Tank Cars

Within the rail industry, tank cars are grouped by their interior linings and not by the cargo carried. Food service tank cars are lined with stainless steel, glass or cleanable plastic and they are marked as non-pressurized, insulated cars. Usually these are small and carry around 10,000 US gallons. Tank cars carrying dangerous goods are generally made of different types of steel, depending on the intended cargo and operating pressure. Tank cars may also be lined with rubber or coated with specialized coatings for tank protection or product purity purpose.

Very light petrochemicals or jet fuel cars will be "padded" with nitrogen to remove the air in the vapor space. These cars are larger, around 23,000 US gallons, with the ends doubled to prevent ruptures during accidents. Natural gas, LPG, or ammonia carrying tank cars are basically 30,000 US gallons, with alloy steel pressure vessels on steel wheels. They have no linings, and are double ended.