Gene Green wrote:
"Looking at a Youngstown Steel Door Co. ad on the rear cover of the
June 17, 1937 issue of Railway Age shows PMcK&Y USRA single-sheathed
box car number S-81290 before and after rebuilding. If it is,
indeed, the same car it has been renumbered 83400 when rebuilt. The
ad claims the rebuilt car is 4" higher and 3" wider.

"When rebuilding the car would the truss members be left in place?"

No.


"Reused somehow?"

In this case, no.


"Discarded with a new structure attached to the side sill?"

Yes.


"Three inches extra width is approximately the thickness of the
original wooden sides. Surely the rebuilt car is double-sheathed."

Yes, in the same way that contemporary steel boxcars were double-
sheathed.


"How did the car get wider?"

The replacement steel car body was wider than the original SS
boxcar. If you look at the side sill, you will see a
pronouced "step" with side-sill brackets where the original
underframe meets the new carbody.


"What does the "S-" in the original number represent?"

The following explanation is from Terry Link's website,
http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/NYC-MODELS-FREIGHT.htm :

'During the 1920's, many cars had a "S-" in front of the car number.
This was meant to indicate that these were "system cars" and were
considered on home rails regardless of which NYC subsidiary they were
on. So a Michigan Central car could be returned to Big Four rails and
be considered 'home' for accounting purposes.'


"Would any of the original single-sheathed USRA box cars on the NYC
(any number series) have survived until 1950 without being rebuilt?"

Only the PMcK&Y USRA SS boxcars were rebuilt. Cars assigned to other
subsidiaries survived into the 1950s but were gone by 1953.


"Would the paint scheme on the rebuilt car have survived from 1934
rebuilding all the way to scrapping? The picture shows pretty
standard lettering with the PMcK&Y reporting marks and a New York
Central Lines herald with the box car color as the background color."

Highly doubtful. I have never seen any "Lines" herald in any photo
from the 1940s on. These cars lasted in revenue service until 1959.


"A lot number that is almost legible is above the herald."

Lot numbers for these cars were 630-B (built 1935) and 638-B (built
1936).


Ben Hom