How many gallons does a train tank car hold?

Tank cars can carry liquid and gaseous products. Corn syrup and seed oils are examples of agricultural products carried by tank cars. Typical tank capacities start at 10,000 gallons for high density liquids and range up to 30,000 gallons for liquids having densities of around 6.5 pounds per gallon - lighter than water.



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They have a minimum plate thickness of 7/16 inch (11.1 mm) and a maximum capacity of 34,500 US gallons (131,000 L; 28,700 imp gal).

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How many gallons of gas does a train hold? An SD40–2 locomotive - a 3,000 HP standard line-haul workhouse of the past used by most North American RR holds 3,200 to 4,000 gallons of fuel. A typical switching locomotice - EMD MP 1500 - a 1,500 HP standard switching locomotive will hold 1,100 to 14,00 gallons of fuel.

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Large 4000 to 6000 HP mainline freight locos will usually have a 4000 to 5000 gallon fuel tank under the frame between the power trucks. How many miles per gallon does a train get? How far can a train go on a full tank of fuel? CSX trains, on average, can move a ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a gallon of fuel.

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Chemical holding tanks (retention tanks) are usually included on newer carriages and railcars in wealthier and more densely populated parts of the world. One issue is that the tanks need to be regularly emptied, often at a terminal station or prolonged stop-over.

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The tank will get busted up and punted off the rails like a toy. Anyone inside the tank will be dead from the sheer trauma of impact. The engine crew will be beat up but will likely survive unless a piece of the tank smashes into the crew cab, since the locomotive frame will likely absorb most of the impact.

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Biodiesel & Renewable Fuels: Traditionally, locomotives have run on petroleum diesel fuel, but railroads are now using renewable diesel and biodiesel blends to power them. Both renewable diesel and biodiesel are made from renewable energy sources and don't rely on fossil fuels.

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For a fuel cost of $0.84 per liter of diesel ($3.17 per gallon) (AAR (2012b)), this results in an average running fuel cost of $185 per locomotive-hour. If actual train and operation data are available, energy models or rail simulators may provide more accurate fuel use values for specific conditions.

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