Model Railroading > New from Tangent: Acid-Hauling Tanks!

Tangent Scale Models is proud to introduce new production for our stunning General American 8,000 Gallon Acid Tank Car with Welded Underframe.  Following World War II, specialized liquid shippers requested new special duty tank cars, and General American Transportation Corporation met their demands by producing specific-service cars such as this 8,000 gallon acid service tank car.  At the same time, General American switched from a riveted underframe and riveted tank design to a welded underframe and tank.  These specific prototypes were produced between 1949 and 1960 at General American’s factory in Sharon PA.  These tank cars had long service lives, lasting into the 1990s in revenue service.  Acid service tank cars were commonly-seen nationwide, providing transportation for strong chemical compounds, such as hydrochloric (muriatic), hydrofluoric, phosphoric, and sulfuric acids.  Acid tank cars were rubber-lined, featured one percent expansion domes on the top, and did not have bottom tank outlets. 
 
The Tangent Scale Models General American 8,000 gallon ICC-103-B-W acid tank car is a visually-distinctive model that includes details accurate for each paint scheme.  Note the distinctive small expansion dome at the top, surrounded by a beautifully-rendered “see-through” safety walkway.  Our walkways along the side of the car are also “see-through” safety tread, just like their prototypes.  As always, our correct “true-to-life” colors and “hyper-accurate” lettering includes exact fonts and lettering placement.  Finally, our scale replicas operate as well as they look, equipped with free-rolling all-metal wheels and Kadee® scale couplers, meaning our models are truly ready to run.  
 
This is NOT a pre-order announcement.  Our NEW Ready to Run replicas are available NOW at www.tangentscalemodels.com and whether wearing “plain” GATX lease colors or the colors of a lessee, these replicas will certainly be eye-catchers on your layout:
 
- GATX "Diamond Chemical 1952+" in the striking black scheme with Diamond Chemical logo on the side, complete with the red diamond.  The car also includes a spelled-out “Diamond Chemicals” and “Diamond Alkali Company Cleveland Ohio.”  This striking model is sure to be popular, so don’t miss out.  It is available in three road numbers.
- GATX "Hooker Chemicals 1950+” in the distinctive Hooker Chemicals orange and black scheme with a 1950 paint date, complete with the Hooker Chemicals flag logo, large “HOOKER” lettering, and Niagara Falls, NY car assignment labeling.  These stunning cars are available in three road numbers!
- GATX "Petróleos Mexicanos 1960+" in the “off-white” leasing scheme with black band in the center and with orange boxes stating “Rentado A Petroleos Mexicanos” on one side of the car, and “Uso Exclusivo Acido Muriatico” on the other side of the car.  This very cool car includes a 1960 paint date on the side of the car, and the prototype photo on our website shows the prototype car NOT in Mexico but in Central Texas on the MP. 
This GATX lease scheme is available in one road number. 
- GATX "White Lease 1980+” in the plain “white lease 1980+” scheme which includes a large black stripe in the middle of the car, as well as tiny “Dupont de Nemours” lettering for hydrochloric acid loading.  The black stripe was applied by GATX leasing in an “economy” mode where it is only painted onto the top two-thirds of the tank.  These cars were repainted in 1980, which of course is modeled after an exact prototype photo.  These cars are documented to have lasted into the 1990s, and represents a general lease car broadly applicable across North America.  Check out the ACI placard in this car, which sits on its own placard off the walkway!  Very cool, and very 1980s.  It is available in two road numbers. 
- Undecorated RTR Black 1949-1951 cars are immediately ready for decaling!
- Undecorated RTR Black 1951-1960 cars are immediately ready for decaling!
- Undecorated Unpainted Kits are available as well for those who desire to build their own. 
 
Features for these awesome replicas include:
- Welded body and welded underframe
- “See-through” running board wraps around the underframe
- “See-through” dome platform with lacey handrail detail
- Distinctive dome appliances and profile
- Dimensionally-correct hazardous placards with accurate hole detail
- Separately applied tank handrail
- Separately applied tank strap detail
- Full “lacy” AB brake detail and train air line
- Highly correct “true to life” colors
- “Hyper-Accurate” lettering including exact fonts and lettering placement
- Accurate lettering applied to the underframe and air reservoir
- Road-specific poling pockets in the bolsters for each scheme
- Durable wire grab irons and coupler lift bars
- Separate air hoses
- “Near-scale” draft gear box with side detail
- Kadee® “scale-head” couplers
- CNC-machined 33” wheels in high-quality Tangent Scale Models ASF cast steel truck with spring plank and with separate brake beams
- Replacement semi-scale wheels available separately from Tangent
- Multiple road numbers for each scheme
- Recommended age 14 years and older
 
Don’t miss out on the Tangent Scale Models General American 8,000 gallon acid tank car!  Just like its prototype, this car is tiny in size and will stand out extremely well on any layout situated from the 1940s to the 1990s!  Other guys are trying to do tank cars like ours, but ours still look better!
 
Pricing for RTR models is $44.95.  High-resolution images showing these fine replicas are available at www.tangentscalemodels.com  and our site also includes prototype images for your reference as well.
 
That wraps up our update for today, and thank you for supporting the family-owned businesses in our industry! 
 
David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models - “Unparalleled scale replicas for discriminating railroad modelers”
www.tangentscalemodels.com
support@tangentscalemodels.com
PO Box 6514
Asheville NC 28816
828-279-6106

---

---

---

One last shot, our 1980 painted car that lasted into the 1990s.

Thank you to Trainorders.com for allowing us to post!

David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models

---

Great models. Love the Hooker cars - used to see these on the Reading back in the day!

I was just checking some of the company websites to see if anything new was available and saw Tangent had put those up this morning!

Speaking of Hooker Chemical, when I was a grad student at Indiana University, there was a guy in SPEA (school of public and environmental affairs) who did a talk on the history of the Love Canal Superfund site in Niagara Falls, NY.  Google Love Canal wiki.  In the 1940's it looks like Hooker was disposing chemicals there and later it was turned into a landfill.  I wonder if any of the orange tank cars were part of the disposal back then!

I'm also looking forward to Tangent re-running the Dryflo cars and more of the CF4740 covered hoppers.

Cheers, Jim Fitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/17 10:41 by SPDRGWfan.

I do like the Mexican tank car, but at almost $50 for one car, albeit a good model, I'll have to take a pass. 

railwaybaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do like the Mexican tank car, but at almost $50
> for one car, albeit a good model, I'll have to
> take a pass. 

Too bad you cannot afford them.  They are worth every penny if it appeals to you.

Rick

Niagara Falls became a huge industrial center because of its cheap hydroelectric power supply, abundance of water, and vast resource of salt underground. The salt was the raw material for production of industrial chemicals including sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), chlorine, and hydrochloric acid -- all of which shipped out by tank cars. I doubt the industrial wastes those plants produced were put in tank cars, though -- the practice of the time was just to find a convenient place to dump them. And thus you got Love Canal and other Superfund sites.

This page gives a glimpse at the fantastic array of industries that Niagara Falls' electricity supply and access to both raw materials and transportation once supported, and a fair amount of it is still there: http://library.buffalo.edu/pan-am/exposition/electricity/electrochemical/electrochemcompanies.html


 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/17 05:48 by toledopatch.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not just for acid, though -- also for bases (aka
> caustics, aka alkalines). The Hooker plant's tank
> cars as modeled almost certainly shipped caustic
> soda -- sodium hydroxide -- and I bet Diamond
> Alkali did, too. The raw material for this
> industry was (and is) the abundance of salt
> beneath both Cleveland and western New York.

Dave, I too have researched this alot, especially the producers near the lakes.  But if your point is to school Tangent that these are not only acid tanks ("Not just for acid, though" and "The Hooker plant's tank cars as modeled almost certainly shipped caustic soda), you are mistaken.

While the Niagara Falls Hooker plant may have produced caustics as well, these prototype cars that Tangent called "Acid-Hauling" were specifically designed and used for.... acid hauling.  They have 1 percent expansion "domes," and are specially lined with rubber for use with the aforementioned acids in our press release.  They also did not have a bottom outlet.  

Caustic soda tanks, on the other hand, were differently-equipped.  They also were non-pressurized but were not rubber lined; instead they were usually heresite lined.  They had expansion domes - a safety requirement for this commodity.  And they had bottom outlets.

Hooker tended to label their tanks with the approriate commodity, likely as a "double-check" for loading accuracy.  Caustic soda tanks usually had the words "Caustic Soda" which made them easy to identify. They managed the same practice with chlorine tanks.  

David Lehlbach
(Tank Car Geek)
Tangent Scale Models

OK, thanks for the information. I thought I might be adding useful information, but instead I learned something about Hooker's shipments. Would I be correct in believing that the acid Hooker shipped out of the Falls was of the hydrochloric variety?

TangentScaleModels Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> toledopatch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Not just for acid, though -- also for bases
> (aka
> > caustics, aka alkalines). The Hooker plant's
> tank
> > cars as modeled almost certainly shipped
> caustic
> > soda -- sodium hydroxide -- and I bet Diamond
> > Alkali did, too. The raw material for this
> > industry was (and is) the abundance of salt
> > beneath both Cleveland and western New York.
>
> Dave, I too have researched this alot, especially
> the producers near the lakes.  But if your point
> is to school Tangent that these are not only acid
> tanks ("Not just for acid, though" and "The Hooker
> plant's tank cars as modeled almost certainly
> shipped caustic soda), you are mistaken.
>
> While the Niagara Falls Hooker plant may have
> produced caustics as well, these prototype cars
> that Tangent called "Acid-Hauling" were
> specifically designed and used for.... acid
> hauling.  They have 1 percent expansion "domes,"
> and are specially lined with rubber for use with
> the aforementioned acids in our press release.
>  They also did not have a bottom outlet.  
>
> Caustic soda tanks, on the other hand, were
> differently-equipped.  They also were
> non-pressurized but were not rubber lined; instead
> they were usually heresite lined.  They had
> expansion domes - a safety requirement for this
> commodity.  And they had bottom outlets.
>
> Hooker tended to label their tanks with the
> approriate commodity, likely as a "double-check"
> for loading accuracy.  Caustic soda tanks usually
> had the words "Caustic Soda" which made them easy
> to identify. They managed the same practice with
> chlorine tanks.  
>
> David Lehlbach
> (Tank Car Geek)
> Tangent Scale Models



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/17 05:38 by toledopatch.

A lot of what went into Love Canal was from the other chemical manufacturing operations that Occidental/Hooker had in the area--phenolic resins, still bottoms from production of chlorinated organics like chlorobenzene, agent orange, etc.

Most of the waste from electrolysis of salt (ie taking sodium chloride to sodium hydroxide and chlorine) was mercury sludge--the process was so messy that they couldn't keep the electrodes clean, so they used a "dripping mercury electrode" in which a fresh metallic surface was always available because the metal in question was liquid mercury, constantly refreshed.  Ugly, ugly material.  Very common around large paper mills that made their own chlorine for bleaching paper.  Quite a few large paper mills in the US and Canada have mercury sludge beds in the adjacent water body, with corresponding problems where you can't eat the fish for miles around.

To my knowledge, none of the Niagara Falls plants shipped wastes out by rail.  Local soils were clay rich and largely impermeable, so landfilling was quite attractive.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK, thanks for the information. I thought I might
> be adding useful information, but instead I
> learned something about Hooker's shipments. Would
> I be correct in believing that the acid Hooker
> shipped out of the Falls was of the hydrochloric
> variety?

Dave,

That I cannot answer that for sure, but I am pretty sure it was hydrochloric acid.  The cars themselves are not stenciled for anything in particular, whereas some of the other cars were.  For example, the Stauffer tanks we offered a few years ago were labeled phosphoric acid, a by product of breaking down animal bones from the Chicago stockyards.

Best wishes,

David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models