Gasoline deliveries Pre-War

Yeah...sounds neat, and different from TANKKAR operations in which the tank car IS

the service station storage unit.  Given the flammability of gasoline, I wonder

how the connection was kept secure.

I just thought it was a cool story, too bad they don't have any pictures.

Thanks for the story.  It's a good one. 

Miken,

That must have been something where the filling station owner had to pump their amount of gas from a nearby tank car.  This is a great scene to model, thank you.

Awhile back, I saw a B&W photo. taken, I believe, in the '50's of a tank car, sitting on a siding and close to a gas station.

I don't remember any details of the tank car, other than it contained either gasoline, or oil and I can't remember any details of the gas station and it's locale.

I guess, safety rules were more lax years ago and possibly in certain areas, also the trackage was close to the gas station, houses and buildings.  All close together!!!!

Ralph

railroads were much more service friendly in the 20s-60s ,since highway transportation was limited in many areas. today, everone wants to haul containers coast-to-coast. an owner of a local feed/rural supply business told me he tried to get birdseed in a covered hopper car from the nw part of the u.s to a place here in nothern ohio. it was such a hassle dealing with the rr's ,they bought their own truck to make about 1 trip per week. that was about 30 years ago.today , its brought in bagged on pallats, now that trucking rates are so low.-jim

Single carloads or LcL loads were killing the RR industry in the postwar era. Containers, bulk and tank trains are simply how the RRs evolved in a shifting market.

That said, if gas ever really does collapse, things would get really ugly because this country was set up for fuel-efficient travel by train and so many local and branch line routes were yanked up, it's almost all big depot to depot transit now. Getting loads to your Mom and Pop place depend on gasoline now with no other way to get stuff anywhere anymore.

RJL:  I have several of those photos, in recent color, of a tankcar, on a trestle off a railroad on a high embankment, in the lot of an abandoned gas station (appearing

to still be using the building for auto repair).  The tankcar is just behind and above

closed pumps.  This looks very much like one of the TankKar operations I described

above, and a model of same remains on my to-do list.  This tankcar station is just

a couple of blocks from the town center in Sidney, Ohio.

coloradohirailer,

Thank you.

That is like I described.

Beautiful!

Must have been something, years ago.

A sure modeling feat!

Ralph 

Jeff,

That's neat,

I realize it was more work then, but it really was part of Americana and fit right in with railroading.

Thank you,

Ralph