Bachmann HO Transcontinental Oil Three-Dome Tank Car 17142 Guide

Bachmann’s HO Transcontinental Oil Company three-dome tank car is item 17142, UPC 022899171425. Its black tank body with red ends and red domes gives this release a clear visual identity among Bachmann’s similarly shaped tank cars. Use the manufacturer number and UPC along with the company name to confirm the exact model when comparing a product page, package, or collection roster.

Verified identification and dimensions

• Manufacturer: Bachmann
• Car type: 40-foot three-dome tank car
• Company: Transcontinental Oil Company
• Scale: HO, 1:87
• Item number: 17142
• UPC: 022899171425
• Store SKU: BAC17142
• Package contents: one assembled freight car
• Recommended age: 14 and up

Bachmann lists the model as 6.25 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, and 2 inches high. The retail package measures 7.25 by 1.75 by 3.4 inches. Use the car dimensions when checking a display or layout clearance and the package dimensions when planning storage for the box.

What the three domes are for

The three raised domes identify a divided tank. Separate compartments let rail shippers keep different liquid grades apart while transporting them in the same car. Bachmann describes the three-dome design as versatile, with examples used for a range of liquids including fuels, oils, wine, and liquors. That function helps explain why several industries appear on three-dome cars even when their lettering and colors differ.

The Transcontinental Oil Company name establishes the identity represented by this model. The listing does not document a specific prototype’s route, date, or cargo history, so the name alone should not be used to assign the car to a particular railroad or operating scene. If your layout follows a precise year or location, verify the prototype context separately and keep what the model documents distinct from what still needs research.

Features listed for item 17142

Bachmann lists a detailed painted body with precision graphics, a detailed open underframe, separately applied ladders, brake wheel and warning placards, and separately applied metal handrails. The model also has added weight, detailed trucks with see-through sideframes, blackened metal wheels with RP25 contours, and magnetically operated E-Z Mate Mark II couplers. The retailer’s product record further identifies body-mounted couplers and nonmagnetic axles.

These details make handling worth a little care. Support the body or underframe when lifting the car, and avoid pinching a handrail or grabbing a ladder, brake wheel, warning placard, or coupler. Before operation, check that the wheels roll freely and the couplers move without snagging. The manufacturer does not state a minimum curve radius for this item, so test it at low speed on the tightest curves and through the turnouts on your layout.

Planning space on an HO layout

At 1:87 scale, item 17142 is designed for HO layouts and collections. The listed 6.25-inch length is a useful first check for a storage box, display case, or siding. Leave additional space for the couplers and gaps between cars. A car’s ends can swing outward on a curve, so watch the clearance beside platforms, tunnel portals, bridge supports, and nearby parked equipment.

For a new train, compare coupler height with the adjacent rolling stock and run the car through your actual trackwork before building a long consist. An assembled car can still reveal a mismatch only when coupled or when passing a particular turnout. A short slow-speed test gives you a chance to spot interference before the car becomes part of a regular operating route.

Keep the identifiers straight

Record this release as “Transcontinental Oil Company / Bachmann 17142 / UPC 022899171425 / HO.” That wording keeps the operator name separate from the Bachmann item number. It is especially useful when browsing similar three-dome cars: West Chemical Products #70487 is item 17116, while the Transcontinental Oil Company model is 17142. Matching the road name, product photograph, item number, and UPC prevents an adjacent release from being substituted.

Browse Bachmann model trains and the model train collection. See our West Chemical Products #70487 tank car guide and HO freight-car guide for related context.

View the Bachmann HO Transcontinental Oil three-dome tank car (17142) for current store details. Use the live listing for price and availability.

Use the livery when building a consist

The black tank body with red ends and domes makes item 17142 visually distinct from the silver and green three-dome schemes in the same broad product family. If you use corporate lettering to group cars in an operating session, keep the company identity in the roster and confirm the exact item before adding another car with a similar shape. The product record establishes this livery and manufacturer number; it does not establish a particular historical railroad assignment.