Editing Tank car (section)

==History==

===Timeline===
[[File:Detail of tank car built in 1937 showing riveted construction, at the Southern California Railway Museum.jpg|thumb|Details of tank car riveting]]
The following major events occurred in the years noted:
*1865: [[Flatcar]]s with banded [[Plank (wood)|wooden planks]] or decking mounted on top are employed for the first time to transport [[crude oil]] from the fields of [[Pennsylvania]] during the [[Pennsylvanian oil rush]]. Laurence Myers of Philadelphia invented the ''Rotary Oil Car'', as he named it. It was an improvement on a patent from 1851 of a freight car for transporting coal. The new invention patented on July 18, 1865, was for the transportation of crude oil and petroleum. It was the first appearance of an oil tank on a railroad flatcar. Three books mention his invention.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/fueloilinindust00andrgoog/page/n82/mode/2up?q=lawrence+myers Fuel Oil in Industry]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/petroleumindustr00bowl/page/82/mode/2up?q=myers The Petroleum Industry]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PqdBAQAAIAAJ&q=lawrence+myers The Petroleum Handbook]</ref>
*1869: Wrought iron tanks, with an approximate capacity of {{convert|3500|usgal|m3 impgal|abbr=on|lk=on}} per car, replace wooden tanks.
*1888: Tank-car manufacturers sell units directly to the [[oil companies]], with capacities ranging from {{convert|6,000|to(-)|10000|usgal|m3 impgal|abbr=on}}.
*1903: Tank-car companies develop construction safety standards. More than 10,000 tank cars are in operation.
*1915: A classification system is developed by the tank-car industry to ensure the correct match of car type to product being shipped. Some 50,000 tank cars are in use.
*1930: 140,000 tank cars transport some 103 commodities.
*1940s: Virtually every tank car is engaged in oil transport in support of the [[World War II|war effort]].
*1945–1950: [[Welding]] replaces [[rivet]]ing in car construction (both underframes and tanks) for the major manufacturers, including [[American Car & Foundry]] and [[GATX|General American]]. 
*1950: [[Pipeline transport|Pipelines]] and [[tank truck]]s begin to compete for liquid transport business.
*1963: The [[Union Tank Car Company]] introduces the "Whale Belly" tank car.