The Burlington Bulletin on the extended roof XA-14D cars states that some served out they’re life without conversion to original height. I’m traveling, so I can’t access my source until next week.

Nelson Moyer

On Mar 15, 2020, at 4:31 PM, al_brown03 <abrown@...> wrote:

I know of two sources on these:
Culotta, "Freight Cars Reference Manual", v 1, p 192
Masterson, Wagner, and Hoffman, RP CYC 12, pp 46-87 (see especially pp 78-83)

CB&Q class XA-14D (100 cars, 46650-46749) were built in the company shops in 1937-38. After Pearl Harbor, 60 of this class were rebuilt with 26" roof extensions, to carry wings and other parts for B-26 and B-29 bombers. The modified XA-14Ds were converted back to their original height during 1946. The Masterson article has two photos of CB&Q 46741 with its extended roof, and Culotta has a 1963 photo of the same car at its original height.

Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.

On Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 08:47 PM, Richard Remiarz wrote:

I don’t know if this part was unique to the later cars that were modeled by the Sunshine kit, or if it was used on all series of Soo sawtooth boxcars.

You mean this: https://realstmfc.groups.io/g/main/album?id=43499

I've never seen one on any Soo car with a fishbelly UF, nor is it shown on the Haskell & Barker drawings of the early twenties cars (the prototype for that kit) so surmise they were only on the later cars. The only one of the 1926, 28, 29, and 30 built cars I've been able to inspect is the 1929 car at the Illinois Railway Museum, where those pix were taken.

Dennis Storzek

Photo: Barrels in A Boxcar

An undated photo from the Los Angeles City Public Library:

Blockedhttps://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/photos/id/100971/rec/1247

Caption: "Barrels of liquor are stacked in a railroad car, ready to be transported. The number 1 is written on the top of each barrel."

A good view of how these barrels were secured in a boxcar. It's possible these are beer barrels as they appear to be the same kind of barrels as shown in this photo, although the boxcar is not the same one:

Blockedhttps://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/photos/id/103564/rec/16

Caption: "One man brings a barrel of Los Angeles Brewing Co. beer as two men roll the barrel on a railroad car. The barrels are stacked into the railroad car and later transported."

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA

Model: CB&Q "Bomber Boxcar"

A model photo from the NAPM Model Railroad Club:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/napmltd/41672943110/

Caption: "In 1942 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy modified some of their 50' automobile boxcars to carry wings of B-26 Marauder bombers to an Army Air Corps assembly plant near Omaha. The CB&Q shops built 26" high side extensions and reattached the old roof to the raised sides. The wings were loaded and unloaded through the hinged doors on the 'A' end of the boxcar.

After the war these cars were used for high cube, lightweight loads such as appliances and furniture. The cars fared poorly in their new assignment — those types of loads weren't as robust as airplane wings — with cargo damage often the result of excess sway. Eventually the boxcars were put into general service alongside normal-height 50' cars."

Does anyone have a prototype photo or link to a prototype photo?

How many cars did the CB&Q modify?

Thanks.

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA

On Sun, Mar 15, 2020 at 8:35 PM, Andy Carlson

<midcentury@...> wrote:

Maybe it is still there--20 years ago I was in Scotts Bluff NE. and adjacent to a small rail yard, a grain mill had an on-site storage structure which was a surviving CB&Q extended height box car still in Q paint. I seem to remember that it had evidence of being active into the 60's but I failed to take any pictures.

-Andy Carlson

Ojai CA

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, 6:02:47 PM PDT, Nelson Moyer <npmoyer@...> wrote:

The Burlington Bulletin on the extended roof XA-14D cars states that some served out they’re life without conversion to original height. I’m traveling, so I can’t access my source until next week.

Nelson Moyer

On Mar 15, 2020, at 4:31 PM, al_brown03 <abrown@...> wrote:

I know of two sources on these:
Culotta, "Freight Cars Reference Manual", v 1, p 192
Masterson, Wagner, and Hoffman, RP CYC 12, pp 46-87 (see especially pp 78-83)

CB&Q class XA-14D (100 cars, 46650-46749) were built in the company shops in 1937-38. After Pearl Harbor, 60 of this class were rebuilt with 26" roof extensions, to carry wings and other parts for B-26 and B-29 bombers. The modified XA-14Ds were converted back to their original height during 1946. The Masterson article has two photos of CB&Q 46741 with its extended roof, and Culotta has a 1963 photo of the same car at its original height.

Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.