UTLX X-3 10k Gallon Tank Car Stud Developer™ Printed Instruction Set

About the Model
Union Tank Car Company (reporting marks UTLX) was the premier owner/lessor of tank cars in the steam era and beyond. Originally a subsidiary of the Standard Oil monopoly, they became an independent company in 1911 with the breakup of Standard, but they continued to service mostly the pieces of Standard Oil long after. Their plain black tank cars were ubiquitous throughout the US rail system.
 
While still part of Standard, many of their tank cars were built by the Standard refinery locations since the technology was similar to building refining equipment. Consequently Union Tank Line (as it was known in those days) had its own Master Car Builder and design staff. They participated, actively, in the development of the new tank car specifications that took affect in 1903. John W. Van Dyke produced several innovative designs, including the frameless Class V cars that were patented in 1903 and built for the next decade. When that design was not fully accepted by conventional railroad men, Van Dyke created a second design that was known as the Class X. The Class X cars had a steel underframe made up of two outward facing 15 inch C channels tied together at the top and bottom with steel plates. Cast steel combination bolsters and tank saddles were somewhat similar to the Class V cars, but, instead of those saddles being riveted to the tank bottom, the tank was anchored at its center to the center sill. This concept was patented in 1904 and eventually became the industry standard. Both the X and V cars met the MCB Class II specifications.
 
10-12 years later, new, improved specifications were discussed and approved for all new cars to be built after May 1, 1917 to be known as Class III. This would evolve to be ARA Class III and then ICC 103, the general purpose tank car. The UTLX design to meet the Class III specification became known as the X-3. As will be seen, it built upon the Class X design and met the Class III spec. UTLX X-3 tank cars were built beginning in 1916 and continued to be built until World War II.
 
The X-3 cars were built in various capacities and configurations, including 6,500 gallon, 8,000 gallon and 12,000 gallon tanks. They were also built with single, double and triple domes. However, none of these variants were more numerous than the basic 10,000 gallon, single-dome version. From the 1920s onwards Union Tank Car (UTLX) fielded the largest fleet of tank cars in North America, and the 10,000 gallon X-3 accounted for nearly 13,000 of them.
 
About the Kit
Stud Developer™ instructions kits are the highest quality printed instruction kit for your LEGO® train building experience. These instructions are professionally printed and spiral bound for ease of use while building. We have taken the upmost care to make sure these instructions are easy to follow so you won’t have to keep track of a dozen floating subassemblies or figure out what that black part is that was just added to a step. These kits include the following:
High quality printed instructions
One set of ball bearing wheelsets in the color of your choice
Any custom parts used in the model
 
This instruction set will allow you to build cars with distinct features such as two different style of brake gear, and two different style of trucks that correspond with the era being modeled. Decal sets that are available (separately) are:
UTLX 1920's scheme
UTLX 1930's scheme
UTLX 1950's scheme
Atlantic Refining
Eastman Chemical Products
Northern Pacific
PROCOR
Products Tank Line
Seaboard Air Lines
Standard Oil
 
Please note that decals and additional ball bearing wheelsets are sold separately. You can purchase decals here and bearings here.
 
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