Propane Tanks

[B_Kosanda]

Hello everyone,
It's been a while since I've been on the forum. That's not to say I haven't been busy on my layout. I've got a couple neat projects I'm working on now. This thread describes my propane tank project. As you can see in the photos below. The Cascade Subdivision is mountain railroading, which requires switch heaters at all the passing sidings. These heaters require many large propane tanks, usually 4-6 tanks at each switch. To model these, I usually try to pick up a couple propane tanks at model train shows, but these run around $5 each. Too pricey for me. I set out to build some tanks of my own.

These are made from 5/16" acrylic rods. The rod was cut into 1 1/2" lengths and the ends turned down by placing the pieces in a drill press and using a file to round them off. 1/8" acrylic rod pieces were glued on top of the tank and .04 x .08 acrylic stock was used for the feet.

I turned out 36 of these tanks in about 2 hours. Judge for yourself how they turned out. I figure these tanks cost me about 25 cents a piece. What a deal.

Bill

 

[ak-milw]

Bill,
Thats exactly how I made mine except I used 3/8" styrene rod.

 

[RCH]

Bill, those little things are perfect. I lived outside Durango, CO for awhile and although I was unaware of their use for switch heaters, I do remember seeing propane tanks everywhere. It seems like everyone has a tank out there. You've really done the job of capturing the look of the ones in your photo.

 

[CBCNSfan]

Well done Bill, thanks for sharing a good idea, even some lurkers will like this one
Cheers Willis

 

[BB Michigan]

Looks pretty cool!

 

[chrismoore93]

Bill,
They look pretty realistic. They should add more realism to your layout. Keep up the good work.
Chris Moore