Description
The prototype for this car was one of the largest tank cars in regular service, a pressurized 33,000 gallon car used for transporting liquefied petroleum gas, a byproduct of oil refining used for home and industrial heating. Another common payload for these cars was anhydrous ammonia, a highly concentrated fertilizer.
The first of these cars was built for Shippers car Line (SHPX) in 1962 by American Car and Foundry (ACF). To provide maximum capacity within the allowed loading gauge (outside dimensions), it featured a dual-diameter tank, with a smaller diameter over the stub end sills and a larger diameter between the sills - giving rise to the nickname "whalebelly." Cars of this type were built throughout the 1960s and initially decorated in flamboyant paint schemes - until public concerns about the safety of flammable cargos led owners and lessees to opt for more subdued decoration. In the 1970s, however, the whalebelly design was largely replaced by single-diameter cars of the same capacity. Many original whalebellies served into the first decade of this century, until the end of their allowed 40-year service life.
Features:
Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
Colorful, Attractive Paint Scheme
Metal Wheels and Axles
Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
Needle-Point Axles
(2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
Detailed Brake Wheel
Near-Scale Proportions
Operates On O-31 Curves
The first of these cars was built for Shippers car Line (SHPX) in 1962 by American Car and Foundry (ACF). To provide maximum capacity within the allowed loading gauge (outside dimensions), it featured a dual-diameter tank, with a smaller diameter over the stub end sills and a larger diameter between the sills - giving rise to the nickname "whalebelly." Cars of this type were built throughout the 1960s and initially decorated in flamboyant paint schemes - until public concerns about the safety of flammable cargos led owners and lessees to opt for more subdued decoration. In the 1970s, however, the whalebelly design was largely replaced by single-diameter cars of the same capacity. Many original whalebellies served into the first decade of this century, until the end of their allowed 40-year service life.
Features:
Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
Colorful, Attractive Paint Scheme
Metal Wheels and Axles
Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
Needle-Point Axles
(2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
Detailed Brake Wheel
Near-Scale Proportions
Operates On O-31 Curves
