Eastern Railroad Discussion > Tank train

In January, 2005, I got a few pictures of some GATX "Tank Train" tank cars in Kingsport, TN. They were parked near the heavy industrial section, close to the Eastman Chemical plant and the Holston Army Ammunition Plant. I remember the cars being there for a few weeks, then they were gone. I try to railfan Kingsport about once a month, but have never seen the Tank Train again.

Does the Tank Train still exist? If so, where is it used?

Was (or is) GATX Corporation the exclusive owner of the "Tank Train" name and process?

For those of you that may not know what I'm talking about, check out the attached picture. The "Tank Train" is a group of tank cars coupled together and connected by hoses. All the cars were used for the same product, and the hose connections allowed all the cars to be filled and emptied from one main connection.

Please forgive me for the poor picture quality: Strictly amateur railfan and photographer, cheap camera, and bad weather.

Jimmie Fisher
Oriental, NC
Flickr

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GATX was indeed the creator of the TankTrain concept, and I think they had a patent on it.

The best known TankTrain service was the run over Tehachapi Pass from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, which ran in the 1980s and 1990s. After a pipeline replaced that operation, the "Oil Cans" became the "Coast Cans", running from a terminal south of San Jose to the L.A. basin. I don't hear too much about these trains any more -- for a time it seemed like the Western board documented every trip -- so I'm thinking they may no longer run, but I'd be happy to be corrected.

CN currently runs a TankTrain of gasoline in eastern Quebec, linking a refinery near Quebec City with a distribution terminal near Montreal. This, too, is expected to be displaced by pipeline construction. Another TankTrain corridor runs between the Port of Albany, N.Y., and Burlington, Vermont. Conrail used to run a TankTrain between Albany and an oil-fired power plant at Oswego, N.Y., but that traffic is long gone.

What those TankTrain cars were doing in Tennessee, I couldn't tell you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/10 07:55 by toledopatch.

We used to have a regular tank train that ran through Fort Wayne from Chicago on the NKP. At times it had a ratty old two bay covered hopper as a spacer behind the engines that still had the original Wabash lettering on it. I haven't seen that train in several years.

Was the "TankTrain" used mainly for petroleum products, or were chemicals moved in them as well? I don't know why this one was in Kingsport, it was in one place for several weeks before I photographed the cars, then moved not long after that.

There is no petroleum refining or distribution in Kingsport that I know of, everything petrol is pipelined in to regional distribution centers as far as I know. So I doubt that any petroleum product was in the train.

As I stated, the cars were near a large industrial area that includes Eastman Chemical, which has a large plant and the corporate headquarters there. Other plants include a compressed gas plant (Airgas?) and the Holston AAP. Is it possible the cars were carrying some type of large-quantity chemical?

There is a very large rail complex in the industrial area, but absolutely no place to railfan or take pictures, not to mention security concerns.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GATX was indeed the creator of the TankTrain
> concept, and I think they had a patent on it.
>
> The best known TankTrain service was the run over
> Tehachapi Pass from Bakersfield to Los Angeles,
> which ran in the 1980s and 1990s. After a pipeline
> replaced that operation, the "Oil Cans" became the
> "Coast Cans", running from a terminal south of San
> Jose to the L.A. basin. I don't hear too much
> about these trains any more -- for a time it
> seemed like the Western board documented every
> trip -- so I'm thinking they may no longer run,
> but I'd be happy to be corrected.
>
> CN currently runs a TankTrain of gasoline in
> eastern Quebec, linking a refinery near Quebec
> City with a distribution terminal near Montreal.
> This, too, is expected to be displaced by pipeline
> construction. Another TankTrain corridor runs
> between the Port of Albany, N.Y., and Burlington,
> Vermont. Conrail used to run a TankTrain between
> Albany and an oil-fired power plant at Oswego,
> N.Y., but that traffic is long gone.
>
> What those TankTrain cars were doing in Tennessee,
> I couldn't tell you.

Jimmie Fisher
Oriental, NC
Flickr

The only commodities I know to have been handled by TankTrains are petroleum products -- crude oil, fuel oil, or gasoline.

In 1988, I saw a GATX Tank Train hauling phosphoric acid through Valdosta, GA on the NS. The tank cars were smaller acid tank cars than the petroleum tanks associated with the oil cans.

frankg290 Wrote:
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> In 1988, I saw a GATX Tank Train hauling
> phosphoric acid through Valdosta, GA on the NS.
> The tank cars were smaller acid tank cars than the
> petroleum tanks associated with the oil cans.


And they had connecting hoses/pipes? I've seen solid GATX trains of various acids, but not actual TankTrains.

toledopatch Wrote:
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> And they had connecting hoses/pipes? I've seen
> solid GATX trains of various acids, but not actual
> TankTrains.


Yes.

Frank is right. They ran from the Occidental Phosphate plant on the old Palatka, FL branch, up to Valdosta and down to Jaxport in Jacksonville. They ran this train every day. It looked just about like the car photographed in the beginning of this thread, only shorter. I worked a T&S gang down there and we had to clear up for it every day around lunch.
Hank in AL



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/10 22:13 by georgiaroad.

The oil cans certainly do run in California, generally twice a week from Wunpost to the LA Harbor and return. Movements are posted on headupcoastfans and other boards.

A short-haul tank train used to run between the Amoco refinery in Whiting, IN to Conrail's yard in Elkhart
with diesel fuel for the locomotive fueling facility. This was at least until 1995.

I believe this was replaced by a pipeline laid along the CR mainline.

Hey I saw some of these up at Stockton Tower, Stockton CA. Dated 12-19-09 during the CalRailfan meet.

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Thanks, SP, they seem to still be running.

Jimmie Fisher
Oriental, NC
Flickr