Early 20th Century Freight Cars Photograph
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Jim Gates
A photo with a lot of early freight cars:
https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll21/id/9552 Enlarges enough to read many of the numbers. Jim Gates
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Interesting mix of narrow & standard gauge cars.
I particularly like the boxcar with its door hanging by one corner! Tom E.
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I messed with it a bit & came up with this.
Tom
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Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
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Hi Jim and List members,
Thanks Jim for the great image, I've spent some enjoyable time looking more
closely at what there is to see - I will address this in some further emails on
the topic...
Claus Schlund
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Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
Hi Jim and List members,
Thanks again Jim for the great image. Here are some enlargements of areas I
found interesting...
This Rock Island stock car has an off-center door - see attached
image.
Claus Schlund
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Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
Hi Jim and List members,
Thanks again Jim for the great image. Here are some enlargements of areas I
found interesting...
This box car is having a problem with its door - I dare someone to model
that!
Claus Schlund
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Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
Hi Jim and List members,
Thanks again Jim for the great image. Here are some enlargements of areas I
found interesting...
We have discussed in the past that large paper or cloth billboards or
posters were typically not allowed on cars in service. Apparently this did not
apply back when this photo was taken...
Claus Schlund
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Steve Wolcott
And another boxcar with a door problem in this photo. Steve Wolcott
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Charlie Vlk
All- That door reminds me of the problem the CB&Q had between Cicero / Clyde Yard and Western Avenue Yard in Chicago for its trains and foreign road transfer runs. If a plug door or swing reefer door was left open (usually by someone breaking into the car to steal the contents) the open door would foul the thru girder bridges over the street subways in that section of the track elevation, ripping them off the cars. I don’t think they hung on the cars and usually fell on the track. I don’t know if there were any incidents where a wreck was caused by this happening. Charlie Vlk
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Tony Thompson
Claus Schlundwrote:
Only on the RIP track. It would never be allowed out on the road (unless it had JUST happened en route). Tony Thompson
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"unless it had JUST happened en route” … quite likely actually. In Detroit, in the early days of open auto-racks, thieves would climb on the cars and strip the new autos while the train was sometimes in motion. They’s get all the wheels, the radios, and whatever else they could sell quick. It was quite organized. The RR cops were outnumbered and scared to intervene.
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Dan Mitchell ==========
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Alice Devenny
Group:
The issue of cars losing their open doors was a problem that time did not heal. In a prior life, I was a Track Supervisor for Conrail with HQ at Colehour Yard in Hammond, IN. The former PRR mainline through South Chicago was part of my territory and included
a number of through girder bridges with close clearances. Thanks to these bridges, my gang was out 2-3 times a week to remove errant doors from the tracks. I always had a stack of damaged plug doors sitting at 55th Street Yard. These bridges were the gift
that kept giving....
Tom Devenny
East Norriton, PA
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And if it happened on the road, the car would be set out at the next siding, unless the crew could secure the door in a safe manner. The car, if set out, would either be repaired in place, or have the door secured and moved, likely in a “hospital train” to
the next yard with a RIP track where it would be repaired and then sent on its way. Note that a loaded car would have to have its contents inspected and secured as well.
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Regards,
Bruce Smith
Auburn, AL
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Steve SANDIFER
This is a Palace car with the feed storage on the roof and troughs along the sides. This was operated before the day of feed-water-rest stations. Palace cars sometimes had doors at the ends of the sides, but this one is off center. You can look at the roof storage and see that the other side is probably the same arrangement. The big reinforced X caught my attention, not seen that before. It is also long, at least 36’, which is unusual for the early date.
J. Stephen Sandifer
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 8:39 AM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Early 20th Century Freight Cars Photograph
Hi Jim and List members,
Thanks again Jim for the great image. Here are some enlargements of areas I found interesting...
This Rock Island stock car has an off-center door - see attached image.
Claus Schlund
.jpg)
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Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
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Hi Bruce and List Members,
Thanks Bruce for the illuminating words on the topic.
One other possibility (the one I would chose if I were inthe crew's
shoes...) might be to get the door to tear off completely and onto the ground,
and then two or three crew members could heft it into the boxcar
interior - assuming the car was empy, or the load allowed enough room for
this...
Claus Schlund
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