Refer to 1/88 Model Railroading and 8/91 Mainline Modeler for articles on the
cars. Ehnbom also did an extensive article for the historical society.

Might you mean OCT 1991 MM??? The article on GN Truss Rod Box Cars looks about
right to me (found on the MR mag index.) Aug, on the other hand, showed no GN
articles. What's the article in the Jan 90 MM?

Earl

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Refer to 1/88 Model Railroading and 8/91 Mainline Modeler for articles on
the cars. Ehnbom also did an extensive article for the historical society.
Perhaps someone can come up with the issue - I can't find it at the moment.
We are working on a possible early GN box, a revision to CB&Q masters
supplied by Al Hoffman from Frank Hodina.
- Al Westerfield
Westerfield

Earl Tuson wrote:

In 1931, the Great Northern had a substantial fleet of 27,642 box cars. A
majority portion of these cars had similar dimensions

[snip]

Beyond the data I have compiled above, can anyone point me towards other
published material and photographs depicting these cars, and confirm that the
Cloverhouse lettering is correct for these cars in 1931? In fact, am I even
correct in lumping all these cars into one family? Can anyone state with
authority as to what roofs were applied to them, what styles of underframes
they had (beyond the basic type I've listed,) and more about ends? Thank you
in advance for any help you can offer.

Earl Tuson

Earl, what you need is a book that hasn't been published yet. Tony
Thompson at Signature Press is in the final stages of editing a second
edition of Pat Dorin's GN Lines East book, and it will include a greatly
expanded chapter about GN freight cars on which Staffan Ehnbom and I are
collaborating. There will be numerous photos and other information on the
cars in question, which were by far the most common GN box cars until after
WW II.

They were built in the ca. 1900-1915 era and, being forty feet long, were
unusually large cars for their day to accomodate lumber and grain, the GN's
two major box car traffic sources. All had truss rod wood underframes when
built, but the GN began to rebuild them with channel steel draft sills and
(in some cases) steel ends in the 1920s. Some hadn't been converted by
1928, however,when the ARA outlawed wood underframes, and presumably those
cars didn't go off line until the application of steel draft sills was
completed in the early 1930s.

Tony currently has most of my photos of these cars, but if I recall
correctly they had outside wood roofs when new. As part of the 1920s
rebuilding process, though, they got flexible metal sheathed roofs with
flat seam battens. As to which cars had which trucks, you're dependent on
photographic evidence, as truck replacement seems to have been pretty
random.

The Clover House transfer set is essentially correct for GN lettering
through the mid-1930s; the GN resisted adopting AAR lettering standards
until shortly before WW II. The prototype for the CH lettering was
stenciled "BLT 4 - 1922" but that's actually the date when it was REbuilt
with steel draft sills.

Richard H. Hendrickson
Ashland, Oregon 97520

On Sun, 28 Jan 2001 12:27:09 -0800 (PST) Earl Tuson <etuson@yahoo.com>
writes:

In 1931, the Great Northern had a substantial fleet of 27,642 box
cars. A
majority portion of these cars had similar dimensions , reported at
40' or
40'1" IL, 8'7" IW, and 7'9" to -10" IH. These cars can be further
divided into
4 groups based on underframe and specific dimensions.
Five series featured (presumably) wood underframes, totaling 7790
cars(a
note in the Register also states that "A number of cars in (these)
series are
equipped with steel underframes.") Two series are listed as having
steel center
sills with 1379 cars included. An example of these, with wood ends
and arch
bar trucks, is shown in the 1919 CBC, albeit a car with a number
from a series
which was no longer listed in 1931. One unique series had a hopper
bottom, and
Nehrich published a Charles Winter photo of one of these in his FCG
(95.2,)
showing wood ends and Andrews trucks. All of these cars, with one
exception,
had eave heights of 11'10" and were 12'7" to the top of the running
boards.
The one series of WUF cars that differed was curiously listed as
being 11'12"!
to the eaves, and 12'8" to the running board.
Lastly, the GN rostered 4 series, totalling 10459 cars, all
equipped with
SUF, and measuring 12'2" to the eaves and 13' to the running boards.

Cloverhouse sells dry transfers apparently intended to represent
this last car
type that feature a front facing goat and a date of 1922.
Nehrich states that some of these cars had Murphy ends, and that
Hendrickson
states that many received various steel ends in the twenties, and
rode on a
variety of trucks ranging from Andrews to Bettendorf (T) to spring
plank ARA's.
Beyond the data I have compiled above, can anyone point me
towards other
published material and photographs depicting these cars, and confirm
that the
Cloverhouse lettering is correct for these cars in 1931? In fact,
am I even
correct in lumping all these cars into one family? Can anyone state
with
authority as to what roofs were applied to them, what styles of
underframes
they had (beyond the basic type I've listed,) and more about ends?
Thank you
in advance for any help you can offer.

Earl Tuson

Earl,

Mainline published an article with photos and diagrams, but no plans.

F&C did an HO kit for the wood end cars twice (with and without the
hoppers), the first is garbage, the second is decent. Don't buy from a
dealer unless you know they are current kits. Direct from F&C is the
best way, especially since they'll sell two for the price of one.

Pacific Limited did the cars in O scale brass. They are very good except
the metal end version which is an accurate reproduction of the drawings
prepared by a passenger car person who had no concept of what a
Youngstown type end should look like. Came out looking like corrugated
alum siding.

Byron Rose
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In 1931, the Great Northern had a substantial fleet of 27,642 box cars. A
majority portion of these cars had similar dimensions , reported at 40' or
40'1" IL, 8'7" IW, and 7'9" to -10" IH. These cars can be further divided into
4 groups based on underframe and specific dimensions.
Five series featured (presumably) wood underframes, totaling 7790 cars(a
note in the Register also states that "A number of cars in (these) series are
equipped with steel underframes.") Two series are listed as having steel center
sills with 1379 cars included. An example of these, with wood ends and arch
bar trucks, is shown in the 1919 CBC, albeit a car with a number from a series
which was no longer listed in 1931. One unique series had a hopper bottom, and
Nehrich published a Charles Winter photo of one of these in his FCG (95.2,)
showing wood ends and Andrews trucks. All of these cars, with one exception,
had eave heights of 11'10" and were 12'7" to the top of the running boards.
The one series of WUF cars that differed was curiously listed as being 11'12"!
to the eaves, and 12'8" to the running board.
Lastly, the GN rostered 4 series, totalling 10459 cars, all equipped with
SUF, and measuring 12'2" to the eaves and 13' to the running boards.
Cloverhouse sells dry transfers apparently intended to represent this last car
type that feature a front facing goat and a date of 1922.
Nehrich states that some of these cars had Murphy ends, and that Hendrickson
states that many received various steel ends in the twenties, and rode on a
variety of trucks ranging from Andrews to Bettendorf (T) to spring plank ARA's.
Beyond the data I have compiled above, can anyone point me towards other
published material and photographs depicting these cars, and confirm that the
Cloverhouse lettering is correct for these cars in 1931? In fact, am I even
correct in lumping all these cars into one family? Can anyone state with
authority as to what roofs were applied to them, what styles of underframes
they had (beyond the basic type I've listed,) and more about ends? Thank you
in advance for any help you can offer.

Earl Tuson

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