Components of tank car history

I have recently been reviewing some of my book collection relating to tank cars, and I thought I would show some examples. These are older publications. For more recent histories, I recommend Ed Kaminski’s Signature Press books about American Car & Foundry, and Steve Hile’s excellent book about UTLX. But I want to begin with the General American Transportation Corporation, usually referred to by its reporting marks, GATX. 

I can begin with a book published by the Standard Tank Car Company in 1920. Its title page is shown below. Note the sub-title, which is the content of the book. Page size is 7.5 x 10.5 inches.

It is full of information (1920s era, of course) about all kinds of industrial liquids and tank cars to carry them. All tank cars pictured in the book are lettered the same way, though in different colors. I suppose this was to emphasize the builder instead of the customers who bought the cars. Note that this image clearly shows the distinctive Standard bolster.

The company commissioned the D’Arcy Advertising Company of St. Louis to write and prepare the book, and doubtless to provide all the art in the book. Here is one example, intriguing since it shows the Golden Gate before the bridge across the Gate was built, and includes what was current aviation in the image too.

In 1928, the Standard Tank Car Company was purchased by General American, which immediately made Standard’s huge plant at Sharon, Pennsylvania their main tank car plant. The “Tank Car Journeys” book was reprinted soon after by General American (1931), though all the interior art was replaced with actual industrial and car photos.  Page size was slightly larger, 8.5 x 11 inches.

A great deal of GATX history is contained in a book by Ralph Epstein, a relative of Max Epstein, the founder of General American’s predecessor companies. It is very complete and detailed, and anyone interested in GATX prior to 1948 needs to at least consult this book. It contains 198 pages of 6 x 9-inch size. Here is the dust jacket of the book.

Over the years, GATX issued many publications of interest to the tank car historian and modeler.  One series was called “tank car manuals,” and contained many car drawings and instructions on operation. Also included was a large table of commodities and the tank car types suitable to carry them. Here is the cover of the 1961 edition, 8.5 x 11 inches in size. 

There is much more to be said on this and related subjects, but I will turn to those matters in future posts.

Tony Thompson