I have a photo showing a green NP box car with yellow(?) stripe and what appears to be a "DF" circle logo on its plug door.  Northern Pacific is in arched lettering to the left of the door and there is some lettering to the right of the door, perhaps for the North Coast Limited, along with the NP trademark.  Could someone tell me when these cars would have first been put into service.  I am trying to date the photo and this is the most distinctive car in the train.

Thank you.

David Payne

 

David,

The car you describe is a NP RBL. If a 50’ car first put into service 1957. If a 40’ car first put into service 1958.

There were many variations to these cars – rivet, welded sides; diagonal panel, PS roof; sliding flush doors; several loading systems as shown on door. Any further spotting features especially car number would allow more precise dating.

Matt Herson





From: davidcofga@aol.com [STMFC]
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2016 2:39 PM
To: STMFC@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [STMFC] NP Plug Door Box Car

 
 
I have a photo showing a green NP box car with yellow(?) stripe and what appears to be a "DF" circle logo on its plug door.  Northern Pacific is in arched lettering to the left of the door and there is some lettering to the right of the door, perhaps for the North Coast Limited, along with the NP trademark.  Could someone tell me when these cars would have first been put into service.  I am trying to date the photo and this is the most distinctive car in the train.
Thank you.
David Payne
 




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

NP had several series of "40ft" RBL Refrigerator Cars (nominal length) and also numerous series of similar "50ft" cars.  These were delivered in the late 1950's and early 1960's.  Yours is most likely one of the "40ft" cars, and I summarize the number series for those cars below.

The overall color is nominally the same dark green that Loewy used on the restyled streamlined North Coast Limited, and the lettering to the right of the various plug doors would reference that train - "SCENIC ROUTE OF THE VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED."  Apart from the loader information on the door, noted below, and the NPR monad, the lettering would be white.

The yellow stripe from my experience scraping dirt off of a car in the 1980's to reveal the paint is "chrome yellow," the color of a typical wood pencil of the type we used in school.  After weathering, the green darkens significantly, and the yellow shifts toward orange.

The circle on the door indicated the type of loader with which the car was equipped, as noted below.

98500 - 98549 Blt by NP at Brainerd MN 1958 - Pullman Standard Compartmentizer.
98550 - 98649 Blt by NP at Brainerd MN 1959 - Evans DF-2 Loader
98650 - 98699 Blt by NP at Brainerd MN 1960 - Evans DF-2 Loader
98700 - 98749 Blt by NP at Brainerd MN 1960 - Car-Pac

Sincerely,
Rufus Cone
Bozeman, MT