and prototype photos.

Build Two Small NATX Tank Cars Part II

This installment covers building a three-dome tank car. Includes prototype and scale photos, and detail drawings.

Building the TM8 (AC&F Type11) Tank Car

The author describes how he built this model using a Funaro and Camerlengo model. Includes only model photos.

Building USRA Tank Cars

The author shows how he built a one-dome and two-dome tank car from commercial plastic kits. Includes an exploded view of the parts that make up a tank car.

CGTX 10,000-gallon Tank Car

The author describes how he modified the Tichy tank car kit to model one of this size. The article also includes some prototype information, which was not easy to acquire.

Corn Syrup Tank Cars Part 6

The Trinity 17,600 gallon, 100-ton corn syrup design.

Detailing a Walthers Tank Car

The author describes how he changed the Walthers kit to make a Union Tank Car Co. model.

Detailing an Intermountain Tank Car

The author describes what he did to superdetail this car and setting it up to the Proto:48 standard. Includes model photos and a parts list.

Double-tank Vinegar Car

Scale drawings, many prototype and model construction photos accompany this article about how to model a vinegar transport car. Since vinegar is corrosive, it is transported in wooden tanks.

Essential Freight Cars 12

This installment covers the UTLX class X-3 tank cars. Includes prototype photos. The last half of the article is about modeling this car in HO-scale.

Essential Freight Cars 45

This installment covers the AC&F Type 11 tank cars. First built in 1911, thousands of these cars saw service on the nation's rails. The first part of the article covers the prototype and contains several photos. The second half of the article covers the construction of such a tank car, where the author describes how he scratchbuilt one.

Hazardous Cargo!

The article describes how hazardous cargo is transported and how that can be modeled.

High Pressure Tank Cars

A photo essay of many prototype tank cars. The last photo is of an HO-scale model by Tony Thompson.

Improving a Steam Era Tank Car Model

The author describes how he corrected and super-detailed the Des Plaines Hobbies/S Scale America single-dome tank car. Includes a tip on how to cut and install rivets made by Tichy. In addition to many photos, the article also contains a parts list. Includes a side bar on the history of mid-20th century tank cars.

Jones & Laughlin Tank Car

The author briefly describes how he converted an American Flyer tank car, with some added parts from his scrap box, to build another Jones & Laughlin car matching his NWSL brass one.

Kitbashing Tank Car 22

The author scratchbuilts a flat car, which is then converted to a tank car using two AHM HO-scale tank cars. Includes a materials list and model construction photos.

Kitbashing Three MDC Tank Cars

The author describes how he built a chlorine, acid, and general service tank cars. Includes model and prototype photos.

Modeler's Guide to Transition-era Tank Cars

Various tank car designs are described, many of which have an accompanying prototype or model photo with it. There is a chart on how a particular tank car can be modeled in either N-, HO-, or O-scale. A chart on the AAR tank car designations is also included.

Modeling Less-common Tank Cars

Kitbashing and scratchbuilding were needed to build a unique tank car. Details construction photos accompany the article, as well as a parts list.

Modern General-service Tank Cars

Prototype photos, scale drawings, and detailed information about modern tank cars.

Narrow Budget Narrow Gauge

The Westside Lumber Company tank car #2. Covers the "tank only" kit from Rio Grande Models to be mounted on one of their 28-foot flat cars. It also covers the P-B-L brass model.

P.B.L. U.T.L.X. Narrow Frame Tank Car

The author does a review of the construction of this kit.

President's Message

A behind-the-scenes description of the people involved in creating the NASG's brass tank car project.

Restoring a Vintage Tank Car

The author describes how he restored this old tank car.

Scale Scene

The author converts a Bachmann On30 tank car into a freelanced S-scale model, but the article is mostly about converting Bachmann trucks for use in S.

Shell Tankcar Remodel

The author finds an old A.F. tank car in a junk sale, and repaints it for "Soylent Green".

Still Some Kansas City Kits

The author mentions that Kansas City Kits can still be found, which kinds of kits, and he briefly describes building a two-dome tank car kit.

Tank Car Kit Swap

The author describes he process for wanting a tank car that is not available in HO-scale, by combining parts from several produced models. Includes prototype and model photos, including construction detail photos, such as how to get the dome to fit the body. Also included is a parts list.

Tank Car Qualification Stencils

New safety tests and lettering for tank cars. Prototype photos.

Tank Car Types and Uses

A brief article on how tank cars developed over the decades, and how they were used.

Tank Cars Part 2

This installment covers non-pressure tank cars, and the available HO-scale models.

The ACF 8000 Gallon Tank Car

This article introduces the NASG's next brass car project, the American Car & Foundry's 8000-gallon tank car, to be produced in 5 different versions, built by Ajin of Korea, and to be imported by Overland Models. Scale drawings appear on page 7.

Two Typical Tank Cars

This article only covers prototype tank cars, and describes the early standardization of tank cars. Contains photos and scaled drawings.

Union Tank Car Corn Syrup Car

A one-page scaled drawing with some specs on this 27-foot car.

USRA Standard Tank Cars

A brief history, prototype photos, and scaled drawings of this 8,000-gallon tank car.

UTLX Tank Car

After describing the prototype, the author covers modifications that can be made to the Tichy Train Group model of this car. Includes many model photographs.

West Side Lumber Co. Coffin Tank Car No. 5

The author describes how he built this V&T kit. Includes two photos of the completed model.

What's On Your Workbench Today?

The author shares a couple of completed 10,000-gallon tank cars built from Concept Models' kits.

What's the AF Tank Car Based On?

The author traces the roots of the A.C. Gilbert AF tank cars. Includes scaled drawings, and several AF model photos.