Building Tank Cars

Gary T. Brothers

Gary Brothers unloading two Tank Cars he is building for Rick White. Gary took them out for a trip and reported that they pulled perfectly. Each car has over 2,500 “rivets” and also feature handmade turnbuckles. From "Stack Talk", June 2014, Houston Area Live Steamers.

From "Stack Talk", September and November 2014, Houston Area Live Steamers.

All the tank cars need a frame to start with. Mine normally use a 1” X 2" rectangular steel tubing with shorter pieces creating a "tee" on both ends. The rectangular tubing is 1/4 inch longer on both ends so that the frame sticks out beyond the car ends. Spacing the shorter pieces of rectangular tubing between 7” and 8-1/2" from the end and welding all together. A hole is drilled at the center of both tees to place a 3/8" bolt then weld the head to the frame. The bolt sticks thru to hold the trucks in place and then a lock nut or cotter pin to keep the truck from falling off if the car is picked up to rerail. With Tom Bee trucks, I add a 3/8th inch thick 2 inches wide and 7 inches long centered on the tees to keep the coupler height at the proper height from the rail.