Hmm, almost looks like something LEGO would make with DUPLO size domes on it. But then again maybe it is some MOW get-up used for weed spraying or something. A fire train?
My first thought was that this was the kind of car in the photo: When I went looking for the photo to post, I ran into this car, which may be closer to the car you're looking for: When I went back to the original of the second image, I don't see anything painted on the car that indicates what commodity the car is intended for.
That could well be it ^5 A single full length walkway could look like piping taken from a fuzzy aerial view ;-) We may have a winner !!! :teeth:
Molasses -- If you search Google maps for their (QLF) Clovis, NM site, they're 5 or 6 similar tankcars setting there. The Bing maps' image shows the rail siding has been installed with a couple extra switches but no off-loading, storage tanks, mixing or truck loading. The mapquest image is even older; there's no rail siding installed yet. The tankcars have liners, heaters and require a manway so some poor illegal can get in there with a toothbrush and start scrubbing - a necessity before loading food grade shipments. These tankcars can be seen around the USA wherever they're Sugar Beet Refineries.
Molasses? There's some irony. The tank car in the photo was either coming into the US from Canada or leaving the US for Canada. About 30 miles north of the photo location is one of Michigan's sugar beet processing plants. Although the plant ships a lot of molasses out in tank cars, I don't recall seeing this type of car in the traffic headed to/from the plant. They seem to use tank cars with a single dome, like the Trinity 17,600 gallon Corn Syrup cars Atlas sells, but I guess I'll have to pay more attention to the tank cars I see on the line to the sugar plant. The car in the photo looks a lot more like other cars I see that are identified as "Vinyl Chloride Stabilized" according to the sides of the cars. The main difference between this car and those cars is that those cars only have one dome and carry placards. It's nice to read that that car length handrail is not an indicator of yet another hazardous load.
If you pull that image in you see that car # as GATX19262. I have googled that car # with no results. I even went on to GATX Corp. web page and asked for strapping ( gauge ) charts for that car and the answer that came back was that that car is not a GATX roster unit. Interesting, but I guess they could have sold the car after the photo was taken. Carl
"It's déjà vu all over again". I did the same thing earlier and was really surprised to NOT find any info anywhere on the car. It would seem the thing should be listed somewhere. It's like it never existed. Someone should model it and keep the above picture framed and on the wall to prove it was real and not a phantom car....LOL.
Maybe we aren't supposed to know about it. Someone DID mention " Marvin's modulator", ya' know ??? The one I saw scrapped last year isn't the same as the photos posted. "Mine" was older, and much shorter, maybe 50'. All lettering had been sanded off. Still mad I didn't get a picture of the Damn thing. I wanted to make one !!!
I still go with my first opinion based on the enlarged photos. The what appears to be piping seems to extend past the car ends and would have had a slightly dropping flexible hose coupling.
For what it's worth, the file is dated 9/29/2010. The train appears to have been headed to Canada. Something could have happened to it after it crossed the border. If anyone wants to model the car, I don't mind sending the full size image file, although it's a little blurry in a couple spots.
could it be a lpg tank car that was coupled between engines ? similar like this : http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...omotive-drives-cn-into-eco-friendlyer-future/ another idea : http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...omotive-drives-cn-into-eco-friendlyer-future/ check the picture of the modified tank car.
Kind of looks to be part of a Tunnel Motor. The two center round things being the dynamic brake fans and the radiators at one end. Google maps often cuts and paste satellite shots to make views. So its possible that a loco was there, and cut by the system used to make the photos. If you scroll on some areas, the view changes as they do updates all the time, and piece satellite photos to get the views.
