Those Procor GP-20 Tank Cars

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I really like the Rapido GP-20 tank cars, except... I've NEVER seen a photo of the prototype in any of the areas I'm into. They'd stick out with those weird vents.

And as a result, I almost never run mine because they do stick out with those vents.

So I committed some model railroad heresy: I actually made my models less accurate by removing them.

I really like the way it's turned out on my proof of concept car, but before I do more, I wanted to ask: am I just missing these things?? Did they not journey south of the St Lawrence??

Anyone have a trove of photos of them floating around the US?

Or should I continue on "generecizing" them so they blend in better with the rest of the fleet?

[mu26aeh]

Following because I'm in same boat.  I bought them to help the N scale sells cause, assuming I could send them to Utz with vegetable oil.

[lock4244]

Almost PA...

https://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=prox47724_2&o=procor

I would think you'd have been more likely to see them in the US after FTA and NAFTA were implemented, so early CR be much less likely (looked but no find of a Procor GP20 on the NCR). Procor cars certainly travelled across the border prior, but IIRC, a car built in Canada could load in Canada and travel to a US destination without penalty, but not load in the US for shipment within the US or return to Canada loaded in the US. Not sure if there was a time limit to return the are to it's home country (locomotives had to return with 48or 72 hours... can't recall which). Think the same applied to US built cars in Canada.

BCR, CN, and CP had cars with reporting marks denoting special status. CNA and CPAA were US built cars that could load in the US for movement to Canada (or load in the US for a US destination), BCIT, CNIS, CPI were Canadian built cars that were restricted to Canadian loading for US destinations. All of this ended with free trade. The CNA and CPAA, while not limited to, were popular marks on auto parts cars thanks to the 1965 Autopact.

[John]

Following because I'm in same boat.  I bought them to help the N scale sells cause, assuming I could send them to Utz with vegetable oil.

That's what I did back when I had Utz on the layout .. this is an easy industry to model ..

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FECZ3TqK3Hopo4977

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I would think you'd have been more likely to see them in the US after FTA and NAFTA were implemented, so early CR be much less likely (looked but no find of a Procor GP20 on the NCR). Procor cars certainly travelled across the border prior, but IIRC, a car built in Canada could load in Canada and travel to a US destination without penalty, but not load in the US for shipment within the US or return to Canada loaded in the US. Not sure if there was a time limit to return the are to it's home country (locomotives had to return with 48or 72 hours... can't recall which). Think the same applied to US built cars in Canada.

BCR, CN, and CP had cars with reporting marks denoting special status. CNA and CPAA were US built cars that could load in the US for movement to Canada (or load in the US for a US destination), BCIT, CNIS, CPI were Canadian built cars that were restricted to Canadian loading for US destinations. All of this ended with free trade. The CNA and CPAA, while not limited to, were popular marks on auto parts cars thanks to the 1965 Autopact.

THANK YOU!!

This explains a whole lot.

My own good news: I've got the UTLX and NAHX versions. So in order to make these otherwise really nice looking cars "blend in" a bit more, I think I'm going to chop off the vents and maybe remove a Procor logo here and there.

[lock4244]

THANK YOU!!

This explains a whole lot.

My own good news: I've got the UTLX and NAHX versions. So in order to make these otherwise really nice looking cars "blend in" a bit more, I think I'm going to chop off the vents and maybe remove a Procor logo here and there.

Sacrilege! Ow, my freakin' ears!

Seems they modded some of the vents over the years.

https://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4137443

https://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3566638

Stand-ins are the cross n scalers' bear. I would particularly love to see 70's era LPG tankcars so I can retire my 90's era cars for my late 1980's era modeling. Ah, to dream.

[sirenwerks]

I would particularly love to see 70's era LPG tankcars

This. Been thinking about how the Athearn cars could be backdated but never pulled the trigger on any to play with the idea.

[lock4244]

This. Been thinking about how the Athearn cars could be backdated but never pulled the trigger on any to play with the idea.

I backdated mine by trying to ignore that they're wrong. Works to a degree.

[cv_acr]

a car built in Canada could load in Canada and travel to a US destination without penalty, but not load in the US for shipment within the US or return to Canada loaded in the US.

Of course, since tanks are so specialized, and can't switch commodities without a total cleanout, and are generally leased or controlled by the shippers and not free-running, they kinda generally don't get reloaded for the return trip.

[cv_acr]

My own good news: I've got the UTLX and NAHX versions. So in order to make these otherwise really nice looking cars "blend in" a bit more, I think I'm going to chop off the vents and maybe remove a Procor logo here and there.

UTLX = Procor.

Procor did not use their own PROX reporting marks until after 1981 for new cars. Existing cars were slowly re-marked in the mid 1980s.

The NCTX/North American models are specifically North American Canada.