Helium hauler At the Amarillo Railroad Museum, a Bureau of Mines MHAX car used to haul helium is on display. They had a capacity of 100 tons, or about 280,000 cubic feet, and carried helium in pressurized cylinders. You wouldn’t think helium would be that heavy! In 1964, it was estimated that 95% of the world’s recoverable helium was produced in a 250-mile radius of Amarillo, Texas. The market and shipping methods for helium has changed over the years and most of these MHAX cars are now scrapped.