Bob it appears to be an enclosed tank car. The open hatch and T handle would
indicate a valve or hatch just below the roof that needs to opened or
closed. It certainly is not an ice car, as the photo caption indicates. The
car in the upper right with the same roof carries the reporting marks
"T.S.P.Co." While no such marks exist in any list I consulted, nor the 1917
ORER, I did find TSPX, which stood for Service Oil Refining Co. in 1920 and
years later for Texas Sulphur Products Co. in 1977. Service Oil Refining Co.
had operations in Indiana in 1920.



Other cars in the background are wood truss rod cars, mostly gons, ie early
1900's. The Kanawha and Michigan Railroad was a West Virginia & Ohio road
that was purchased by the C&O in 1920, then became part of the NYC in 1922.
The photo may have been taken at coal cleaning or washing facility. The car
with the funny roof may been used to transport chemicals of use in the
process.



Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org