Nachoman's 2010 spring bash chalenge

[nachoman]

I did some lazy internet research into the origin of this car, and it looks suspiciously similar to the athearn 3-dome tank car. The details are pretty much the same, the way the handrails and ladders attach. I wonder if Bachmann actually used the Athearn car as their prototype. Athearn sells this car as an 8,000 gallon tank car, but my calculations of the model show this is likely a 10,000 gallon car. Another photo of the CONX 190 car appears here:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://trainweb.org/mopac/conx190.jpg">http://trainweb.org/mopac/conx190.jpg</a><!-- m -->

The lettering indicates each compartment at 2000 gallons, so this is probably a 6,000 gallon car. I am also thinking that there may be void space between the separate tanks, so my calculation of 10,000 gallons for the model may account for 2,000 gallons of void space - thus the Athearn 8,000 gallon designation may be correct. Nonetheless, I think I will still try to create the CONX 190 car, as it is the best internet photo I have found of a 3-dome car that looks similar enough to the model. I also like the handrail for the high roof walk and the rather plain lettering scheme.