Tank Wagons for the Petroleum Distributor

Custom decals were used on the wagon side. The cans on the side rack are from the Jordan Model AA tank truck.

Once the kerosenes, oils, etc. had arrived at the distribution plant, they had to be conveyed to the customer. The innovative move at the time was the tank wagon. It would fill up with mostly kerosene plus some of the other products and then go door to door with the distributor's commercial customers who would take, in bulk, what they needed. If you did not need a whole barrel of a product, you could buy 10 or 20 gallons to suit your needs.
   

This Continental Oil tank wagon is typical of the era although many different
styles were used.

My model of a typical wagon was made from parts of several Jordan wagon kits. The tank came from their Model A Ford tank truck, the undercarriage is from a Standard Wagon Kit and the top is from the Buggy kit. The tank was assembled and glued to a couple of styrene channels. The front and rear wheel assemblies attached to this. A small block of plastic was attached to the front of the tank and shaped to form a seat rest. The seat itself was left over from another kit which I don't remember but it could be formed from some styrene.
 

Standard Oil had fleets of these vehicles running through the streets distributing their product. 

The Foothill Oil wagon is used for the oil depot I built in Oakdale while the Standard Oil wagon will be used for a yet-to-be-built distributor in Stockton.