The
prototype for our new 17,600 Gallon Corn Syrup Tank Car was built in large numbers
by Trinity Industries between 1984 and 1998. Of the over 7,000 cars that were
built, most are still in active service today. The
cars followed a common bent-barrel tank design that helps the product drain and
unload easier. These cars are jacketed and insulated, and have exterior coil pipes
to heat the commodity to promote faster unloading. Midland food-grade butterfly
unload valves and Midland exterior spring safety valves were common appliances
used on these cars. The biggest variation in the car production was in the manway
/ top platform arrangement. Several arrangements were specified by large shippers;
for example ADM, Cargill, Corn Products, GATX, MCP, and Staley to name a few.
These
tank cars are commonly used to transport varying grades of Corn Syrup, Liquid
Sugar, and Molasses from processing facilities to bulk distribution centers and
other end-users throughout the US and Canada. They are a very common sight on
today's railroads, and they have been for two decades. This initial release features
three of the most common manway/top platform arrangements as specified by ADM,
Cargill, and Corn Products (among others). |