WW II

All means of transporting oil and product in bulk, especially aviation gasoline, were put into service in the U.S. during the World War II years, 1941-45. Some experience had been gained during the prior emergency of the Great War, 1914-18 (the U.S. entered in 1917), but WW II was a much more massive undertaking as well as being fought on two gigantic fronts. Fortunately, as far as demand for refined oil and gasoline was concerned, the peak year for the Pacific front was 1945, particularly the months of May and June, while the major shipments to the U.S. East Coast for the European Theatre occurred before that, the peak being mid-1943.

The oil run via tank cars to terminals on the U.S. East Coast can be best described as originating at Texas refineries and terminating at ports where the refined product (mostly aviation fuel) could be loaded aboard the ocean-going tankers. Tank car shipments of petroleum products to the East Coast built up to 1,000,000 barrels per day at the peak compared to a prewar high of 60,000 barrels per day and a mere 5,000 barrels some years earlier (Look, 1946).

In order to move one million barrels daily by rail to the East Coast, a much heralded tank car fleet of 74,000 cars were put into use and an operating system was planned and carried out. An idle tank car wasn’t to be seen. The tank cars were moved in long solid trains of up to 70 cars. Transport of the aviation gas was not interrupted for the entire distance from the Texas catalytic cracking tower to the Atlantic port. Actually at the outbreak of the war in Europe, the U.S. had 115,000 railroad tank cars, but 41,000 of these had to serve purposes other than the East Coast run.

The tank car situation prior to WW II was based on competition between oil companies. All cars, leased or otherwise obtained, would go to the refineries or terminals of the owning company, hence there were cross runs, idle time and duplicate purposes if viewed from a single standpoint. A joint cooperating system was devised under the Petroleum Administration for War. The system eventually saw tank cars deliver nearly 70% of the total oil and product placed at the Atlantic Coast. The means of freeing up tank cars for the long runs was accomplished by pooling terminals, stopping cross hauls, doing maintenance faster, using highway tank trucks for short hauls (200 miles or less), and giving priority or clear track to the tank car trains, meaning that they wouldn’t be rerouted or put on sidings to await their turn (Look, 1946). Oil products, especially the loads of gasoline, dominated the rails during war time.

When the U.S. geared for the final invasions of the war in the Pacific in 1945, the tank cars were available because the East Coast demand (Europe) was lessening. Looking backwards, it wasn’t until December, 1942, (one year after Pearl Harbor) that shipments to the U.S. west coast exceeded 10,000 barrels per day and not until July, 1943, that they exceeded 20,000 B/D. By May and June, 1945, nearly 170,000 barrels per day were hauled by tank cars to Pacific Coast ports.

This ca. 1872 (?) double-riveted iron tank of the boiler design type was found in the Allegheny National Forest where it was last used as an oilfield stock tank. The manhole cover to the left of the dome has an 1871 patent date. It is not known if this was originally used in rail transportation, but that is a likely possibility. The oil producer must have had a difficult time hauling the tank to this location. It has been pierced a number of times by rifle bullets (deer and bear hunters).

This is a 1948 view of the welding shop of the Titusville Forge Division of Struthers Wells Corp. in Titusville, PA, showing railroad tank cars being assembled. The Titusille Iron Works Co. and the Titusville Forge Co. became divisions of Struthers Wells. The building has now been turned into a stainless steel remelt plant (Universal Stainless & Alloy Product Co.). Photo negative in collection of David Weber.

Car Shops

The Appalachian oil region had a good share of early tank car builders and repair shops, especially in the industrial cities in NW Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. Titusville, Franklin, Warren and Sharon were some of the NW Pennsylvania centers for car making with Titusville’s shops dating to the 1870’s, the earliest days of the metal tank car. With the help of David Weber (written and verbal communication) some of the builders in the aforementioned cities are described below:

Titusville Iron Co., Titusville, PA, 1875-1910. Became part of Struthers Wells Corp., 1928-1963. Built iron boiler tank cars for Star Tank Line and the Empire Line in the 1870’s and later. This was a famous early tank car builder. In 1956 the Titusville Iron Co. built aluminum tank cars to carry acid for Union Tank Car Co.

Titusville Forge Co., Titusville, PA. Became part of Struthers Wells Corp., 1928-1963. Noted for building welded steel high pressure tanks to contain propane and butane (LPG) for Union Tank Car Co., 1948-1957.

Struthers Wells Corp., Warren, PA. Built riveted and welded tank cars, 1880-1910. Continued in manufacturing until 1963, but tank cars were discontinued at Warren plant except for aluminum cars for Union Tank Car Co. in 1956-57.

Union Tank Car Co., Oil City, PA, ca. 1920’s – 40’s. Repaired tank cars at this site.

Conley Tank Line, Franklin, PA, ca. 1930’s - 40’s. Repaired tank cars. This plant may have been started by Union Tank Car Co.

Hammond Iron Works, Warren, PA, 1900. Became Pittsburgh-Des Moines (PDM) after 1950’s. Made car tanks, storage tanks and other plate work. According to D. Weber (written communication) this company fabricated the St. Louis Gateway Arch at their Warren shop.

Allegheny Foundry Co. (Allegheny Steel Tank Car Co.), Warren, PA. Later became Warren Car Co. Built cars for United Refining Co., Crew Levick (subsidiary of Cities Service), Valvoline etc. Said to have also built circus flat cars.

This advertisement appeared in the Jan. 8, 1919, issue of the National Petroleum News. United Refining Co., located on the bank of the Allegheny River at Warren, Pennsylvania, was one of the largest customers of the Allegheny Steel Tank Car Company. United Refining markets gasoline under the trade name Kwik Fill. Most of their stations today have convenience stores.

Crew Levick was a subsidiary of Cities Service with refineries in Warren and East Titusville, Pennsylvania. Advertisement by Allegheny Steel Tank Car Company, Warren, PA, in the Feb. 19, 1919, issue of National Petroleum News.

Valvoline Oil Co., Wilburine Oil Works, Warren, PA, ca. 1900-1930. Repaired tank cars for Valvoline which handled refined products from Warren and East Butler refineries. This plant worked with Allegheny Foundry in designing and building the Allegheny automobile (1905), a pioneer roadster. It failed because it was difficult to cool the engine (Stepping Stones, 1975).

Warren Car Company, Warren, PA, 1920-present. Repairer of United Refining Co. tank cars (Warren) and those of other firms. Successor to the Allegheny Foundry and Allegheny Steel Car Co.

Pennsylvania Tank Car Co., Sharon, PA (until 1927). Made cars for Emlenton Refining Co., Titusville Oil Works, Seneca Oil Works, Texaco, Gulf, Galena Oil Co., Foco Oil Co., Claredon Refining Co. and others. A leasing subsidiary, the Pennsylvania Tank Line, advertised in 1919 that they had over 3000 tank cars in the line.

Petroleum Iron Works Co., Sharon, PA, and Masury, Ohio. Founded by Joseph Cullinan (later Pres. Of Texaco). This company purchased Pennsylvania Tank Car Co., Jan. 1, 1927, which later became part of GATX.

Other tank car plants in the region were General American Tank Car Co., Warren, Ohio (Masury, Ohio, after 1930’s) which built and repaired GATX cars and others, Oil Well Supply Co. tank car works in Oswego, N.Y., (1900-25) where they also made boilers, and a Union Tank Car Co. plant in Dubois, PA, 1970’s-present, which now repairs American Refining Group tank cars, etc. The Union Tank Car Co. also had a long history in Olean, N.Y.

The above is merely a sampling of a large sector of the bulk transportation industry dealing with tank car makers and repairers.

North American (NATX) is a well known tank car builder in Illinois. Advertisement from Jan. 15, 1919, issue of National Petroleum News.

North American Car Company (NATX) tank car no. 78295 in the Conrail yards in south Oil City. The capacity is 23,812 gallons (567 barrels).

Special Cars

In the 1920’s there were three main types of tank cars (Day, 1922) besides the regular or standard tank car which was used principally for certain crude oils and refined products which didn’t require heating. They were:

1. Heated cars were used to carry highly viscous crudes and certain refined products like some fuel oils, waxes and asphalts. This was brought about by hot pipes (heater pipes) that did not allow the liquid to congeal or otherwise be affected by low temperatures.

2. Compartment cars had two or more separate sections so that different grades of product could be carried without mixing.

3. Insulated cars were coated with cork, hair felt or other materials and extra metal sheeting was also put in place to reduce evaporation of the load of gasoline.

The wax in the crude oil (especially some eastern oils and those of Utah) is a very commercial byproduct of some crudes. Wax undergoes various refining stages (there are several kinds of waxes) and requires heating in order to unload the tank cars. The cars may take several days of standing and heating to drain the basic wax out of them at the plant where further refining is to be carried out.

In the 1950’s and up to present, steam coils are used in tank cars loaded with heavy oils. Heating the heavy oil in this fashion lowers the viscosity and makes discharge easier. In the case of bitumen, steam coils and steam-jacketed valves are used plus the cars are insulated in order to reduce heat loss. Flame tubes and oil burners are used in some cases (Shell, 1959).

Special tank cars are built for loads having very high pressures such as in the transporting of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Special tank cars were built to carry a lot of liquids besides petroleum. However, most of us wouldn’t think of vinegar. Standard Brands Industries among their many other products, was in the vinegar bottling and sales business. One of their subsidiaries (Fleishmen Transportation Company) built this vinegar tank car in 1950 out of cypress and fir wood. Metal could not be used because vinegar is very corrosive. The tank cars were painted silver to reflect sunlight and to help to keep the vinegar cool. The tanks had a relatively short track life. This car caught the author’s attention because it appeared so retro and shabby compared to the other rolling stock in the impressive railroad car and engine display in St. Louis, Missouri.

Early Failed Attempts

The 1860’s were favorable years to promote an invention or an idea in the new oil industry, but, even so, sometimes an inventor couldn’t catch anybody’s ear. Capitalists were saturated with proposals. Evans W. Shippen, a Meadville oilman, says in his memoirs that he built a scale model of a horizontal cylindrical iron tank car (1862?) for railway use and intended to patent the design if he could interest the railroads in using it to ship oil. Shippen talked to Thomas A. Scott, President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroads were already hauling a great amount of the oil in barrels from the oil region. Scott looked at the model and turned it down with the astounding remark "--- by the time a car could be completed there will not be sufficient oil produced to fill it". Shippen replied, "---neither you nor I will live to see the day when such will be the case". Shippen, busy in the oil fields, unfortunately did not pursue his invention. Of course, the day came when the Pennsylvania Railroad, like the others, used horizontal iron tank cars exclusively.

The following account of a failed tank car experiment was partly extracted from the Derrick’s Handbook of Petroleum, 1898. Agents of the Empire Transportation Company seeing Densmore tank cars on sidings knew right away that tanks would be the new means of shipping oil on the rails. In 1866 the company constructed an experimental box car containing three wooden tanks and sent it to Titusville with instructions that the tanks should be filled with oil and the laden car then sent on its way. The builders had forgotten to provide an opening over the tanks in the roof of the box cars and other details were also overlooked. The superintendent on Oil Creek, Charles P. Hatch, improvised as best he could and emptied barrels into the tanks through holes which he put in the car roof. It was quickly found that the tanks were not tight and oil came out in all directions. The management had somehow expected a clean operation and had told the superintendent that the car would be returned to the "merchandize trade" after the experiment had been carried out. However, the filling procedure was a disaster, and the superintendent also had to tear out the sides and ends of the box car so that repairmen could get access to the tanks (there otherwise wasn’t room to work). When all was said and done Mr. Hatch sent the leaky tank car back to headquarters. It was totally soaked in oil and dripped copiously all the way down the track as well as being generally banged up. In his words, "---it looked like it had been subjected to a cannonading and it was practically ruined." All sides, of course, took the attitude that "it wasn't my fault".

In late 1865 a wrought iron u-shaped tank car was built by J.F. Keeler in Pittsburgh. The bottom was rounded and the sides were straight. The tank was constructed overall of three-eights inch riveted iron plates. It had a wooden top or roof suspended inside the container below the rim which served to prevent the oil from slopping around as well as allowing it to expand by pushing up the roof (Williamson and Daum, 1959). The Keeler tank car was not used to much extent, the benefits of a fully cylindrical tank outweighed it.

Metal Tank

Metal Tank Cars

Inventors suddenly saw ways to improve tank cars and a number of designs appeared, but many of them suffered leaks. Among the first attempts after Densmore was the installation of metal tanks in place of the wooden ones in exactly the same spots on the flat cars. However, the vertical iron tanks created a problem of a different sort, they were tippy. Being top-heavy when full and with the oil sloshing around, especially when the train negotiated curves or underwent sudden stops, the tanks would occasionally tip over and cause a mess as well as occasional fires (Williamson and Daum, 1959). Also, due to space limitation on the cars of that day, the only way to increase the volume was to build them higher and that raised the center of gravity which aggravated the tipping problem. Clearly another design was needed which turned out to be the obvious horizontal boiler tank which, with some modifications is still the basic tank car design on the rails today.

In 1868 the boiler-type tank car was made and tried out. It had the requisite low center of gravity and also had a dome which permitted the oil to expand (a function of temperature) without damaging the sealed horizontal container. The Empire Line, a fast freight subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, quickly adopted the boiler-type tank car and put it into use in February, 1869 (Giddens, 1938). These horizontal iron tank cars had capacities of 80-90 barrels at first and then 100 barrels during the late 1870’s. The wooden Densmore tank cars gradually disappeared in the 1870’s, as had the wooden oil barrels before them whose days were numbered when pipes began to carry oil in 1865.

A new iron boiler-type tank car coming out of the shops of the Titusville Iron Works. It was made for a part of the Star Tank Line, then a subsidiary of Standard Oil. The name of the line was changed to the Union Tank Car Co. in 1878, but the familiar Star name lingered on for awhile. The initials on the flat bed are OC&A (Oil Creek and Allegheny Railroad), car no. 150.