Question about tank cars

[snoopy55]

I do a lot of skinning for a game called Sid Meier's Railroads! and have a question about tank cars. I've noticed a lot of them that are whiteish with the center various colors. Is this just the way the owners paint them or does this have something to do with what they haul in them?

 

[Royal Hudson 2850]

It depends on the owner of the car, I have photos of what you are describing and these car are designated for carrying Hydrochloic Acid or any other types of acid. Nest time you see these cars look to see if the designated cargo is printed on the side of the car (usually the right side).

 

[Tacoma Tom]

It is a cheap way to make them look cleaner. Since they are normally loaded from the middle of the tank car that is where it is more likely to spill and run down the side. Black is the most obvious color for the stripe and it will do the best job hiding a spill especially if it is tar or oil.

 

[snoopy55]

Royal Hudson 2850 - I started looking thru RR Picture Archives, but it was acting silly and taking a long time to load each screen, and there are over 72,000 pics to search thru. But I do plan on doing it and listing color markings and contents. GATX has a black on the lower 1/4 and white on the upper 3/4 and they contain Limestone Slurry. ACTX has the same paint job with the same contents. I'll get it done over a few days, or a week or two, and post it here.

Tacoma Tom - that could be on some cars, but a black car with a white center hauling molten sufler..... any mess would easily show up. And some are orange or other bright colors. As I said above, will do more checking and listing. The hardest part is finding pics where the contents can be read.