Tim,

That is debatable! I think that is one of the internet issues that will come up before congress some time in the spring!''Tom

The Pullman-Standard builder's photo from this lot just happened to >be 44324. The car had A-3 Ride Control trucks.
Regards,
Ed Hawkins

This last Saturday afternoon I was at the Minneapolis Public Library collecting some data for a friend. While paging through the collection of Railway Ages, in one of them , Vol. 82, Jan-June 1927, page 1208, I happened to come across this article about a CMStP&P boxcar with 12 ft side door openings.

I have placed a picture of this car from the article in the photos area. It is waiting for the moderators approval - look for CMStP&P PC&M 50 XM

I thought this looked like an interesting car. Note the ladder set up on the right side. Glancing through the article I noticed one paragraph, the fifth paragraph.

The fifth paragraph told of "The steel center posts are fitted with wood fillers and have an automatic locking attachment. The grain door nailing strips at the door post fillers have been especially designed so as to fit flush with the lining and thus avoid damage to the lading or annoyance to the shippers when loading automobiles. Possible difficulty is also avoided when these cars are loaded with grain or some similar commodity for which scrapers are used for unloading purposes."

The car, 271199, is a fifty foot SS car, w/double doors both sides, staggered. Hutchins roof, Howe truss side framing with a
quite visually apparent 9 inch rolled steel channel under the door opening, that in concert with a 4 x 3 5/16 inch channel above the
set of Youngstown pressed steel doors.

Of prior musings about double door cars being used in grain service; the above offers no proof that these ever were used in
grain service, only that these double door cars had provisions
for such use built into them at time of manufacture, and they could have been.

In concert with this, there are several interesting articles on the movement of Canadian grain in the 1928 issues of Railway Age. It would appear in that time frame, a large amount of grain moved through US ports. New York, NY, getting the principle export volume, Boston, Portland, ME, and even Newport News, VA. were other ports of note.

Would anyone be able to fill in a further background on this series of car?
And -was it still around in that form in 1953 ?

And one last question, are any models of this car available in HO?
Jim Dick - St. Paul

Now all I need to do is figure out a likely origin for my molasses. Sugar beets manufactured in the Midwest?

"Jeff Wilson's Industries Along the Tracks 3" shows a 1959 map of sugar beet manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Victor Baird

Fort Wayne, Indiana

I assume this would also apply to the transportion of cotton seed oil
from cotton presses. I am modeling a facility in Texas that shipped
cotton seed oil. One of their customers was a paint manufacturer in
Louisiana. Would this typically be a UTLX, GATX, (whatever) tanker,
reserved for other than petroleum use? Photos????
Charles Etheredge
Austin, Texas

Charles,

I think (hope) that Richard Hendrickson will forgive me for reposting
this old message (from 1998) to the old Freightcars mailing list. I hope
it answers your question.

Tim O'Connor

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Shawn, cottonseed oil was one of the major commodities shipped in tank
cars. Those cars were usually equipped with heater coils, as cottonseed oil
tends to congeal when cold; heater pipes were optional on TM/ICC-103 class
cars, as there was no special AAR or ICC designation or class suffix for
cars that were so equipped. The best brief account for your purposes is
contained in the book "General American Tank Car Journeys," published by
GATC in 1931, which I have excerpted below:

"Cottonseed oil....ranges from pale yellow to a red-black mixture,
depending on the nature and conditions of the seed and the method of
extraction and refinement.... When the seeds are crushed the oil, which is
dark in color, is refined by heating with a solution of caustic soda, and
clarified by filtration. In this refining, the residue containing some of
the caustic soda...is sold to the soap industry, while the clarified oil,
stearin and palmitin are extracted by chilling and pressing. This solid
fat, known as stearno, is used in making oleomargarine. Enormous
quantities of cottonseed oil move in tank cars to be used as soap stocks,
lubricants, salad oils, cooking oils, water-proofing compositions, packing
sardines and as a base for cosmetic creams. The press cake from cottonseed
oil, called cottonseed meal, is used in large quantities as the organic
nitrogen constituent of fertilizers and also as a cattle feed."

FWIW, the weight of cottonseed oil is given as 7.75 lbs. per gallon.

In a quick scan of my 8/47 ORER, I find several other tank car owners whose
cars were used largely or partly for cotton oil shipments, including The
Best Foods, Inc. (BFX, 92 cars), Colgate-Palmolive-Peet (TPCX, 52 cars),
Cuero Cotton Oil & Mfg. Co. (CUMX, 4 cars), Durkee Div. of the Glidden Co.
(DFFX, 11 cars), Fels & Co. (FELX, 6 cars), and Texas Vegetable Oil Co.
(TVOX, 3 cars). No doubt there were others; "oil" and "refining" companies
weren't always in the petroleum business, but it may not be evident from
their ORER entries that what they transported was, in fact, cottonseed oil.
These private owner cars are only the tip of the iceberg, however, as car
leasing companies like General American, Union Tank Line, Shippers Car
Line, and John H. Grace assigned many cars to cottonseed oil service. As
you model the Cotton Belt, you are safe in assuming that there was
substantial tank car traffic in cottonseed oil on that RR.

Richard H. Hendrickson
Ashland, Oregon 97520

That's real interesting! I'll buy copies the next time I see Bob. The big thing I don't know is whether the side sill's straight, or if there's a heavier brace under the doors.

Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.


--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "lnbill" <fgexbill@> wrote:

I have photos of IC 40476 and 40394 from Bob's Photo. Info on the back says they were both photographed at Ft. Bragg, NC on the same date, 10-17-51, which I would be skeptical about. 3/3/3 Dreadnaught ends and what appears to be a Hutchins roof and fishbelly u/f. Five panels to the right of the two steel doors and 3 1/2 panels to the left of the doors, the half panel being a truncated panel with diagonal brace. Bracing is a Howe truss. Doors are Youngstown.

This is one of several 50' SS cars begging to be done in resin.

Bill Welch

--- In STMFC@yahoogroups.com, "al_brown03" <abrown@> wrote:

Can anyone direct me to a photo of this series? I recently came across an old Walthers kit, that I built about 15 years ago, and I think I'll re-detail it for the prototype it's closest to.

-- TIA --

-- Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.

The Katos are beautiful models, but I've never been happy with the wheels
or axles, or their performance.

Tim O'Connor