Peter I have a few more photos of SLSX cars, most from the 71000 series. Also the 3600 you have and a couple from the 72000 series. All have the letterboard, so I would suspect the board is missing in your photo. 3600 is a single deck car, 71000 cars are double deck, with four doors, 72000 are single deck cars.

From notes: 71038 was built 12-31 and 72221 is marked as a GATC car. Swift sold their reefer and tankcar fleets to General American in 1930/31. I assume the stockcars were included in this sale.

The Lifelike Proto 2000 (now Walthers) Mather car was offered as a double deck with four doors. To my knowledge it is the only HO doubledeck stockcar with four doors. The doors could be used in a kitbash on another car. The Red caboose 36’ SP car comes to mind and the Intermountain 40’ ATSF car.

NISX is North American Car Corp. NA purchased Mather in the late 50s. You could see Mather stockcars relettered for NISX in your era. Also beginning in the very late 50s some Mather cars were rebuilt/stretched into 50’ cars. CBQ, B&O, NYC, and perhaps others ran these cars, both single and double deck. The late Stan Radarowicz offered a kit for kitbashing these 50’ cars.

Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org

I did a search on Swift stock cars (and SLSX) on the group site...Ed Mines asked a question looking for an article  and I found several postings and topics with mention of photos, but that's it.

I'm hoping to learn numbers series and car types of the following....
I have photos of the following: 
SLSX 3600
SLSX 71548 with SLSX 710_ _ (last two digits not legible); SLSX 71548 is a two-level, two door car does not have a Swift Live Stock Express letterboard; were there different P&L styles or is the letterboard just missing?
SLSX 72207
- are there any accurate models of two-level, two-door stock cars? and who built these cars?
- are there any drawings of these cars? 
Apologies, I do have an ORER from Westerfield, but not with me or even handy.

Of interest; the photo is of both Swift reefers and stock cars being switched in Hartford, CT; so apparently there was a Swift plant that processed and distributed dressed meat and slaughtered livestock at the same location. Seems a little unusual for me for late-'50's New England.

I also did a search on NISX stock cars and it appears these were not only from a time beyond this group but also a time beyond my own interest, so looking for the following:
- Confirmation there were no 40' two-level, 4-door stock cars with NISX reporting marks in 1959
- Information as to what railroad and number series NISX 3132 may have belonged to in 1959 (perhaps it already belonged to National Car but but bore predecessor road markings?) 
- are there any accurate models of two-level, four-door stock cars? and who built these cars?  I would post a photo but it's taken in the future...
- are there any drawings of such cars? 

I did read several posts that National Car started to use NISX reporting marks 1960 or later. I'm really only interested in information within the timespan of this group and particularly 1958-9.

I am certain the photos I have of SLSX 71548 and NISX 3132 (both two level stock cars, but one with two doors, the other with four) were taken at the same location. and I'm musing that it may be fun to have a couple of livestock cars of different types if I can find the preceding owner of NISX 3132 or a close relative.

Stay healthy,
Peter Ness

From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of James Brewer
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:17 AM
To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io
Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] SLSX stock cars and NISX confirmation

Peter,

A partial answer.  According to my July 1958 ORER:

SLSX 71000 - 71999 - double deck stock cars (40' length, 8' 6" width, 8' 7" height) - 344 in service
SLSX 3100 - 38899 - single deck stock cars (40' length, 8' 5" width, 8' 7" height) - 55 in service
SLSX 3900 - 3999 - single deck stock cars (36' length, 8' 5" width, 8' 7" height) - 34 in service

I could not locate the reporting marks NISX in this issue of the ORER.

Jim Brewer
Glenwood MD

Flatcar appears to have a little added width to deck to accommodate two side by side jeeps 5'3" = 10'6".

On Jul 16, 2020, at 4:05 PM, mel perry <clipper841@...> wrote:



hunt's had a huge cannery in hayward,

most of it long gone, except the portion

that belongs to costco's business center

mel perry

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020, 12:56 PM Dave Parker via groups.io <spottab=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 11:41 AM, David Soderblom wrote:

I note with interest the three factories in northern California, Salinas, ~Oakland, and Tracy/Los Banos.  Yet Calif. is not a producer of the materials (take a look at all those cukes from Michigan!), implying a lot of shipment of the materials from elsewhere.  Yet I don’t recall ever seeing a Heinz car in a Calif. photo, let alone many.

I think you have to consider the breadth of the Heinz product line beyond cucumber pickles.  Two of the CA facilities are discussed on p. 7 of the 1946 report.

Also, I'm not sure how true this was in 1946, but today CA is the leading US producer of just about any agricultural commodity that you can name (e.g., tomatoes, which make ketchup).
 
--
Dave Parker
Swall Meadows, CA

And, as for seeing Heinz cars:

In 1926, the fleet was 115 cars, 41 of them reefers

By 1935, the reefers were gone and there were 35 pickle tank cars and 10 vinegar tank cars

Slightly different mix in 1945, but only 38 cars total (and no reefers).

I'm tempted to say that the probability of seeing an HJHX car at any particular location was pretty darn low.
--
Dave Parker
Swall Meadows, CA

Schuyler, Bill, how about this.  It's not cleaned up and has a slight bow but would glue in nice and flat 

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 1:30 PM Schuyler Larrabee via groups.io <schuyler.larrabee=verizon.net@groups.io> wrote:

Thanks, Bill, step-by-step always helps.

 

Schuyler

I note with interest the three factories in northern California, Salinas, ~Oakland, and Tracy/Los Banos.  Yet Calif. is not a producer of the materials (take a look at all those cukes from Michigan!), implying a lot of shipment of the materials from elsewhere.  Yet I don’t recall ever seeing a Heinz car in a Calif. photo, let alone many.

Photo: Jeeps On Chicago Great Western Flat Car

An undated (probably WW II) photo from an unknown source:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/85/cf/fd85cfe7acc1cdd07a519bfd9ea4864b.jpg

The location probably is Barstow, CA.

I can't see any tie-downs in the photo but there certainly is adequate blocking for the jeeps.

Also notice the Santa Fe Caswell drop-bottom gondolas in the background.

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA

--

Ray;

Large sheets were produced for ship and submarine use, as 2 examples.

Elden Gatwood

From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Ray Hutchison
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 1:11 PM
To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] Re: [RealSTMFC] EJ&E diagonal plate loader

This is very interesting.  My mother's family is from Joliet, and her brother had a large setup in the basement (back in the old Silver Streak days).  I have been accumulating EJ&E freight for a new yard area on layout.  I can see how to model the gondola (interesting project but not so difficult?) but I am wondering about the sheets... obviously from the mills in South Chicago/Indiana once the Joliet mill shut down... but what were they for?

Ray Hutchison
Green Bay WI

This is very interesting.  My mother's family is from Joliet, and her brother had a large setup in the basement (back in the old Silver Streak days).  I have been accumulating EJ&E freight for a new yard area on layout.  I can see how to model the gondola (interesting project but not so difficult?) but I am wondering about the sheets... obviously from the mills in South Chicago/Indiana once the Joliet mill shut down... but what were they for?

Ray Hutchison
Green Bay WI