Tank Car History - Union Tank Car Company

Union Tank Car Company
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In the Beginning, There Was Oil …
Union Tank Car
Company traces its
beginning to August 27,
1859, the day Col. Edwin
Drake brought in the first
drilled oil well at
Titusville, Pennsylvania.
The subsequent rush
to move the $20/bbl oil
to market resulted in
rapid development of a
transportation system
and specialized
equipment to handle and
transport liquids in bulk.
1859
Help Wanted: Coopers…
As the number of wells
increased, the abundant
supply of oil drove down
the price. Four years after
Drake’s strike, oil had
slipped to 10¢/bbl. Not
surprisingly, the cost of a
new 42-gallon pine barrel
had jumped to more than
$3.00!
Even with new rail
service right to the oil
fields, the cost to ship a
barrel of oil to refineries in
Cleveland was much
greater than the value of
the crude at the well.
1863
…Capable of Building 50
Tight Barrels Each Day…
The 42-gallon barrel was
developed as a matter of
necessity to contain the oil.
At a just-manageable size, a
barrel could be rolled into
place on wagons or flat cars,
which carried them to the
river for the barge trip to the
refinery.
But building barrels was
labor intensive and the
relatively small containers
required much handling.
Leakage and theft were
problems and, too often,
empties did not make it back
for a second load.
1863
…Or, a Couple Really Big Ones…
Brother inventers, Amos and
James Densmore, are credited
with the transportation idea
that relegated “barrel of oil”
to a unit of measure.
Their “Densmore Car,” also
know as the “rotary oil car,”
contained 20—25 bbl. in two
iron-hooped pine tubs that
were attached to “the
platform of an ordinary railway-car.” They patented the
design in 1866. However,
even better ideas doomed the
Densmore Car to
obsolescence within four
years.
1865
Bulk Liquid Transportation:
An Industry Is Born.
The same year rotary
oil cars arrived in
Titusville, a “longdistance” pipe line was
put into service. As
much as 800 bbl. of
crude per day was
pumped through the 2”
iron pipe — almost five
miles!
From the start, crude
oil shippers could
choose: teamsters,
railroad, pipeline or
barge. But often,
transportation to the
refinery involved several
modes.
1865
Refined Products Move to Market
By the close of the Civil War, demand for kerosene, used chiefly for illumination,
stimulated bulk liquid shipment by rail. But now the move was to market.
Here was an early solution to the problem of barrels. This rack car allowed a
shipper to increase the number of barrels … and the volume of product per car load
… with a much higher likelihood of getting the shipment to market..
1865
Innovation: The Horizontal “Boiler”
Type Tank on a Flat Car…
In 1869, the forerunner of the
present tank car was introduced.
A horizontal, cylindrical iron tank
replaced the wooden tubs.
Engineering wisdom of the day
suggested that surge forces on
the tank heads would be reduced
if the tank was completely filled.
To allow for product expansion,
the tank was fitted with a large,
vertical “dome.”
The first riveted cars had a
capacity of 80 bbl of product.
Soon, capacity was increased to
100 bbl (4,200 gallons), which
became the standard.
1869
Wooden Flat Car “Underframes”
and a Customized Deal With Railroads
Oil companies tried to
convince railroads to furnish
tank cars, but conservative
council won out. Beginning
as early as 1867, railroads
and refiners agreed to handle
tank car loads like dry goods
shipments … except the
shipper provided the railcars.
The railroad would pay
rebates—called mileage
allowances—to compensate
The riveted, iron tanks were cradled on wooden flatcar
for the use of the cars.
underframes and strapped down with iron bands.
Railroads, still follow that
Wooden head blocks were used to limit longitudinal tank decision today.
movement.
1869
John D. Rockefeller
Corners the Market
Thirty-year-old refiner,
John D. Rockefeller,
recognized the economies of
tank car transportation. In
1869 he secured the cars of
the Star Tank Line for the
exclusive use of his petroleum
products company. He used
bulk shipments to great
advantage – by concentrating
on markets where his retail
competitors used barrels.
Four years later he
purchased Star for the
exclusive use of Standard Oil.
1873
Union Tank Line
U
T
L
By 1878, Standard
Oil’s Tank Car Trust had
acquired 3,000 of the
3,200 cars in existence.
Included was a small rail
line handling oil shipments
into Chicago – the Union
Tank Line.
In 1880, Standard’s
entire fleet was placed
under the name Union
Tank Line and the cars
were restenciled with
reporting marks that are
still in use today.
1880
Union Tank Line Company
Union Tank Car Company
To sidestep anti-trust litigation against Standard Oil, Rockefeller had the Union Tank
Line incorporated. July 14, 1891 is acknowledged as the birthday of the Union Tank
Line Company. That day it became one of the original Standard Oil companies. A
typical UTL car rented for 11¢ per diem or less – within the family.
In 1909, the Federal
government broke up the
Trust and Union Tank Line
Company became a
publicly held corporation.
The typical fee for
furnishing a car rose to $3
and the rental was 75¢
per loaded day.
In 1919, to avoid the
inference that it operated a
railroad line, the company’s
name was changed to Union Tank Car
Company.
1891
John Van Dyke, Innovator
Union Tank Car employee, John Van Dyke, designed a steel tank car that had no
through frame. Elimination of the underframe significantly reduced the weight of the
car, allowing a
greater pay load.
Van Dyke
calculated the
riveted steel tank
shell to be
sufficiently strong
to carry the train
loads of starting
and stopping …
as well as the
weight of the
commodity.
1901
The Van Dyke Cast Iron Saddle.
The double-riveted
steel tank sections were
riveted directly to cast
iron saddles.
The “V-car”, named
for the shape of the
saddles, tested
successfully, but old-time
railroad men were
skeptical. It looked …
fragile!
The market place was
not ready and only about
100 V-cars were
constructed.
1901
This Design
Seemed Much Safer
Van Dyke went back to the
drawing board. He designed a
car with a steel through-sill
underframe that obviously could
stand up to the train loads of the
longest trains and the most
powerful locomotives. Because
the design used steel for both
tank and sill, he was right.
Again.
Orders for the “X-car” were
placed immediately.
1902
A Through (Or Center) Sill
Transferred the Train Loads.
An innovative center
connection between the tank
and the underframe proved
Van Dyke’s genius. It securely
limited fore-and-aft tank
movement. With the technical
problem of securing a steel
tank to an underframe solved,
market demand for cars with
the Van Dyke Anchor was
immediate. Union Tank Car
patented its winning design.
But, with thousands of iron
tank cars in its existing fleet, the X-car’s popularity gave Union Tank Car a hard
lesson in market obsolescence. The subsequent scramble to provide all-steel cars
gave competition a foothold in what had been – almost exclusively –
Union Tank Car’s market.
New Markets Spark
Product Improvement.
“Innovations”
sometimes had to be
added after a car was
constructed. This
1907-built car was
retrofitted in 1914 with
steam heater pipes.
The hair-felt
insulation was protected
with wooden spacer
rings and a steel jacket.
This system allowed
viscous products to be
shipped -- and unloaded
-- in cold weather.
1914
The Advent of Regulation
Detailed specifications for cars were laid down by the Association of American
Railroads under the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Car design
standardization and industry regulation began with Car Classifications. Tank cars
built before 1903 were identified as Class I. The newer steel cars were identified as
Class II, III or IV.
This photo shows
a Class IV
insulated car that
was built in 1923
for flammable
liquids.
Lacking its own
construction
facility, it was
difficult for Union
Tank Car to
introduce improvements – including its own innovations – ahead
of the other tank car companies that supplied UTLX cars.
1923
Interstate Commerce Commission
In 1927, the Interstate Commerce Commission took over the duties of setting
regulations and safety standards … and changed the car classification system.
Class III, IV and V cars became ICC 103, 104 and 105 cars. This ICC 103 car has
three compartments and three “domes” to allow for product expansion.
Note that the car has six tank heads. Separating
compartments with a void is a practice that continues today.
1927
Pioneers in Fusion Welding
In 1931, Union Tank Car engineers began testing a new welding process. The
results showed that fusion-welded tanks were sturdier than forge-welded tanks and
that they could be manufactured more efficiently. High stresses introduced during
welding could be relieved by heating each completed tank in a giant oven. X-ray
inspection could insure weld soundness. However, it was five years before
government construction specifications were changed to accommodate electric fusion
welding – and then just ten
test cars were allowed.
Exhaustive and conclusive
tests proved the design and
one of the cars miraculously
survived a bad train wreck.
However, the ICC did not
hand down new tank car
construction specifications
that included fusion-welding
until 1941.
1931 until 1941
Union Tank Car
Goes to War
American oil moved to port in long-haul
trains in the summer of 1941 provided the
just-in-time energy to “save” England. Old
tank cars queued for the scrap heap were
recalled for the emergency service. They
were expedited to the nearest car repair
shops where crews worked around the clock
to seal leaks, lube journals and unstick
valves. Soon, 20,000 cars, including many
of the old VanDyke “V” cars, were in
continuous movement between the Midwest
and East Coast ports.
Then came Pearl Harbor, and the real
pressure began. All oil tank cars in the U.S.
assigned to under-200 mile moves were
diverted to emergency long-haul use. The short haul market was abandoned to the
trucking industry. Almost 50,000 more cars were assigned
to government service. Cooperation of the railroads, tank car companies
and the petroleum companies resulted in a democratic “revolution in transportation.”
1941
Tank Car Assembler
Since the beginning, Union Tank Car had depended on car builders for its supply of
new tank cars. Some suppliers were also leasing competitors. It became apparent that
any plans for market expansion would require an investment in self-reliance. In 1950,
an agreement with Graver Tank & Manufacturing Company secured delivery of a
supply of tanks constructed to UTLX specifications. With frame and running gear
components
supplied by
other steel
companies, Union
Tank Car began
assembling its own
cars at the Whiting,
IN and Philadelphia
car repair shops
The association
prospered.
1949
PROCOR
Products Tank Line, a UTLX subsidiary that had been established in 1926 to lease cars
to non-Standard Oil refiners, made inroads into the Canadian tank car leasing market in
the mid-1940’s. To meet the demands of the emerging Alberta petroleum industry, the
operation was reorganized as a full-scale leasing
company and incorporated in 1952. Acquisition
of the 2.200 car Imperial Oil Fleet under a
purchase/leaseback in 1953 confirmed the
wisdom of the international expansion. Over the
next few years, PTL constructed a series of repair
shops across Canada to maintain its growing fleet.
To secure a domestic source for new cars,
Ontario-based Sparling Tank was acquired in 1958.
PTL Canada, known in company slang as Procan,
was renamed in 1962. Today, Procor Limited and
UTLX mount the largest and most comprehensive
tank car leasing effort in the world. The companies’
international services include railcar design, manufacturing,
maintenance, and interior coating and lining services.
1952
Tank Car
Manufacturer
Union Tank Car became a full-fledged
builder of tank cars when it purchased its
tank supplier, Phoenix-Graver, in 1957.
The decision was underscored in 1958 by
the acquisition of the Lang Company, a
plate fabrication company located in Salt
Lake City and, later in the year, Sparling
Tank Manufacturing Company, Ltd. In
Toronto.
Close to U.S. steel production in
Northwestern Indiana, central location
became important in tank car production.
The alliance with Graver proved itself with
UTLX customers. Management recognized
the requirements for a full service lessor to
design and manufacture its
1957
Railcar Repair for the 20th Century
In 1956, when necessity
demanded a new repair facility,
Union Tank Car gave the shop
concept a creative review. An
engineering task force
recommended a radical
departure form the traditional
long, linear, covered railroad
track.
The shop built at Baton
Rouge, LA arranged the repair
tracks radically around a central
parts and office area. A circular
transfer table switched the cars
from the inbound tracks to one
of 30 repair tracks. A long “tail”
attached to the circular floor
enclosed the blast and paint
facility and the outbound track
for cars that required painting.
1958
Railcar Repair for the 20th Century
The largest circular building in
the world was constructed to
house the shop. Using R.
Buckminster Fuller’s justpatented geodesic principle of
design, an immense, domed
structure 384 feet across at its
base and 120 feet high was
built. Constructed of 321 sixsided steel panels welded
together and strengthened with
a network of steel rods and
pipes, the novel building
required no interior supports.
The trend to greater tank
capacities eventually obsolete
the shop, which could not be
efficiently modified to
accommodate longer cars.
Union Tank Car sold the facility
in the early 1980’s.
1958
The Hot Dog Car
Working in secret between 1954 and 1956, a task force of young Union Tank Car
engineers developed a radically different tank car. Their perfectly cylindrical, all-welded
design was revolutionary because of what it did not have. Like the V-car from 50 years
before, the HD-car (so-designated because of its resemblance to a hot dog) had no
under frame. Tank bands, running boards, and the long-standing expansion dome were
eliminated, too.
Tests had proven
that surge pressures
at the tank heads were
reduced in less-thanfull cars. Two percent
vapor space above the
product was allowance
enough for expansion.
The tank car dome was
history.
Elimination of running boards caused the most debate.
It was 1961 before an ICC ruling upheld that UTLX design change.
1954
The JUMBO!
The first HD car had a capacity of 100,000 lbs and weighed about 50,000 lbs.
Economies associated with greater capacities made railroads quick to offer incentive
freight rates to shippers who provided the new, larger cars. Shipper demand
spurred the new car market and a race to even greater capacity. The first 20,000
gallon car was introduced in 1958.
1958
The Race Is On!
30,000 Gallons.
The HD
design was
efficient to
produce.
The outside
diameter of
the tank
could be
standardized
for a range of
capacities so
larger pay loads could be obtained simply by building longer cars.
This 1960-built UTLX car, designed for liquefied petroleum gas, was the largest
and most efficient ever produced … until 1961 when a shorter, fatter car – the UTLX
Compact-30 – made it obsolete.
1960
Marketing Confidence.
When shippers expressed reluctance to lease or buy cars that might soon be
“too small,” Union Tank Car introduced a car design that could be altered to a
larger or smaller capacity. The promise was that the car could be changed easily to
optimal capacity by
adding or removing
tank rings. The
“Changeable Car”
strategy reassured
the marketplace,
but it was three
decades before
there was a call to
“stretch” the first
cars.
As might be
expected, the
conversion in 1985 of 8 MG corn syrup cars to 10 MG
general chemical service cars was skillfully accomplished … as proposed in …
1961
Union Tank Car’s Biggest, Ever!
Able to transport 50,000 gallons of liquefied petroleum gas or anhydrous ammonia,
the largest UTLX car – ever – is 89 feet long, weighs 175,000 lbs, and rolls on 16
wheels. The mammoth car was successfully tested by major petroleum companies.
But, with a GRL of 440,000 lbs, it proved to be too big
and was on display at the Galveston Texas Center for Transportation.
1963
Sandwich Car:
In-Transit Temperature Control.
Appealing to
shippers of products
that are sensitive to
heat gain or loss, the
UTLX Sandwich Car
is insulated with up
to 12” of urethane
foam. The tankwithin-a-tank design
eliminates metal-tometal contact
between the inner
and outer tank to
maintain product
temperature within a
narrow range during
transit.
1965
Funnel Flow:
Fast, Complete Unloading.
Elegantly simple, the UTLX Funnel-Flow® sloping tank innovation facilitates
complete product unloading. The edges of the two rings that are joined at the
middle of a car are contoured to produce a bevel. The standard ¼” per foot slope
gives a Funnel Flow
car a unique swaybacked silhouette,
with the tank shell
sloping from head
seam to center seam.
Cars can be designed
with steeper slopes
to aid unloading of
more viscous
products. The
design enables more
complete unloading
and insures that
minimal residual
product (or heel) is left in the car.
1967
East Chicago
Plant No. 1
During its 40 year history it
built over 70,000 tank cars
of various car types and
capacities. Centrally
located, the plant could
efficiently ship to any
location.
Simuloader™
Accelerated Life Cycle Testing
Testing technology Union Tank Car developed
in 1980 allowed UTLX engineers to predict longterm product performance in “real world”
operating conditions – in a very short time.
A computer-equipped passenger car coupled
electronically to a gauge-encrusted tank car
collected “real life” strains during a cross-country
rail trip. Back in the lab the damaging loads
were concentrated – electronically – and
reintroduced into a test car mounted on a
hydraulically-actuated damage simulator, the
Simuloader.
Life cycle profiles of UTLX tank cars and their
components let engineers optimize car designs,
while preventative maintenance schedules were
focused to ensure reliability.
After the UTLX car designs were profiled, the
Simuloader was given to the AAR Test Center in
Puebla, Colorado to be used to examine other
freight car types.
1980
Union Tank Car Company leading
the tank and plastics car industry with
personalized leasing service.
Incorporated on
July 14, 1891
the first 100
year
anniversary
was celebrated
with stenciling
on some of our
cars.
286 Gross Rail Limit
New UTLX tank cars
are designed to
carry the
maximum load limit
allowed by the
railroads.
1996
Utilization efficiencies have improved
Built
tough,
UTLX
Cars
work
harder
and last
longer
A Quiet Revolution
No accidents, injuries, or harm to the environment
Service, Service, Service
“The
Tank Car
People”
make
the
difference
Internet service: utlx.com / Link-Net
Internet service: utlx.com / Link-Net
Investing in Maintenance
Union Tank Car provides
maintenance facilities
including shops, mobile
repair units and mini shops
in many locations.
Plant No. 6
Sheldon, Texas
In addition to constructing new
tank cars, Sheldon also
manufactures components and
parts for the Alexandria
Manufacturing plant.
Union Tank Car Alexandria
Louisiana Manufacturing
Built in 2006, it is the
most modern tank car
manufacturing facility in
the world using specialized
equipment and techniques
to produce tank cars efficiently.
UTLX cars have been engineered
for safety and reliability.
UTLX commitment to build the
safest and best cars possible