When a tank car is not a tank car.

By Keith MacCauley 

The freight car shown in the above photo is not a tank car. It is actually a specialized two compartment covered hopper used to transport a specialized salt. Explanation is as follows.

The payload is loaded as a slurry with the liquid drained prior to transport. If the liquid remained, the car would have classified as a tank car. At destination an internal sparger system is used to introduce water to offload the commodity again as a slurry using bottom outlet valves. Between 1982 and 2000 Procor Oakville built some thirty-four salt slurry cars for Dow Chemical and BC Chemical.

Amherst Ma Station Model

I have the main structure together and coated with Home Hardware Oxide red primer. I am modeling the station as it looked in the late 1950's early 1960's.

I am currently working on the ITLA kit of the Amherst, Ma. Central Vermont Ry station. This is an old kit prior to Nick taking over ITLA. So far the kit is going together well although the plans suck and would be a hard build without photos of the station which I have. If one has not built a laser kit in the past stay away from this one...more to come as I get further along...George Dutka

I assembled the walls in sections. Note two windows are blocked out as seen in prototype photos from the 1950's. A roll up door will be added made from styrene. 

Squaring out the walls and gluing. 

The bay area needed some strip wood trim at the corners to clean them up a bit.

I made some wall supports using leftovers from the kit. One is attached while the other one is just cut.

Snapshot - May 2025

 

CP 435994 May 18, 1985 John St. Toronto, Ont. Peter Mumby photo.

This months snapshot is a group of Peter Mumby's slides that I scanned of CP cabooses...George Dutka 

CP 434956 Aug 21 1993 1 of 40 international cabooses, this one has a small SOO lettering on it, Smith Falls Peter Mumby photo

CP 437451 Spring 1978 Bill Prest photo, no location. Peter Mumby collection.

CP 437451 Aug 1978 Windsor, Ontario Peter Mumby photo

The other side of CP 437451 in Windsor, Ont. Aug 1978 Peter Mumby photo. I believe Peter was on a tour of the shop and yard back then.

Wordless Wednesday No. 627

 

Peter Mumby Photo Keith MacCauley collection   

More CN Woodchip Cars

A CN woodchip car with the sidewall extensions Oct 29, 1989 London Ont. Peter Mumby Photo

A couple more photos of CN woodchip cars that Peter Mumby took when these cars were headed for scrapping in London, Ontario. Having the reclamation yard in town gave us a last look at CN equipment prior to be cut up...George Dutka 

A CN woodchip car with roof removed and no extension. There is a beam across the top to stabilize the car sides. Oct. 1984 London, Ont. Peter Mumby photo

CN Woodchip Car

CN 455242 woodchip car, no location noted but date of slide is 1964. Peter Mumby collection.

This is a slide of Peter's I never saw of a wooden CN woodchip car from the 1960's...enjoy...George Dutka

CNR Woodchip Cars

Another scanned slide from 1989. This was a 12 foot diorama that I operated on back then. I don't have the engine or caboose anymore but the two woodchip cars I do have. 

I took this photo back in 1989 of my woodchip fleet of cars. They appeared in RMC as a joint article with Peter Mumby. We built a group of them together. The flat top caboose is a scratch-built model that Al Howlett built back then. I think I purchased it from Bob Hannah who used it for a few years...George Dutka

B&M Wells River Railroad Bridge

The east end of the B&M bridge Wells River - Woodsville during 1969.

This is one of the slides I copied from the collection I purchased from George Melvin. I have no idea who took the photo but an interesting look at the switch on the bridge...George Dutka  

Scanning Peter Mumby's Slides

Brampton Sept 1974 when Peter lived there. He took a lot of rolling stock photos back then to model from. Peter Mumby Photo.

I began scanning a number of Peter Mumby's slides this week...he has thousands of them and most are stacked up in my basement. I am running out of room to store them. I don't plan on keeping them all. I will scan what I can and hope to sell them as a group to someone that will keep the collection together. The proceeds will go to Ann, Peter's wife. So a big task ahead although I am not in a hurry to complete the task. There are hundreds or maybe thousands that are not of interest to me that I will gladly bypass...George Dutka

CN covered hopper is along Pine St. in London, Ontario on Dec 19 2004. Peter Mumby photo 

The location in London is not noted but I am thinking it is Hyde Park Rd, October 1984...that is CP caboose 434634. Peter Mumby photo

.

Peter was out chasing steam on June 7, 2002 Shedden Ont. Peter Mumby photo

OSR 378 Tillsonburg, Ont. high bridge on Feb 9 2012. This was once the Cayuga Sub which the CN and N&W ran over. Peter Mumby photo.

At the Station - Waterbury

It is train time in Waterbury, Vt. on Don Janes Green Mountain Division. Don commissioned the station to be built for him but he made changes to the structure to better represent the prototype. If you use the search feature in this post you can look up the post about Don's station...George Dutka  

Wordless Wednesday No. 626

 

Keith and Peter MacCauley collection.   

Modeling CV Boxcar

Model and photo by Alan Irwin.

This is a boxcar that was modeled by the late Alan Irwin many years ago. There were only three in the series which did not appear to run on the CV at all, but did run through Montreal on the CN and also through Rouses Point as these were locations Alan saw these three boxcars.   

Alan used a Details West boxcar for the model painting it Floquil Vermont green a good match for the CV. For decals Miller Advertising , Herald King set B-152 was used with striping made from Herald King CV Larson Green locomotive set. Kind of a kit-bash of decals as there was no other option for this model. 

Alan noted the last time he saw these cars was when all three were removed from service and came to St. Albans, Vermont . They were on the CV cripple track in August 1982 when he viewed them. Shortly after they left the CV, never to be seen again.

I though this was an interesting bit of CV history that was worth sharing. Here is a view of the car Alan modeled and sent me back around 2000. This car was featured in the CVRHS Ambassador Volume 12 No. 3 if you have a copy of the issue...George Dutka    

8-8-1982 at St Albans, Vermont photo by Alan Irwin. In his lower notes the "return to" is painted out.

B&M Office

I was doing some scanning the other day and I decided to include this photo that has no information or photographer on it that I acquired a number of years ago. I found it interesting with the air conditioner in one window, electrical hook up and stairway added. I think this can make a nice model and scene...George Dutka

B&M Boxcar

 

This B&M PS-1 has been around for a long time when this photo was taken. Kadee once offered a model painted in B&M colors similar to this which could be a great starting point to model a weathered car like seen here...Steve Myers photo Mechanicsville, NY...George Dutka

 

Water Spout - St Albans

This view was taken of the St. Albans water spout by Jack Swanberg on Sept. 29, 1957. Note the string of CV open top hoppers in the background. Would have been nice to have close-ups of those cars...George Dutka    

Hamilton RPM Meet

The Hamilton RPM Meet. Steve Bratina photo.

Steve Bratina set up a display of Peter Mumby's engines at this years Hamilton RPM. I thought I would share the photo Steve sent me. He mentioned the group attending was a bit smaller than in the past...thanks Steve...George Dutka  

Proto CP Boxcars - Weathered

Don Janes newer aquisitions for the Green Mountain Division. These two 50' boxcars have been nicely weathered. Photos by Don Janes.

Don Janes had me pick up these two Proto CP boxcars which were in paper service at the Springfield 2025 train show. The models were weathered by Jack Hughes. Since picking up from my home Don has added cut levers and flexible air hoses...George Dutka