by Luke Lemmens/photos by the author except as noted
Railroads are in a constant battle with vegetation, especially when it grows up between the tracks. If left unchecked, it can impede operation of trains, foul drainage systems, restrict visibility, and cause other maintenance headaches. As a result, the railroads contract with a number of operators to conduct vegetation control programs through the application of special herbicides on a yearly program.
My infatuation with weed sprayers started a couple of years ago when I saw a Facebook post in the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society group of a Soo Line weed sprayer 844. It was from 1973, just a few years before my 1979 modeling era. The older shop-built spray car was constructed from an old wood boxcar that seemed to be well past its regular service years. My friend Mike Polsgrove replied with a comment with a photo of a weed sprayer he saw laying over in Burlington, Wis., in 1983. This sprayer setup was from the HABCO company, a contract outfit. The sprayer car was built from an old outside-braced 40 ft. boxcar of Great Northern heritage, steel-plated with outside ribs. It traveled with six tank cars of various sizes and ages.
ABOVE: This photo surfaced after the model was complete, otherwise the lights on the side would’ve been neat to add. The boxcar behind the locomotive was used as a barrier to separate the crew shoving the train from the herbicide spray. —Bruce Oldenburg photo, author’s collection
When doing research on the HABCO sprayer car HABX 502, I came across a photo from rrpicturearchives.net showing the same cars on Missouri Pacific in Louisiana on April 9, 1983. The caption read, “Missouri Pacific GP38-2 2106 was pushing a HABCO weed spray train north along the line between Ferriday and Tallulah, La. From left to right, the train consisted of HABX weed spray car 502, HABX tank cars 324, 314, 302, 303, 330, and 307; and MP box cars 250791 and 121027. This track was abandoned in 1988.”
Looking at the consist, it appears to be the same cars: The sprayer car, two little tanks, three medium and one large. I figured that has got to be the same cars that made it all the way up to Burlington, with some slight rearrangement. Mike Polsgrove’s photo was taken on May 22, 1983, in Burlington, 43 days later. So in 43 days that consist had sprayed close to 1,000 miles. That averages out to around 23 miles a day!
ABOVE: The two smaller tank cars, HABX 314 and 324, were represented with Proto 2000 Type 21 8,000 gallon tank car kits, with the addition of brass rod representing the pipes connecting each car. The author didn’t bother to strip the cars, and just began adding the piping and details. A good coat of paint and heavy weathering hides any shadow of the factory lettering underneath.
The operations of the weed spray train can add some interest to a typical day on the railroad. Depending on the size of the railroad, their annual visit could be stretched over several days. The dispatcher needs to account for this slow-moving train as it sprays down herbicide on every main track and siding. Occasionally, the train will need to stop at a water source and drag out a hose to refill the tank cars with water. When the crew has wrapped up their work for the day, the train needs to be stored in a siding out of the way. Such an operation provides a challenge for the other train crews as they accommodate this special move.
During operating sessions on my HO scale Soo Line 2nd Subdivision, my friend Michael Ostertag, who sometimes sits in as dispatcher, can handle most anything I throw at him. I can fill the main line up with extras and he can still find a way to get everything moving across the system fluidly. Wouldn’t it be fun to throw a weed sprayer in the mix and see how he handles that? That was the true root behind taking on this project… that, and a fun modeling challenge!
ABOVE: The completed car side, with details applied, including ladder rungs, horns, walkways, beacons, and vents.
Simple Components
Breaking this train down to its simplest components, it is nothing more than a 40’ box car with some accompanying tank cars. I figured I could do it for a decent price using some swap meet finds. This looked like a fun low-budget project. Tank cars were built up from various manufacturers based on their size. I’m not a freight car expert by any means, but I just wanted to capture the look and feel of the sprayer and different sizes of the tank cars. The tank cars are just a “supporting cast” to the “main character” of the sprayer car, so I didn’t want to invest too much into them. The sprayer car, at first glance, appeared to be an outside braced boxcar, but I could not find a model of one to match the prototype. I did end up highly modifying an old MDC boxcar. I will cover this more in depth in a bit.
Small Tank Cars
I had originally planned to use a Walthers car because I found a couple for a decent price at a swap meet, but after further research, I learned it represents a 10,000-gallon tank car and the cars I was aiming to model were 8,000. I ended up tracking down and using a couple of Proto 2000 Type 21 8,000-gallon tank cars kits. I just liked the way that those cars looked so small in the mix, adding character to the train.
ABOVE: The spray arms were made from brass rod, and represent the pistons used to move the arms in and out.
Not much was modified to the Proto 2000 cars other than the piping that runs the length of the car just above the walkways and across the top of the tank body. I also added some piping that tapped into the dome and the underside of the tank…