The dreaded MDC tank car! I used to build these things in groups of three.... and often sold them to friends and built new ones with the proceeds. I've built a couple dozen, I'd bet, in my younger days. NOW, it seems like a very fussy, hard-to-assemble beast!

I made a few mods on this... the first one I've built in a decade or more. I added .020x.080 braces between the bolster/tank junction and the coupler pocket. This stiffens it a bit, and gives a little bit of "substance" in there. Not enough, but some. As I'd always done, the stanchions for the anti-personnel bars on the sides were scrapped in favor of Athearn handrail stanchions. And I put Reboxx 36" wheels and McHenry shelf couplers on it. And 1.5 oz of extra weight.

All in all, it still looks a lot like a GATX or Richmond 20k non-insulated tank to me. But there is nary a dimension that is truly correct. Will I build more? They're here. I'm not sure.

Model completed (sans weathering) 2/7/07.