Single sheathed UP B-50-B?
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Randy Hees
The Lomita railroad museum has a single sheathed box car identifed as "built for Union Pacific, numbered 51406, to US Naval Weapons station, Seal Beach, to Lomita Railroad Museum." The car seems to be consistent with a Common Standard B-50-8, which was ordered by Southern Pacific and GH&SA in 1913. The Union Pacific and Southern Pacific were part of Harriman’s lines, which were forced to dissassociate in 1913. The B-50-8 was designed by SP staff prior to the break up, with orders placed in spring 1913, before the break up. It is possible that this is a car ordered for the Union Pacific or one of its associated lines before the disassociation. A review of the 1917 Railway Equipment Register does not show any UP or associated line, or LA&SL (listed separately) box car numbered 51406. UP is known to have renumbered its freight cars in 1917. I assume that LA&SL cars were renumbered when that line was merged into the UP. If it is a B-50-8, it is somewhat unique in that it retains its composite ends. The car is being deassetioned by Lomita. We would like to add it to the collection of the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City but our process requires an accurate history. An SP car would be withing our collection goals, but a UP car would be golden... Any thoughts on its history are welcome. Randy Hees Director, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City |
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al_brown03
Looking at the photo on the Lomita museum website, it has nine-panel Howe side trusses made from zee stock, and a fishbelly underframe. Unusually, each end panel has both a single diagonal brace and (over the single brace) double corner braces. That might be a clue ... Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla. |
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Steve SANDIFER
Photos of the car can be seen at: http://www.trainweb.org/chris/12lomita.html
__________________________________________________ J. Stephen Sandifer
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...]
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 12:09 AM To: STMFC@... Subject: [STMFC] Single sheathed UP B-50-B?
The Lomita railroad museum has a single sheathed box car identifed as "built for Union Pacific, numbered 51406, to US Naval Weapons station, Seal Beach, to Lomita Railroad Museum."
The car seems to be consistent with a Common Standard B-50-8, which was ordered by Southern Pacific and GH&SA in 1913. The Union Pacific and Southern Pacific were part of Harriman’s lines, which were forced to dissassociate in 1913. The B-50-8 was designed by SP staff prior to the break up, with orders placed in spring 1913, before the break up. It is possible that this is a car ordered for the Union Pacific or one of its associated lines before the disassociation.
A review of the 1917 Railway Equipment Register does not show any UP or associated line, or LA&SL (listed separately) box car numbered 51406. UP is known to have renumbered its freight cars in 1917. I assume that LA&SL cars were renumbered when that line was merged into the UP.
If it is a B-50-8, it is somewhat unique in that it retains its composite ends.
The car is being deassetioned by Lomita. We would like to add it to the collection of the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City but our process requires an accurate history. An SP car would be withing our collection goals, but a UP car would be golden... Any thoughts on its history are welcome.
Randy Hees Director, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City
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Randy, No documents available make a case for #51406 as having been a UP car. Now let me ramble on here.... I tend to ;-) UP classes B-50-7, -8, -9, -10 are a mystery and if anyone has information about them would be grateful to be enlightened. In the ORER every six months starting 1-1913 through 1-1916 and then 14-1920 well into the renumbering there is no series that would include #51406. It is possible to look at every month in that span on Google books but my quick look is not encouraging. I also reviewed the service data I have compiled from the original Union Pacific equipment records made available by Don Strack. In the 310 series series built before 1945 or renumbered from those series there are no UP or subsidiary box cars series that would include #51406 (1728 pages). Indeed, there are no B-50-8 cars at all. B-50-6 double-sheathed cars were built up through the end of 1913 and the next series are B-50-11, also double-sheathed, built 1914. The intermediate classes may only have been engineering proposals or resulted only in a sample car; I've not encountered documentation for these possibilities. UP began building fifty-foot single-sheathed auto cars in 1913 but they are too long to match the car in the museum and at any rate also did not have series that would include #51406. The fantastic primary documents behind this of which you are probably aware are available at: https://donstrack.smugmug.com/UtahRails/Union-Pacific-Equipment-Record/Automobile-and-Box-Car/ As you note, the SP B-50-8 cars match the museum car in side truss design and single-sheathed end pattern. So far I am unaware of any that were renumbered into 51xxx series as box cars. In the 1940's however, some were among several classes reconfigured for wood chip service in series 51xxx-52xxx. There may lie a tale which needs to be told by someone with knowledge of the SP wood chip cars. Cheers, Eric Lombard elombard@... |
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Ted Culotta
Randy, I think what you might have is a Southern Pacific B-50-8, built in 1913 by Standard Steel Car Co. The photos referenced are not of high enough resolution for me to examine closely or confirm definitively. It looks like there have been straps added to the last panels on the sides, the doors are replaced or modified, and the trucks appear to be secondhand. The other option, given the car number is a Texas & New Orleans (SP) B-50-13, built in 1924, again by Standard Steel. It is certainly similar (at a cursory glance) to the B-50-8 class and the T&NO cars were in series numbers 51250-25549. The comments about the straps and trucks apply equally here. However, a good find indeed no matter which it is. Better photos can yield a definitive ID. Cheers, Ted Culotta Ted Culotta Speedwitch Media |
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Tony Thompson
Eric Lombard wrote:
I believe only SP purchased B-50-8 cars, as UP at the time was not interested in single-sheathed cars. The same may well be true for B-50-10. I am also unaware of box cars numbered in the 51,000 group unless they were T&NO. Neither SP nor UP had boxes with those numbers AFAIK. For the chip cars, my Volume 3 on auto cars of the SP has a chapter on both the 40-ft. and 50-ft. cars converted for chips. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Randy, Ted's idea about SP B-50-13 is an interesting avenue of inquiry. You can find information, data, and many photos of both B-50-8 and B-50-13 in
Eric Homewood, IL |
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