Re: Following the tanks (gas) CONX # 25 & # 38

Jeff Taylor makes good points regarding the condition/ lubrication and inspection of the journals as it relates to the hotbox issue. Now this brings up a point that perhaps someone can answer in who, when and where were the journals repacked and inspected? Sloan in his “Century + 10” book says that the D&RGW didn’t let UTLX use the Alamosa shops to service their cars and had to lease a track on the Westside of Alamosa to perform work? Although I see photos of UTLX cars with “D&RGW tested” stencils was Conoco responsible for their own car servicing? Some of the Conoco cars have “C&S” repacked stenciling on the frame so where and by whom did the tanks that were mostly used on the D&RGW/ RGS get serviced?

Now the question about the tank baffling is one that the drawing reproduced in RRobb’s NG Pictorial Vol. IV on pages 138/139 doesn’t clearly show to my eye but raises another question regarding these wide frame Conoco cars (CONX # 21-40) used to distribute gasoline out of the Farmington refinery.

As an aside over the past couple of months of Jimmy Blouch’s postings for November/December 1940, Durango has been receiving an average of 3 tanks of gasoline twice per week (Monday/ Friday) while Dolores is averaging 2 tanks once a week (from Farmington). Other Conoco distributors along the RGS appear to be a car monthly or less. So for you NG operators/ recreators what goes out comes back to the Farmington refinery as empties in the same ebb and flow...

Dave Grandt’s truck specs. sheet # 566 indicates the side bolster bearings (also shown on Section A-A of the car drawing) is 39 ½” center to center) which I think is about typical of many NG bolsters/ trucks. I can’t discern the type of bearing called out but it may have just been a welded flat plate. Compared to the UTLX frameless cars which had their bearings considerably further outboard shown here:




Friends attach tanks to UTLX frameless cars

perhaps the bearing set-up of the CONX wide frame cars was a contributing factor?

There are also several good explanations for why these cars may have been problematic as posted in an earlier thread on tanks by “Student” awhile back here:

CONX vs UTLX thread

And to Jon Walden’s question re: loaded tanks and baffling; on one train in 1940 I have documented the RGS derailed 3 tanks in one train at separate locations, at least one of which was empty, so go figure.

Rod