American Flyer S Scale Tank Cars (1 of 5)
Gilbert made 24 distinct tank cars as listed on a little over a page of the TM Guide, not counting the variations on some of the 24.  Lionel made 38 more up through 2006 under the American Flyer name.  Because there are so many, I have split them up over five web pages:

Gilbert tank cars #625 through #925 are this page
                             #926 through #24321 are on page 2
                             #24322 through #24330 are on page 3
Lionel tank cars  #9100 through #48406 are on page 4
                             #48407 and above, plus my American Models and K-Line tank cars are on page 5

Click here to see a complete list of all these tank cars and their variations by catalog number.  The list includes a description, road name, variation, year introduced, and other details, plus a link to the Gallery page that contains it.  Other lists provided are as follows:
Car number list: Sometmes the number on the car is not the number of the car.  If you have a car, but aren't sure about its catalog number, look it up in this list.

Roadname list: A list of tank cars by their owner.  The term "roadname" is used as it is for other types of rolling stock, even though tank cars were rarely owned by a railroad company.  That's because you can't in general clean out a tank car and use it to ship something else (a different "commodity" in tank car jargon).

Style list: A list of all single-dome tank cars followed by all triple-done tank cars.  If you ever wanted to see a list of all the triple-done tank cars, here it is!

Year list: A list of all tank cars by the year they were introduced.

Club cars: A list of tank cars made specifically for a model railroading club (TCA, NASG, etc.).
The large pictures on this page are of cars in the collection of The Upstairs Train.  Unless otherwise specified, the smaller ones are from ebay auctions I didn't win.

If you have a picture that you would like to share with the world of any of the cars not shown here (or a better picture of one that is shown!), email them to me: theupstairstrain@yahoo.com.   Click here for a list of the  pictures I need to complete the Gallery.
The first Gilert tank car is this very rare painted version of the 625 orange Shell tank car made only in 1946.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
The unpainted plastic version, also made only in 1946, is almost as rare as the painted version.

The one below is an example of the warping that often occurred with these early plastic cars.
(Both photos courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
This one is a "Rarity Repaint" from TLS Research.  If you like the looks of one of the very rare cars, but can't find one (or can't afford one!), this is a great way to get the next best thing.  They take an old Gilbert car and repaint it to look like the rare one.  They did a great job on this one, didn't they?  But watch out: If you see a rare car offered for a great price, find out whether it is a "Rarity Repaint" and make sure you don't pay more than it costs from TLS!
A black variation with silver lettering was introduced late in 1946.
This is another example of the warping that occurred with these early plastic cars.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
In 1947, the #625 Shell Tank Car changed to white lettering.
#625 Shell Tank Car, the only tank car Gilbert made in 1948-1950.
Underwritten financially by Gulf Oil, the 625 changed to Gulf in 1951.  It came in three variations.
The one above has GRCX markings.  (Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

The one below has SEPX markings.  (Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
This 625 is also GRCX, but the number is shown as 625G.  It was made in 1952 and 1953.
#910 Gilbert Chemicals tank car made only in 1954.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
The #910 was originally intended to be a Celanese Chemicals tank car, but only prototypes were made.
This picture is a "Rarity Repaint" reproduction.
This is a "Rarity Repaint" of another prototype of the mass-produced 910 above.
#912 Koppers Tank Car with diecast frame made in 1955-1957.
Late in 1957, #912 Koppers Tank Cars had plastic frames.
In the transition year 1958, the #912 was sold with plastic frames as #24305.
(Photo courtesy of Don Hasenzahl.)
The very earliest, hardest to find, of the 1952 #925 Tank Cars had a riveted coupler.
In this photo, the rear wheel has been removed to make the rivet visible.  (Photo courtesy of Don Hasenzahl.)
#925 Gulf Tank Car with diecast frame made in 1952-1957.

Late in 1957, it, too, had a plastic frame.

Show me the rest of the tank cars.

Over the years, Gilbert made four different kinds of couplers, three of which are common and familiar to most American Flyer owners: link, knuckle, and Pike Master.  The fourth, the so-called "solid knuckle coupler," was short-lived and not used on very many cars.  Lionel later came up with its own version of knuckle coupler.  American Flyer has therefore gone through five generations of couplers.  Because there seem to be a lot of people confused by this, I created a page to show the differences.  Click the picture below for more detail.


It takes time and money to maintain a website like this.  If this site is interesting and helpful to you, please contribute financially to its ongoing success.  You may send a contribution via PayPal using theupstairstrain@yahoo.com as the payee. Both credit card and direct transfers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

If you or your friends have some American Flyer trains and would like them to go to a nice home where they'll be loved and cared for, this is the place!  Email me: theupstairstrain@yahoo.com.  See my Wish List for the items I need most.  Thank you very much.

On the other side of the coin, I post pictures from time to time on my For Sale page of surplus items I have for sale.
This gallery will continue to grow and become more comprehensive as I collect more cars and as visitors like you send me pictures of the cars I don't yet have.  If you have a car that you would like to share with the world, email me a picture:   theupstairstrain@yahoo.com.  Click here for a list of the pictures I need to complete the Gallery.

The books I am using for reference are listed in the Bibliography page.  All the writing and all the pictures on this website are, however, my own, except where cited.  No copyrighted materials have been included and all pictures provided by others are used by permission.

Now show me:                                                                                                                                  
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