Railworks America

Or Coal Gas. Sometimes called City Gas. This is what most communities had in the first half of the 20th century. But they are rarely modeled. Would like to see one of these on some route. Anyone?

I was curious about those tanks. Thanks for sharing. Was there any interaction with tank cars?

PapaXpress wrote:I was curious about those tanks. Thanks for sharing. Was there any interaction with tank cars?

Those plants were coal in. The coal was gasified and the product was delivered to gas mains much like current Natural gas is distributed now.

Here is a good read > http://www.heritageresearch.com/documen ... %20Gas.pdf
And yes these were served by the railroads across the land. Coal was delivered. Lots of things were produced besides the gas. Coke was one. Various dyes and chemicals were also produced. Every route should really consider having one of these facilities. To be prototypical they were everywhere once upon a time.

I don't think they were out here in California, hence my curiosity.

After reading the PDF I stand corrected. They were out here, but oil based.

yes they certainly were > http://www.pge.com/about/environment/ta ... ndex.shtml
most disappeared before most of us were born. probably one reason they are not commonly modeled. but any layout or route depicting 1860-1950 is a candidate for at least one example.

Yea, you replied just after my discovery.

Update: Very interesting....
http://www.pge.com/about/environment/ta ... land.shtml

Could this be one?
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oakland+ ... ation&z=19

I don't think so. That looks more like a fuel oil storage tank. Especially by the water like that.
I remember the 50's and these large gas storage tanks (at least the skeletal structure) were still dominating the skyline in many cities and towns.
This one is still seen today in St. Louis.

Turns out I had one of these all the time. It was in the European assets pack. I'd like to plant one at Altoona. Building with it is labeled as a coke plant. But looks more like some sort of mine to me.

Cool.

The gas storage tanks are something I'd never really seen in America before.
They are very common here in the uk. I used to stare at our local one a lot as a wee kid waiting for it to go up or down. It was right next to my local yard.