I'm working on a model of CPR 389000-389049 series tank cars. These were built in 1923 and carried 12,500 gallons. They have a lot of similarities to the Athearn single dome tank, although I'm only harvesting parts from that model for my project. I haven't figured out who the builder was yet.

In any event, I lack sufficient good photos of the body bolster/saddle/end frame area of the car and am struggling to model something credible while peering in the dark. An article in Canadian Railway and Marine World indicates that the cars were equipped with Commonwealth cast steel combined end frame and body bolster castings. These parts included the side sills and tank saddle.

So, I am wondering if anyone might have a clue where to find photos or drawings of the castings. It may be that it was a custom casting and not a marketed product, but I thought I would ask.

Rob Kirkham

On 23-Sep-09, at 11:40 PM, Rob Kirkham wrote:

I'm working on a model of CPR 389000-389049 series tank cars. These were
built in 1923 and carried 12,500 gallons. They have a lot of similarities
to the Athearn single dome tank, although I'm only harvesting parts from
that model for my project. I haven't figured out who the builder was yet.

Likely built by Canadian Car & Foundry, although some earlier tank cars were constructed by CP at their Angus shops.

Ian Cranstone
Osgoode, Ontario, Canada
lamontc@...
http://freightcars.nakina.net
http://siberians.nakina.net

--- In STMFC@..., "Rob Kirkham" <rdkirkham@...> wrote:

In any event, I lack sufficient good photos of the body bolster/saddle/end
frame area of the car and am struggling to model something credible while
peering in the dark. An article in Canadian Railway and Marine World
indicates that the cars were equipped with Commonwealth cast steel combined
end frame and body bolster castings. These parts included the side sills
and tank saddle.

Rob,

Take another look at that Royalite car on pages 268 - 269 of the 1922 Car Builder's Cyclopedia that we were discussing the other week... The car was built by CC&F in 1921, and the cross sectional views show it has a cast bolster. Not quite as good a photos, and you have to spend some time deciphering the hidden lines, but there's a lot of info in those drawings.

Dennis

I thought I'd try to do a little more research on this subject by searching Google books. There one finds this phrase in Railway Age, September 3, 1927, p.450. Unfortunately Google only shows the header of the page and not the comment in which the phrase is used citing copyright issues, so it is difficult to guage its usefulness.

According to the Google search, the phrase is repeated in a 1930 volume of Railway Age - but Google won't even let me see the header to pick up a month or page number.

There is another mystifying reference to 1925 Railway Age, but here Google won't even summarise the content stating it is "restricted".

Bizarre!

Anyway, since 1923 is the date the car I'm modelling was built, I'd like to have a look at these references - whether they turn out to be a dead end or not....

Since the local libraries collection of Railway Age only goes back to 1929, I'm wondering if anyone knows an effective way to follow these leads from my home here in Vancouver.

Rob Kirkham

Thanks Dennis, but while the Royalite car drawings do offer some help, they also differ quite a bit from the CPR cars I'm modelling. The CPR cars had a single cast part that served as bolster and saddle for the tank, not separate pieces. Also, the end sills have a comparatively massive cast in place draft gear box. I can go a far distance working from photos, but would like to see something more detailed if possible.

Rob Kirkham

--------------------------------------------------
From: "soolinehistory" <destorzek@...>
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 8:35 AM
To: <STMFC@...>
Subject: [STMFC] Re: Commonwealth steel combined end frame and body bolster castings

--- In STMFC@..., "Rob Kirkham" <rdkirkham@...> wrote:

In any event, I lack sufficient good photos of the body bolster/saddle/end
frame area of the car and am struggling to model something credible while
peering in the dark. An article in Canadian Railway and Marine World
indicates that the cars were equipped with Commonwealth cast steel combined
end frame and body bolster castings. These parts included the side sills
and tank saddle.

Rob,

Take another look at that Royalite car on pages 268 - 269 of the 1922 Car Builder's Cyclopedia that we were discussing the other week... The car was built by CC&F in 1921, and the cross sectional views show it has a cast bolster. Not quite as good a photos, and you have to spend some time deciphering the hidden lines, but there's a lot of info in those drawings.

Dennis