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Another slice

Bob Webber
 

I scanned a few more tubes - these are a tad earlier - 1904 - 1919 (retracings after 1916).

I bring this up for a number of reasons.

The thread related to cars of 100,000 lbs capacity - of course, isn't germane in the sense that these are steel UF cars, but interesting for all that given the myriad cars of that or greater Cap.
The brake drawings are really interesting, and unlike some later ones, show the out line of cars
A lot of manufacturer & contractor cars
early ish examples of refrigerator & tanks
Several threads of photos & models vonerge in some of these drawings
(Perhaps not surprisingly) several orders for steel UF only

Interesting how "modern" these cars look, even with the very deep sills.  That they are steel (or steel UF) helps but still interesting.

Caveats:
VERY raw, haven't checked for typos
The data is, again, just what's on the drawings' Data Block & Order Info
RR marks are kept as is in most cases
Some of these drawings were kept in tubes in Montreal when a pipe burst, they have the consistency of a 50 yo dollar bill that's been through the wash every day since it was printed
(Will not have time in the next few days to clean up - when I do, it will be added to the web site version of the spread sheet)

Bob Webber

mark_landgraf
 

Bob

It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper. 

I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints. 

Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning. 

At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with. 

Mark


On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 8:48 PM, Bob Webber
<rgz17@...> wrote:
I scanned a few more tubes - these are a tad earlier - 1904 - 1919 (retracings after 1916).

I bring this up for a number of reasons.

The thread related to cars of 100,000 lbs capacity - of course, isn't germane in the sense that these are steel UF cars, but interesting for all that given the myriad cars of that or greater Cap.
The brake drawings are really interesting, and unlike some later ones, show the out line of cars
A lot of manufacturer & contractor cars
early ish examples of refrigerator & tanks
Several threads of photos & models vonerge in some of these drawings
(Perhaps not surprisingly) several orders for steel UF only

Interesting how "modern" these cars look, even with the very deep sills.  That they are steel (or steel UF) helps but still interesting.

Caveats:
VERY raw, haven't checked for typos
The data is, again, just what's on the drawings' Data Block & Order Info
RR marks are kept as is in most cases
Some of these drawings were kept in tubes in Montreal when a pipe burst, they have the consistency of a 50 yo dollar bill that's been through the wash every day since it was printed
(Will not have time in the next few days to clean up - when I do, it will be added to the web site version of the spread sheet)

Bob Webber
Bob Webber
 

Thanks, Mark.   Actually, *most* of the 100 yo stuff is far easier to work with than the 50 yo stuff - the older stuff uses linen - the problem there is that the starch comes out. But it can be ironed.  Then there is the paper used during WW II - very fragile, and used (mostly) by Osgood Bradley (a lot of bus drawings are gone because of it).  Then we come to mylar - where the emulsion flakes off.  Give me linen - even floppy, post-mold linen - any day! 

We don't have issues with brittleness - save for the flat filed Osgood Bradley mentioned. These freight car drawings are now 115 years old - some of them are as clean & crisp as if they were done yesterday - beautiful piece of art. 

When I opened the tube, there were some very high contrast (non-faded) drawings of steel - deep steel - fish belly underframes.  Gorgeous stuff.  Looks like a battleship of the same era.  Lots of big rivets and bolts.

At 07:39 AM 6/18/2019, mark landgraf wrote:
Bob

It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper.

I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints.

Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning.

At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with.

Mark

Bob Webber

al.kresse <water.kresse@...>
 

Mr Weber, are you describing this 91-ton "battleship gon" car?


Al Kresse

On June 18, 2019 at 9:23 AM Bob Webber <rgz17@...> wrote:

Thanks, Mark.   Actually, *most* of the 100 yo stuff is far easier to work with than the 50 yo stuff - the older stuff uses linen - the problem there is that the starch comes out. But it can be ironed.  Then there is the paper used during WW II - very fragile, and used (mostly) by Osgood Bradley (a lot of bus drawings are gone because of it).  Then we come to mylar - where the emulsion flakes off.  Give me linen - even floppy, post-mold linen - any day! 

We don't have issues with brittleness - save for the flat filed Osgood Bradley mentioned. These freight car drawings are now 115 years old - some of them are as clean & crisp as if they were done yesterday - beautiful piece of art. 

When I opened the tube, there were some very high contrast (non-faded) drawings of steel - deep steel - fish belly underframes.  Gorgeous stuff.  Looks like a battleship of the same era.  Lots of big rivets and bolts.

At 07:39 AM 6/18/2019, mark landgraf wrote:
Bob

It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper.

I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints.

Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning.

At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with.

Mark

Bob Webber


 


 
Bob Webber
 

I am not.   What I was trying to describe is the construction - thick, deep steel, punctuated by rivets 5" apart...looking like (not coincidentally) the "old timer" MDC tank car frame of yor .  

I had been concerned when I saw your note that I had done so - and feverishly looked in the drawing DB for that term, only to find it not there.  OTOH, I *HAVE* seen some 3 axle trucked gondolas of the kind the N&W and others had.  I'd have to look for the one I saw, if anyone were curious.  

But then...when you've seen Pullman built tenders, and Standard Steel built B&O tenders (in freight car sequences) and railway gun carriages in passenger car sequences, not much surprises me.

At 09:58 AM 6/19/2019, al.kresse wrote:

Mr Weber, are you describing this 91-ton "battleship gon" car?


Al Kresse
On June 18, 2019 at 9:23 AM Bob Webber <rgz17@...> wrote:

Thanks, Mark.   Actually, *most* of the 100 yo stuff is far easier to work with than the 50 yo stuff - the older stuff uses linen - the problem there is that the starch comes out. But it can be ironed.  Then there is the paper used during WW II - very fragile, and used (mostly) by Osgood Bradley (a lot of bus drawings are gone because of it).  Then we come to mylar - where the emulsion flakes off.  Give me linen - even floppy, post-mold linen - any day! 

We don't have issues with brittleness - save for the flat filed Osgood Bradley mentioned. These freight car drawings are now 115 years old - some of them are as clean & crisp as if they were done yesterday - beautiful piece of art. 

When I opened the tube, there were some very high contrast (non-faded) drawings of steel - deep steel - fish belly underframes.  Gorgeous stuff.  Looks like a battleship of the same era.  Lots of big rivets and bolts.

At 07:39 AM 6/18/2019, mark landgraf wrote:
Bob

It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper.

I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints.

Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning.

At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with.

Mark

Bob Webber


 


 

Attachments:

Schuyler Larrabee
 

Mark,

 

Your steamy shower method has professional endorsement.

 

The Smithsonian has been doing the same thing for years with old drawings.  The man responsible for this had a memorable name, which (of course) I can’t remember right now – I am pretty sure his last name was Loony, or something like that.  But he used a bathroom in the Smithsonian building to get rolled prints and drawings to begin to flatten out.  He hung the drawings using clips and then ran the shower in the room for an hour or so.  The next day he’d look at them.  Some ready to take down, others needing another blast of the shower’s humidity.  I remember him saying that some rolls only expanded a few inches so he was hanging a roll of drawings still about 6” in diameter.

 

He was interviewed in either Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s newsletter or possibly in the publication of the Industrial Archaeology Society.

 

Given his age when I read this, I suspect Mr. Loony is no longer with us . . . at the very least, he’s got to be retired.

 

Schuyler

 

From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of mark_landgraf via Groups.Io
Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2019 8:40 AM
To: Bob Webber <rgz17@...>; main@RealSTMFC.groups.io; STMFC <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Another slice

 

Bob

 

It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper. 

 

I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints. 

 

Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning. 

 

At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with. 

 

Mark

 

On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 8:48 PM, Bob Webber

<rgz17@...> wrote:

I scanned a few more tubes - these are a tad earlier - 1904 - 1919 (retracings after 1916).

I bring this up for a number of reasons.

The thread related to cars of 100,000 lbs capacity - of course, isn't germane in the sense that these are steel UF cars, but interesting for all that given the myriad cars of that or greater Cap.
The brake drawings are really interesting, and unlike some later ones, show the out line of cars
A lot of manufacturer & contractor cars
early ish examples of refrigerator & tanks
Several threads of photos & models vonerge in some of these drawings
(Perhaps not surprisingly) several orders for steel UF only

Interesting how "modern" these cars look, even with the very deep sills.  That they are steel (or steel UF) helps but still interesting.

Caveats:
VERY raw, haven't checked for typos
The data is, again, just what's on the drawings' Data Block & Order Info
RR marks are kept as is in most cases
Some of these drawings were kept in tubes in Montreal when a pipe burst, they have the consistency of a 50 yo dollar bill that's been through the wash every day since it was printed
(Will not have time in the next few days to clean up - when I do, it will be added to the web site version of the spread sheet)

Bob Webber
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