Micro Trains Penn Central 3-dome tankcar spotted...in Columbia, PA!

[Dave V]

I was admiring this insane Penn Central hawtness from Columbia, PA (February 1976) when I noticed something unusual.

Enjoy the hawtness or fast-forward to 11:25, and you'll see just ahead of the N8 cabin car of an eastbound ducking under the Route 462 bridge something I didn't think I'd see east of Altoona/Holidaysburg.

It's a PC 3-dome tank car!  I can't read the reporting marks but I don't think PC had a fleet of triple dome tanks. I'm guessing it's this:

http://wig-wag-trains-cart.com/MTL/mtl-freight-cars/mtl-tank-cars/mtl-066-00-040-penn-central-3-dome-tank-car

MTL's info about the car comes from the Morning Sun Color Guide and suggests the car was in captive company service between Altoona and Holidaysburg transporting waste oil, which is why I didn't pick one up.  Yet here it appears to be, not one, but two divisions east and under the wire.

This changes the equation a bit...!

[ljudice]

I remember wondering the same thing about the MTL CNJ tank car - until I was on an NJ Transit train pulling into Raritan, NJ and it was sitting on a siding.  I ended up picking up the car which is stenciled "Raritan Engine Terminal".   This was 15-20 years ago, so I doubt it is still there.

[LV LOU]

CNJ had one here in Ashley for fuel service,so did LV at Coxton..Reading had a few in captive service,too.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

So the car THEY did might be in captive service, but it doesn't mean it's the only 3 dome tank car floating around the system.

The one you saw might've been a different capacity or something. Who knows.

Either way, now it's time to stock up on a unit train!

[Chris333]

At the end with the caboose. Couldn't it have been hitching a ride to another facility?

[Dave V]

Right, so it very likely still was in company service in 1976...just over a much wider portion of the system than the Color Guide suggests.  It is possible they had more than 1 triple-dome tank car, but I don't imagine there were many.

Either way, I thought it was a neat find!

[jpec]

Nice to see a PC video that doesn't look like a blooper reel...the background music has me waiting for SSGT Elias to come staggering out of the woods...

[MichaelWinicki]

Nice to see a PC video that doesn't look like a blooper reel...the background music has me waiting for SSGT Elias to come staggering out of the woods...

If you haven't seen them Green Frog Productions has some terrific PC videos.  What surprised me were the amount of F-units that were part of consists up until the early 70's.

[Bruce Bird]

We should all thank Emery Gulash for his 16 mm color films.  Great stuff!

Bruce

[up1950s]

I thought " captive service " meant the car is not to leave home road rails , and could be used all over the home road .

[Dave V]

I thought " captive service " meant the car is not to leave home road rails , and could be used all over the home road .

True enough, but again, all the info I've seen on the car said it ran between Altoona and Holidaysburg, not all over the system.  Columbia is a good bit away from either.  Unless this is a different car, then that would appear to be incorrect.