In a message dated 2/24/2008 8:50:19 PM Eastern Standard Time,
b.hom@... writes:

While the Lackawanna applied this scheme to their 1920s built DS
boxcars, I have not been able to turn up any photos of USRA DS
boxcars painted in this scheme. Caveat emptor.

The deductions by Ben and Richard are correct. The first cars to get the
Phoebe billboard were the 1937-design cars delivered by Magor early in April
1942. The few references to the new promotional paint in company writings
suggest that repaints were on a routine basis after WWII.

By the end if the 1940s big blocks of USRA DS boxcars, built in 1919, had
been sold or converted to 11000-series steel autocars and very few remained in
revenue service. By the mid-1950s any remaining USRA boxcars were turned into
piggyback flat cars. It is very, very, very unlikely that any of the USRA
DS boxcars got the billboard lettering. For more than 20 years I've scoured
picture collections and archives have never seen one off these in the billboard
paint. The USRA cars stand out against the other DS boxcars in the DL&W
fleet, and I'd know them in an instant. So far no photos of one in billboard
paint have surfaced. One lasted until the end of steam (1953) in Scranton as a
waycar (LCL cars elsewhere). Parts of it appear in occasional photos of
the steam dead line, and it was not in the billboard paint scheme.

Several of the 1925-built DS cars in the 45000- and 46000-series got
billboards, as did some of the 36-foot DS boxcars. Checks of ORERs would prove it,
but there were very few of the USRA DS boxcars in service after the end of
the War. This being said, is it possible that one or two got repainted? Sure,
it's possible.

Al Westerfield gets the blue ribbon from the DL&W faithful for once again
being the only producer offering correct lettering for our road. Perhaps one
of the historical societies can make a custom run of accurately lettered RTR
cars. I'd have to refresh my memory, but I recall two builders (Mt. Vernon and
Magor) with and without replacement roofs.

Mike Del Vecchio





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