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oil tanks help?


ess1uk
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i'm after pictures/info on Shell oil tanks, TTAs to be more precise.

i have several Horby versions in different liveries but want to know more about when the liveries changed and what information panels etc i need to add?

thinking that the FOX transfers are probably the best bet, but have no good picture of what goes where

and think they were never really all yellow, but I don't mind about that too much.

all help greatfully received

 

Edit for spelling.

Edited by ess1uk
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a good start, thanks

 

any idea on number ranges?

i have 2 grey tanks both with 500 on, would it be safe to renumber one of them 499 or 501?

i also have several yellow tanks with no numbers, what should i number them?

 

If you can find the numbering range for that series of tankers, then just randomly pick them if you are not too fussed about wrong numbers on odd liveries and stuff.

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just want something that looks right, not too bothered about historical accuracy, it's not a museam piece, just tarting up old train set kit as a practice

cheers for all the help

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OK not quite the right era but hopefully useful for detail. These photos were taken from the Safeways Car Park next to Long Rock Depot Penzance in July last year.

 

Xerces Fobe

 

i'm rail blue into sector era, nothing privatised, but thanks for the help anyway in case i change my mind!

good for the detail though

most helpful

A great vantage point that supermarket :)

Edited by ess1uk
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sorry but it appears the photos have not attached.

i'm rail blue into sector era, nothing privatised, but thanks for the help anyway in case i change my mind!

 

 

Unsure why but I had a feeling that the fuel oil delivered to rail depots in Cornwall such as St Blazey, in the 1980s to the v early 1990s, were "Total" branded TTAs.

 

I thought I had some photos of St Blazey at this time but cant locate them so cant confirm if I am correct

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after much more digging it appears that my Hornby Shell tanks in all yellow are not even a real livery and they should be grey or black.

(same goes for the red Texaco ones ?)

could i get away with modelers licence and just add haz mat symbols and get away with it??

My railway, my rules etc...

 

Edit for spelling.

Edited by ess1uk
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[attachment=101159:IMG_2875.JPG]
ideas how to make this look better?
had it as a kid hence the really rubbish dirt
thinking haz mat transfers and numbers and paint the sole bar red?
cheers for help



Needs a full scale rework, I'm afraid , but an excellent place to start dabbling in detailing and modifying wagons.

You need

- a replacement etched ladder/walkway - the A1 Models etches for single or double walkway are still apparently available from MG Sharp , and I'm sure someone like Shawplan must do an even better version, though I can';t find anything quickly on Sawplan's website

- A tub of Modelstrip paint stripper putty , (and a pair or rubber gloves for when you apply it) This will remove the teenage muck

- Model filler. Remove the tank mouldings from the chassis, join carefilly and accurately with solvent, when dry use a little filler to fill in the joints /cracks sand down the filler with fine emery paper, and perhaps fine emery paper wetted , to a good smooth finish. And while you're about it fare away the edges of the mouldling base with a file to a fine edge. The base of the tank meets the chassis as a thin edge - not as a 6" thick slab sitting on top


- A suitable coat of black paint. The easiest approach is going to be a spray can of Games Workshop Chaos Black. Apply new transfers (Fox though it's seemingly endless series of packs to get all the elements and you'll need to do half a dozen wagons to get the cost per wagon down to something sensible). Weather over the lot very lightly with dilute washes working vertically up and down ('cos that's how gravity makes the rain run) . Coat of matt varnish over the lot to seal and protect the transfers , and tone down the finish

Improvements can be made to the chassis , but if you're committed to tension locks the biggest - remove the wretched things with the Xuron cutters, filing flat and filling the buffer beams - isn't possible . Replacement brass Olleo wagon buffers improve things no end

As they say "here's 3 I made earlier". Several started out pretty much in the condition of your Shell tank (The back right one was Railroad , but Iended up repainting most of the barrel in the process of weathering - I think Fox would have charged as much for the pack with Shell stripes and logos as Hornby charged for the wagon)

post-80-0-34395900-1307879576_thumb.jpg

The two black stars were to indicate that the wagon was fit for higher speeds (ie up to 60 mph compared with the 15-25 mph of steam era tank wagons - some of which , when they were replaced with TTAs in the mid 1960s, were very vintage indeed - Edwardian tanks with wooden underframes were still to be found in oil company fleets in the early sixties.

On black class B wagons , the stars were white, and I think they vanished some time after 1990 Edited by Ravenser
reinsert pictures
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The two black stars were to indicate that the wagon was fit for higher speeds (ie up to 60 mph compared with the 15-25 mph of steam era tank wagons - some of which , when they were replaced with TTAs in the mid 1960s, were very vintage indeed - Edwardian tanks with wooden underframes were still to be found in oil company fleets in the early sixties.

 

On black class B wagons , the stars were white, and I think they vanished some time after 1990

 

cheers for that

time to get the transfers on order then and keep a look out for some ladders etc

Edited by ess1uk
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I've far from an expert weatherer, but I find tank wagons to be particularly tricky for some reason. I've seen efforts of other modellers who are superb at box vans, opens or locos, and yet their tank wagons are also the 'worst' of their weathering jobs. Perhaps it's the expanse of smooth sides that cause the problem, but they do seem like one of the harder items to get looking good.

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Guest Celticwardog

Very good point. If people buy pre weathered stuff from a manufacturer the weathered pattern tends to be the same so if you had a few of these type of tankers it would look ridiculous. BTW if matt black looks glossy chances alas it probably wasn't stirred enough (is it enamel, takes forever to get the matting agent dispersed when stirring) Brush on matt varnish should get rid of the shine.

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Very good point. If people buy pre weathered stuff from a manufacturer the weathered pattern tends to be the same so if you had a few of these type of tankers it would look ridiculous. BTW if matt black looks glossy chances alas it probably wasn't stirred enough (is it enamel, takes forever to get the matting agent dispersed when stirring) Brush on matt varnish should get rid of the shine.

yes it was enamel paint

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when did Shell and BP stop sharing tanks?

 

Early 70's, (can't find the exact date but I would guess at 1973 ish), but by the time TOPS renumbering came in the old combined Shell and BP numbers were allocated but SUKO and BPO were actually applied.

 

Mike.

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when did Shell and BP stop sharing tanks?

From an archive site

 

Shell-Mex and BP Limited (SMBP) was formed in 1932 when the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC, now BP) and Royal Dutch-Shell decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations. APOC held 40 per cent and Shell 60 per cent ownership, reflecting their respective market shares. SMBP acquired the Power Petroleum Company and the Dominion Motor Company in 1934, and the National Benzole Company in 1957. Each brand continued to be marketed separately throughout the existence of the joint company. The parent organisations de-merged their United Kingdom marketing operations in 1976.

 

Seems correct to me. All of the TOPS plastic plates were produced for SMBP, but I doubt any were used (Private Owners were slow to renumber their wagons). The redundant plates were sold off for a few pence (or possibly £1?) at Collectors corner. I've got SMBP52119 http://bit.ly/1kMHnwH

 

Paul

Edited by hmrspaul
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