helium car
#16
An Aussie submitted this,...

Originally the cars were lettered USNX for the Navy but later were transferred to the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines Helium Field Operations and recoded MHAX. They were indeed used to deliver Helium to the Cape Kennedy complex as well as space and other industries throughout the US. The closing of the Helium Operations by the Government in 1996 meant the cars were withdrawn and some were preserved.

This shot shows them being hauled by NASA 2 at the Cape. Note the water tower in the background, this is for Quenching Water at one of the launch pads.
[Image: NASA_Railroad_locomotive_2.jpg]

BTW, I'd like to have a NASA train on my layout even if I didn't have a space port or anything else,....just a NASA loco, some NASA helium cars, and a some NASA liquid oxygen cars. Maybe some solid rocket cars also....
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#17
(08-02-2019, 01:09 PM)railandsail Wrote:
(08-02-2019, 10:53 AM)jim currie Wrote: .... also will paint inside of the car black so when viewed from eye level you will be able to see through .  
Don't know that i understand what you are saying here??

on the ends of the tanks on the proto cars you can see daylight through the car  looking straight on so if you paint inside of car black looking down  on car it will appear as a shadow  if viewed at eye lever you will see light .
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#18
Quote:on the ends of the tanks on the proto cars you can see daylight through the car  looking straight on so if you paint inside of car black looking down  on car it will appear as a shadow  if viewed at eye lever you will see light .

Sorry, I'm still lost on this one Huh

BTW I do not have one of these cars handy that I can inspect,...but I don't recall there being any 'open space' between the tanks.
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#19
Brian if you look as proto type drawings the tanks don't rest solid on each other the tanks are double ended bottles with air space around them  , don't have a photo of  straight on side view but attached  is a shot kinda showing what I mean.
   
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#20
I realize that on the full size train the bottles were individual units, but not on any of the scale models.

I was wondering how to make the scale models (solid/continuous plastic) look like individual bottles??
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#21
(08-04-2019, 09:53 PM)railandsail Wrote: I realize that on the full size train the bottles were individual units, but not on any of the scale models.

I was wondering how to make the scale models (solid/continuous plastic) look like individual bottles??

While weathering/shading might lessen the solid appearance, I think the best way to get an accurate model of those cars would be to scratchbuild it from styrene.  Rod and tube is readily available, as are structural shapes, and sheet and strip material. 
Rivet decals will take care of that detail, and Tichy and Grandt Line both offer hinge details in styrene.  Wire grabs and sill steps, along with free-standing ladders will lift the appearance, too.

The most difficult part might be getting appropriate (and accurate) decals, but Circus City offers custom work on a fairly large sheet which could do a number of cars if a group of interested modellers were to combine their order.  That would make the cost very affordable.


My good friend Charlie sent me some decals which he had made by Circus City, and while they were intended for use on a 50' outside-post boxcar, a little editing with my X-Acto changed the dimensional data to better-suit a couple of Tichy twenties-era 40' reefers...

[Image: 100_7328.jpg]

If I were not so far behind in my various projects, I might attempt such a project, even though it's not a car that's high on my list of "must-have" ones.

Wayne
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#22
Went looking for some info on sources of helium and ran across this rather interesting article,...


Why Is There a Helium Shortage?
A crucial ingredient in MRI machines, wafer manufacturing, welding, and more, helium is experiencing a shortage that's driving up its price around the world.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science...-10031229/


The USA is the source of 75% of the earth's helium.
And helium is one of the most abundant elements in the universe
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#23
[quote="railandsail" pid='152788' dateline='1565982417']



....The USA is the source of 75% of the earth's helium.
And helium is one of the most abundant elements in the universe

[/quote]

A fact not to be taken lightly, I guess?   Misngth Misngth

Wayne
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#24
Quote:[Image: 605c36f9-1c8b-455d-afb2-f92cd75bd44e-ori...fit=bounds]

This is one of the many tank cars built for the US Navy for the shipping of Helium to various locations for their lighter than air craft, they were later transfered to the US Dept of Mines for transporting Helium for various uses like NASA and research facilitites. The cars were extremely heavy due to the steel tubes used for storing the Helium, they had 100 ton trucks. The model was an old AHM one that I picked up, removed all the cast on grabs and replaced with metal grabs, also replaced the cast sill steps with A-line Steps. Replaced the roofwalk with a wood one from a 1937 AAR Boxcar kit. The trucks were a problem but I found a couple of old MDC ore car kits with the proper truck that I needed, plugged the holes from the old trucks and drilled new holes for the truck attachment. Painted the car with Scalecoat II UP Hopper Car Gray and lettered with Tichy Decals. I did these cars as the NASA Glenn facility here in Cleveland used to get a couple delivered every so ofter on the old B&O (now CSX) to a special siding with unloading piping.

Thanks for looking!

Rick Jesionowski

Hello Rick,
I have quite a number of these cars, and was hoping to develop a method to make them look better than their stock condition. I took note of your modifications, but I had several questions for you;
1) How did you make it appear that the long tanks are individual units? You seemed to have gotten those dark lines pretty straight and consistent

2) Did you ever attempt to try making the cross-bracing separate from the tanks??...like this photo (did it show up, as it was posted on another forum?)

[Image: atmx1016-and-friends-jpg.200804]
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#25
Brian did some experimenting before left on trip will post photo when we get back.
Jim
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#26
ok here is photo of car using a fine tipped marker  its sloppy work as car will be stripped, but just the marker adds depth to tanks.
   

at distant it appears that the marker needs to be smaller. 
   
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#27
But the I wonder what a change in the color of the tanks would do to blur out some of that black marker?
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#28
(10-09-2019, 12:04 PM)railandsail Wrote: But the I wonder what a change in the color of the tanks would do to blur out some of that black marker?


don't know I have a silver one that is going to be worked on  , will dig it out and try marker.
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#29
Just a thought, but how about spritzing it with some diluted India ink? Lay it on its side and use a high % dilution to start with and keep doing it until it looks like you want.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#30
Going to have to leave this subject go for the time being and get my layout built and running,.....but I do intend to have both a small helium 'plant', and cryogenic car 'plant' on my new layout.

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