C.G.T.X. Oil Tank Car #6010

Tank cars proved ideal for carrying petroleum from the wellhead to the refinery and then back to the consumer.

Early oilmen found it hard to move sloshing crude petroleum over the rough roads that connected their oil fields with the refineries. At first, they loaded steel drums onto the wagons, then they fitted steel tanks to wagon running gear and finally, motorized tanker trucks were developed.

Before long, Canadian railways offered an all-steel rivetted tank car as a better solution for bulk haulage. An American invention, this special rail car was able to carry thousands of gallons at a time to any community on a rail line. It was designed to travel fully loaded to percent the contents from sloshing around and destabilizing the car. In hot weather, the dome accommodated the expanding liquid preventing damage to the tank. By 1913 almost 500 oil tank cars were in service throughout Canada.

Built in 1935 by Candian Car & Foundry Limited, Montreal, for Canadian General Transit Company, C.G.T.X. #6010 is a fine example of riveted steel plate construction. Tank cars like this 5,100-gallon model crisscrossed the prairies hundreds of times while serving the needs of western Canada’s important oil industry.