Helium car

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:36 pm

Prototype for numerous models some years ago. Isn't this one in a museum somewhere now? Miami maybe?

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?d ... qutrsd.jpg

Randy Gustafson · **Posted:** Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:36 pm

Those are always a great topic for railfan bar bets.

One 'fact' I did record about those cars - the empty weight was listed at 238,000 lb - I've got a closeup of the dimensional data to prove it. I've also seen pictures of sencilling warning of "heavy car".

The question was always what the loaded weight was - because it was always stated as capacity in cubic feet - but with a 238,000 lb empty car, one could logically conclude it was lighter than the empty weight!

Joshua K. Blay · **Posted:** Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:34 pm

Its at the Gold Coast Museum- ex NASA.

Joshua

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:45 pm

My recollection was that the car was not ex-NASA (well, maybe it went there at some point), but that the car was at Gold Coast to represent the helium shipments into Miami's Navy blimp base--which is exactly where the Gold Coast RR Museum (and the Miami Zoo) are located.

Perhaps the best interpretive exhibits I saw at Gold Coast RR Museum centered around the navy blimp base origins of the site, complete with video. Somewhat sad, considering it's a railroad museum.

Bob Kutella · **Posted:** Fri Mar 18, 2005 7:32 am

Seems to me helium is lighter than air at atmospheric pressure. (That is a density question) But not much use to ship any that way. As with any gas as you increase pressure you pack more and more of it into the same space. Eventually the gas liquifies, and some even solidify, such as carbon dioxide. For helium that would be very high pressure or very cold or both.

But I am sure that tons of helium could be packed into those little tubes and in fact the car would weigh more loaded than empty.

Ever try lifting a cylinder of helium being used to fill balloons? Or replace a cylinder on a heliarc welding outfit?

Bob Kutella

Dave Sutter · **Posted:** Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:32 am

The real question here would be "What would the news reports sound like if the car derailed?" Think about it all that helium. Come on try to interview the engine crew afterwards with a straight face.

Phil Mulligan · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:07 am **Posts:** 218

You went and ruined my image of the helium car having outrigger wheels to go under the railhead so it doesn't float away. Cheeeeeeeee.

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:00 am

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

My recollection was that the car was not ex-NASA.

The particular car in the photo has the reporting marks for Mines Helium Amarillo (MHAX). The Oct. 2004 "Official Railway Equipment Register" lists the owner of the mark as United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Helium Field Operations, Amarillo, Texas. Do they run the National Aeronautics & Space Administration?

hi-plains · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:17 am

[quote="JimBoylan"]My recollection was that the car was not ex-NASA.
The particular car in the photo has the reporting marks for Mines Helium Amarillo (MHAX). ....Do they run the National Aeronautics & Space Administration?[/quote]

No, Amarillo HFO extracted and shipped the helium in its own fleet of cars, the MHAX units. NASA was merely a consignee.