Walthers Cornerstone HO Scale Gas Storage Tank Kit - 933-2907

Walthers Cornerstone HO Scale Gas Storage Tank Kit - 933-2907 recreates the towering telescoping gas holder that served as the signature structure of a manufactured-gas works. Used when coal gas supplied homes and businesses with fuel for heating, cooking, and lighting, these massive tanks often dominated urban industrial skylines. Designed for steam- and early diesel-era HO scale layouts, the model measures 9-7/8" (24.6cm) in diameter and 9-1/8" (22.8cm) tall. Browse the complete Walthers Cornerstone model railroad buildings and structures collection for additional HO scale projects.

Manufactured-gas plants produced fuel at a relatively constant rate, but customer demand changed throughout the day. The storage tank held and pressurized gas before it entered underground distribution pipelines. During periods of lower demand, telescoping tank sections called lifts expanded upward to provide additional capacity. External guide rails and an intricate framework of steel trusses kept the moving sections aligned as they rose and fell.

Build an HO Scale Manufactured-Gas Works

The Walthers Cornerstone Gas Storage Tank captures the distinctive size and structural appearance of a classic urban gas holder:

• HO scale manufactured-gas storage-tank kit
• Based on North American gas holders used at coal-gas plants
• Suitable for steam- and early diesel-era layouts
• Creates a signature structure for an urban gas-works complex
• Represents the final storage and pressurizing stage of gas production
• Telescoping tank design based on prototype lifting sections
• Intricate exterior steel-truss framework
• Realistic guide-rail details
• Separate exterior stairways
• Separate ladders included
• Can be used as a standalone structure to suggest a larger off-layout plant
• Two or more kits can represent a larger gas-storage complex
• Easy-to-build plastic structure kit
• Parts molded in black plastic
• Finished size of 9-7/8" (24.6cm) in diameter and 9-1/8" (22.8cm) tall

The tank's broad footprint and dense exterior framework make it a prominent visual anchor for a period city or industrial district. It can be positioned beside a gas-production plant, coal-unloading tracks, utility buildings, piping, and service roads to create a complete manufactured-gas facility.

A gas works can also generate railroad operations. Coal arrives in hopper cars for use in the manufacturing process, while byproducts and other supplies may move through adjacent industrial tracks. Locomotives switching the plant can pass beneath the looming storage structure, emphasizing its size within the surrounding scene.

Where layout space is limited, a single tank can be placed near the backdrop or behind foreground buildings to imply that the rest of the gas works continues beyond the modeled area. Multiple tanks can create a larger utility complex suitable for a major city. Brick utility buildings, fencing, warning signs, workers, pipes, and access roads can further define the property.

Weathering can reproduce the appearance of a heavily used industrial structure. Faded black paint, rust along the framework, soot, streaking, and grime around the lower tank sections can suggest decades of service in a coal-gas plant.

Expand Your Walthers Cornerstone Gas Works

The Gas Storage Tank fits naturally with Walthers Cornerstone heavy-industry structures when developing a manufactured-gas plant or large urban utility complex. Production and support buildings from Walthers Cornerstone industrial structures can extend the surrounding property.

Additional warehouses and utility buildings can be selected from Walthers Cornerstone factories and warehouses. Piping, machinery, fencing, signs, and smaller scenic components are available in Walthers Cornerstone accessories and details.

For assembling and customizing the Gas Storage Tank, browse Fusion Scale Hobbies' model railroad and hobby paint for steel colors, faded black finishes, rust, soot, and industrial weathering, along with model building glue and adhesives suitable for plastic structure projects.