There was some mention of Boley and Trucks n Stuff vehicles on another thread, and I like them a great deal. Here are a few that I've been working on. It looks as if Boley was bringing out a lot of stuff up to five years ago or so, and then they seem to have decided to concentrate on their larger-scale die cast stuff. Now Walthers has taken them over, a good move, though they're a little more expensive. You can probably find older Boley stock at a better price at a place called 3000 Toys, if you want to pick up some bargains.

Boley cherry picker. I added an orange traffic cone from JL Innovative Designs -- Bachmann is also now bringing out traffic cones.[attachment=11288]A lot of these work trucks carry traffic cones.

Here's a City Power truck:[attachment=11287]Also with a traffic cone, but some photos I got of a prototype version show how many other details you can add to one of these:[attachment=11286]
And here's the start of a hi-rail truck kitbashed from three Boleys, including the City Power utility-style body and crane:[attachment=11285]This is waiting for me to figure out how to add a Custom Finishing heavy-duty hi-rail conversion, which turns out to be designed for the Atlas Ford tractor pretty specifically.

Here's a Trucks n Stuff Knight tractor and dry van:[attachment=11290]And here's a prototype shot, seen from the perspective I normally get:[attachment=11289]At least in California, these are very, very common, both on the road and on intermodal trains. The problem I have is that a sleeper cab and a 53 foot trailer take up an enormous amount of layout room, so I haven't gotten as many as I'd like. The best prices on these, I've found, are at M.B.Klein.

Here's another Boley project, turning a stake body into one of those trucks that carries CO2 and helium tanks:[attachment=11294]I'm a little bit stalled trying to figure out what color to paint the Bar Mills gas tanks I have loaded in it. I think there's a federal standard that says non-flammable compressed gas tanks are green, but the ones in this truck don't seem to be that:[attachment=11293]I also need to add hazmat placards. Does anyone know what color CO2 and helium tanks are usually painted?

You might try a welding supply shop to find out the colors for various gases. I retired in 2006, and I just don't remember tank colors. I think each different commodity had a different color tank. Welding supply shops carry all sorts of gases for various uses, many of them are inert.

The FDA doesn't have standard colors for medical gases <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.apsf.org/newsletters/html/2010/spring/10_cylinder.htm">http://www.apsf.org/newsletters/html/20 ... linder.htm</a><!-- m --> so I doubt there is an industry standard for other gases. I was getting Oxygen in orange, red, or green bottles when I retired at the end of 2010. It may be that some companies paint their cylinders different so they can easily identify them. It seemed like most of the orange ones were Airco, while the others came from Butler gas.
The threads were different on the combustionable gases, being left hand turns.
Charlie

I did a web search, and other than the federal standard that applies mainly to the armed forces, there's no other standard in the US. Once I got interested and started noticing, a lot of tanks seem to be bare silver metal.

A very worthwhile thread on upgrading Trucks n Stuff floors and tandems on another forum <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,2780693">http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/r ... ?3,2780693</a><!-- m -->

Another detail item he doesn't mention is the flexible air hoses that go to the brakes on the tandem, which are pretty visible at ground level:[attachment=11418]A Line either makes or made some very good solid wire for doing this, but you can also use other fine wire from any source. I've done this on some Walthers 45 and 48 foot trailers, but am holding back on the two Trucks n Stuff 53s I have -- they're enough bigger that I just dunno.

With regard to Compressed Gas cylinders, they all come under the Hazardous Materials Regulations and all gases and liquids have a United Nations Registered Number which is listed in the Hazmat daimond with the prefix U.N. No.
Even if a gas is inert, the fact that it is under such high compression inside the cyclinder means that it still presents a hazard during transport, handling and storage and as such still needs to be treated with respect.
The quantity and type of gases being transported determines which placards to display and also can have a major influence on the transport route. The reason they are prohibited from the tunnels is due to the added risks of fire and explosion that they pose should the vehicle become involved in an accident either directly or subsequently.

For example the road tunnels on the two tollways here in Melbourne have several signs of both the fixed and electronic type which display notices reminding drivers that placarded loads are not allowed in the tunnels and indicating which exits drivers of such loads should use to avoid entering the tunnels. Drivers who ignore the signs and drive placarded loads into the tunnels will be caught on surveilance cameras and then prosecuted by the police and Vic Roads.

Mark