Owen, hides can indeed be heavy. Sometime in the 50s packing plants switched from salting dry hides to soaking hides in a brine solution and shipping them wet. Wet hides are indeed much heavier than dry hides.

As to interchange. Hides came from slaughter houses, ie packing plants. Most of which were located in the Mid-West, ie Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, St Paul, Sioux City, etc. And you will find that many tanneries were located out east, New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, etc. A IC hide car would most likely be in captive service. It could be loaded with hides online in Chicago, Dubuque, Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Omaha, Sioux City and other locations. But the raw hides would be headed east, interchanged most likely at Chicago to any of many eastern roads.

Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org

Thank you, Jeff,

I can almost smell that hide car through my screen! 

Interesting that car IC 34861 in your photo does not match the diagram you sent for the earlier group of 50' s/s IC hide cars, 34990-99, embedded in the diagram for 40000-40089, which indicates "no metal panel," that the left door "closed" but not indicated, noted or shown as having been removed, and a "stemwinder" Universal brake wheel retained at that late date (1954?) As this new photo is of a power-brake equipped, wooden but steel reinforced door car in a new number series for me, I looked it up in ORER 1959 and found 34890-99 the closest series (ten cars) but not a match. So this conversion may have been either after our STMFC period or "off the books."

The CU FT 4303 of the hide car listings matches that of the three IC non-end-door equipped 50' composite autocar groups. Curious is the increase in CAPY from 75000 to 100000 lbs. Is this likely just a truck/bearing upgrade? The earlier discussed 34990-99 matching your diagram also showed this CAPY increase when they appeared in the 1955 ORER. Were hides so heavy?

In the 1959 ORER there is also a group of 74 (up from 68 in 1955) 40' 40t composite 6' door, small boxcars in 34900-34989 series so, IC guys, are all the 34xxx-series cars in the late-steam era hide cars?

Finally, how likely would IC hide cars be interchanged to deliver to a leather works in, say, Wilmington, DE, or Philadelphia, PA?

Thank you,
Owen Thorne 
owen at udel dot edu

Big thank you to all replied with IC auto car info and ideas.

Huge thanks to Jeff White who's photos and hard-fought diagram shares give me much of what I need to plan some kitbashes.
 
Couple of thoughts:

1. MDC/Roundhouse models have radial (Murphy?) roofs but as the IC diagrams show Hutchins Dry Lading peaked roofs, the Walthers seems a better starting point.
2. Walthers' 3-3-3 "outie" early Dreadnought ends seem like a match for 40250-40499 and for 40200-40249 with a Dreadnought end-door.
3. Sides are correct Howe-truss but the panel to left of doors requires some thinkin' (or lookin' the other way) as original 10' opening was widened by IC to 12' maybe when new steel doors were installed? (see note alluding to A5574 door widening on diagram) There are always compromises in modeling HO freight cars, especially bashes or upgrades of old tooling.
4. Either MDC or Walthers would require prototype modelers to remove molded-on details, install Ajax power AB brake systems, safety appliances and most likely repaint and restencil. Crafting side sill extensions, gussets, end sills and detail upgrades are all pro forma. As Walthers has correct end rib and roof configurations, that wins it for me. 
5. The earlier 40000-40089, 40100-40149 have 5-5-7 (top to bottom) Murphy "outie" ends. 40150-40199 have 5-5-7 B-end and Murphy A-end-doors. All these ends would need to be cut out and new ones scrounged using either model. The challenges with the side panel left of door also remain as some had 12' openings, others 10' (4'+6',) wood doors upgraded during WWII with steel sheets over lower fifth of each door and these need to be scratched or scrounged.1
6. Still others had the left door removed or nailed shut. Some were renumbered 34990-34999 and assigned to hide loading and Jeff's IC diagram show Universal brake and a "stemwinder" with horizontal hand wheel. This was likely pre-war as power brakes and steel door panels were not applied. Maybe more were converted postwar - see Jeff's shot of 34861 which does not show in my 1955 ORER and does have the steel door sheets and power brake applied. Waste not, want not.

If anyone knows of additional info, photos, or drawings of these classes, please share. I just ordered new decal sets from Tichy as my old Walthers and Champ IC sets may not make it even with a coating. Over 400 of these interesting cars were still around in 1955, listed as XM, auto loader duties having been ceded to newer, taller steel cars. While a minority in an IC fleet of nearly 20,000 boxcars, there is no reason they wouldn't travel widely so I plan to build a couple and if it works out I will share. I am old enough to remember when these MDC and Walthers 50' autocar kits were new releases!

Thank you, all,

Owen Thorne  - owen at udel dot edu

Based on looking at many pictures of NYC composite gondolas, I would say the general practice on NYC was to leave the inside unpainted. My personal thought is that painted wood would be slippery in wet weather.
Larry King

HO scale can load for a PTSX (Proleride Transportation Systems) recycled steel quad hopper. Aluminum foil tops from canned drinks, mainly Sanpellegrino,  and a few other miscellaneous foil sources sliced with scissors into 2-3" strips, rolled between the thumb and fingers, and mass trimmed to roughly 1/16-inch lengths with scissors.  A good mindless modeling activity while watching TV.   Glued with dilute white glue to a black foam core base, dulled with dustings of dark gray and red oxide chalk, affixed with Dullcote.

Chris Frissell
Polson, MT

Attachments:

• PTSX-can-load-HO-in-car-close.jpg
  

Ralston Steel Car Company of Columbus built 1,000 of these cars for the Kanawha & Michigan, between July and September 1912. Numbered 7500-8499, these cars were later relettered (NYC) and renumbered (342500-343499) when the New York Central leased the K&M in 1922.

Doug Chapman
Montclair, VA

Hello group,
Beyond a brief mention within this 12 y.o. discussion of using the HO Walthers 50' single sheathed automobile boxcar kit to represent an IC prototype series, I have found little further info searching our archive, or in other groups.io discussion groups. I may have missed something.

1. How could one bash an IC double-door boxcar using the Walthers kit?
2. Has anyone a source for a photo or photos of a prototype car?
3. How about an IC company diagram?

Thank you,
Owen Thorne

Please excuse the cross posts.  Thanks.

 

I wonder if anyone has seen, or is aware of, commercially available castings for the steam heat connections that show up on the heads of some tank cars.  I need several pair for a project.

 

Any guidance appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Steve Hile

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I’m painting the RCW MILW composite gondola, and I’d like to know if the wood parts (sides and floor) were painted on the inside of the car body. I’m guessing it was, but the paint didn’t last very long, so in service appearance would be weathered wood with little paint.

 

Same question for the RCW NYC steel gondola with wood floor. Was the wood floor painted?

 

Nelson Moyer

Damn they compressed again. I printed the sheet from the .pdf and scanned it, saved as a .jpg  I have no idea why it's compressing them. I've never had that problem before.

Let's try this:

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• image001.png
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• image005.jpg
• image006.jpg
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Tim & others,

Your reply causes me to wonder if the Walthers kit had brake rigging or at least components on their model.  Alas, I can't check as I sold my last one years ago (later than 1952, which is my modeling date).

Todd Sullivan

CGW boxcar color varied, just like their diesels. CGW modelers are constantly trying to pinpoint what is CGW maroon?

 

Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org

 

From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Brian Shumaker
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2021 8:27 PM
To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io
Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Kadee CGW box car oops?

 

Are you referring to the color shift?  That slide looks off to me, everything else is too dark as well. I’ve seen other pics of these special cars which appear lighter.  In the eye of the beholder, I guess.
Brian Shumaker

Attachments:

• boxcars Carol Streams IL 8-1965.jpg
• CGW 5202 PS1 boxcar.jpg
• CGW 93211 PS1 boxcar.jpg
• boxcar 317 DF.jpg

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