The CB&Q has offered to purchase 1,290 wartime troop sleepers from the War Assets Administration at a price of $1,200 for each car, Ralph Budd, Burlington president announced
on November 3. Mr Budd said the railroad, if allowed to acquire the equipment, would adapt the cars to haul bulk grain, sugar and other commodities thus helping to relieve the current car shortage. Work on the cars would be completed in the road’s shops and
would require a minimum of sheet steel and other critical material, it was stated. Each car has a capacity of 100,000 lb. and would hold more than 1,600 bushels of wheat. Other bids have been submitted for relatively small lots of these cars, both by other
railroads and by other parties, it is understood.
In the end, the Burlington purchased 300 troop kitchen cars for conversion into baggage-express cars. Most of the troop sleepers were sold for $2,880 for those built in 1943 and 1944, and $3,780 for those built in 1945 and 1946.
