A New Life for an Old Tanker

The idea behind this project was to get an old, derelict, 1950's Shell oil tanker rail car back on its feet, and transform it into a one-of-a-kind LyondellBasell tanker. 
For those readers unfamiliar with this company, let me tell you that LyondellBasell (NYSE:LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, a 'multinational' with manufacturing plants and offices all over the globe.

The subject of the metamorphosis (for the millennials among us: 'makeover') was a 'O' gauge rail car manufactured by KBN in Germany, that looked rather forlorn, showing dents and scratches, and missing its wheels, as well as one of its couplings.

These pictures give a general impression of the rail car at the start of the project.

Karl Bub of Nürnberg, Germany, company logo

So here's where I decided to dismantle what was left of the old fellow, then bring him back to life, so to speak, and give him a new identity to boot! The 'patient' was admitted to the Rust & Steel workshop, and the fascinating work began!

   

Next step was to order some spare parts from a local, specialized seller. I wanted to make the wagon look as good as I could, so I went for more 'luxurious' (i.e. expensive) parts than the wagon had ever possessed.

Back in the 50's, Bub toy trains had started using plastic wheels in their models, something quite new at the time, that made for cheaper production. However, I wanted this to be an all-metal rail car, so I went for metal wheels used in pre-1950's models instead. Aged metal simply has more charisma than plastic (sorry, LYB!). Besides, it was not the idea to restore the rail car to its original state, but to create a unique one, so there was no need to follow any conventions here.

Above images: spare wheels, axles, buffers, and the substitute for the missing coupling.

The wheels and axles were installed, completing the truck assembly which you can see here, sitting on rather rusty, Märklin rails. Aren't they beautiful?? As the creator of the 'Rust & Steel' blog, my heart sings with joy at the sight of stuff like this!

The chassis was left in its original condition, meaning that I haven't restored it in any way, or removed any of the rust and the aging it showed. I feel that if I had brought it back to 'mint' condition, its charm and charisma would have been lost, making it way less attractive. Likewise, the spare parts used are not new, but from the same vintage as the rail car or even (much) older. After all, 'Rust' is in the name of this blog for a reason!!

The missing coupling was also installed. Note that it's not the original coupling type that should go with a Bub rail car, but I thought this one would make it more interesting than the original, which was rather 'basic' (i.e. boring).

Same thing goes for the buffers. Actually, this type of rail car never had them to begin with! Yet I wanted them in place anyway, despite them being such a pain in the *** to install, because they do make the rail car look more detailed and appealing to the eye. The buffers are the only parts which are actually 'new', so later on I 'weathered' them a bit to match the chassis.

So, basically, the chassis was now complete, awaiting the installation of the tank, which was being worked on simultaneously. This was to be the most challenging part of the entire project for various reasons, which I will explain later on.

The tank received two coatings of primer. On the above picture you can see it awaiting further processing. Note the dent on one of its flanks, which is a 'battle scar' sustained in the course of his long, working life. This was the first thing to consider, even before applying the primer: should I remove it, or keep it 'as is'? I decided to keep it for the same reason I left the chassis intact: it's all a matter of preserving as much as possible of the 'magic' that comes with age.

As you can see from the above picture, the inside of the tank shows traces of rust too, which I also left intact. 
By the way, it was very exciting to discover the rust inside of the tank, something that had not seen the light of day for more than 60 years!

The cap of the tank was removed before it got the primer treatment. I left it 'untouched', because it looked perfect already, so why change it!

Below are pictures of the tank after painting. Shown here is the side opposite to the one with the dent. I applied 'warm gray' color paint on top of the primer using a spray can. I sprayed in an irregular fashion, to give it that extra 'rough and dirty' look.

What you don't see here, is that when I started to 'weather' the tank, I got a bit carried away at it! The wagon looked great, but way too rusty!!

And even though 'rusty' is something of my middle name, the idea for this project is to represent an operational unit, hence there is only so much one can do as far as weathering goes. Otherwise the poor wagon would never pass the 'safety test' :)

So... I re-sprayed it a bit, smoothing out the excess rust, yet still giving it a rough, yet more 'decent' look! I love the way the stains came out here! 

The extra layer of paint also gave it more structure, making it look like a heavy-duty wagon which has been around for a while, and has been painted many times over in the course of its service life!

And yes, it still has some rust left here and there, because otherwise it would not match with the chassis. So the biggest challenge was to find a way to make it look old, but not too old. Tank and chassis should be one! I must say the result is pretty cool!

After the cap was put back on top of the tank, the final challenge was to apply the LYB logo decal, which was kindly sent to me by a colleague in the US. 

This is not something I do every day; in fact, the last time I applied a decal must have been 30 years ago..., literally! So I followed several 'how to' tutorials on YouTube, and gave it my best shot. I only had one decal, so there was no margin for error!

Thankfully all went well, and after applying a few layers of varnish, the decal was safely sealed in place.

With the paint job on the tank finished, it was time to put it back on the chassis! And from there, it was show time!!!

The below pictures illustrate the old tanker proudly showing his new identity.

First you see it sitting in the maintenance unit at the Rust & Steel Maintenance facilities, and then up and about in an industrial landscape. Both platforms were carefully constructed by myself. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Below pictures: I placed the LYB tanker in a box with an original, Kraus-Fandor toy train set from the 1930's, for the purpose of this feature, and I think it does blend in pretty well, doesn't it?

I'm wrapping up this project with a quote from a poem by Daniel Robinson, titled "The Railroad and Thomas Wolfe":

"All my life I have heard the trains

And I find beauty in the fact that even when I'm not listening, they are there.

The trains carrying coal, chemicals, lumber, and the better parts of my childhood."

"A New Life for an Old Tanker". Date of completion: March 2018.

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior, written authorization from the author.