Southern Seley hopper and 'SU' boxcar
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Robert G P
Hello everyone, I picked up (2) F&C kits recently. Both Southern cars, one being a Seley hopper and the second one of the 'SU' 36' boxcars. Both are pretty notable cars for my era. The Seley hopper I grabbed as I have seen a nice picture of 2 in Cincinnati. Curious if anyone has anymore photos of these hoppers? And do we know the latest they stayed around? Second is the 36' truss rod boxcar, these were known for being some of the longest lasting 36' boxcars. Again, anybody want to share photos? I am also curious of the origin of the Seley name? Many thanks and will post pics once cars are built (whenever that may be), Rob |
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Seley hoppers were named after the N&W’s Mechanical Engineer.
Probably better to ask about photos close to the year you model, which is?
Regards, Bruce Bruce Smith Auburn, AL
From: <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> on behalf of Robert G P <bobgp5109@...>
Hello everyone,
I picked up (2) F&C kits recently. Both Southern cars, one being a Seley hopper and the second one of the 'SU' 36' boxcars. Both are pretty notable cars for my era.
The Seley hopper I grabbed as I have seen a nice picture of 2 in Cincinnati. Curious if anyone has anymore photos of these hoppers? And do we know the latest they stayed around?
Second is the 36' truss rod boxcar, these were known for being some of the longest lasting 36' boxcars. Again, anybody want to share photos?
I am also curious of the origin of the Seley name?
Many thanks and will post pics once cars are built (whenever that may be), Rob |
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Don Burn
Bob Karig’s Coal Cars book has a photo of a Southern Seley hopper in 1951. Note: the railroad had upgraded it with steel ends.
Don Burn
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Robert G P via groups.io
Hello everyone,
I picked up (2) F&C kits recently. Both Southern cars, one being a Seley hopper and the second one of the 'SU' 36' boxcars. Both are pretty notable cars for my era.
The Seley hopper I grabbed as I have seen a nice picture of 2 in Cincinnati. Curious if anyone has anymore photos of these hoppers? And do we know the latest they stayed around?
Second is the 36' truss rod boxcar, these were known for being some of the longest lasting 36' boxcars. Again, anybody want to share photos?
I am also curious of the origin of the Seley name?
Many thanks and will post pics once cars are built (whenever that may be), Rob |
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David
The last of the SU boxes were retired en masse when the final
extension for K brakes in interchange expired in 1953. The Seley
composites were also largely retired around this time, but a few
hundred survived into the late 1950s.
Bob Karig’s Coal Cars book has a photo of a Southern Seley hopper in 1951. Note: the railroad had upgraded it with steel ends.The Seley hoppers that Southern bought in the 1920s were built with steel ends. Southern also had some earlier Seley hoppers with wood ends. David Thompson |
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Robert G P
Thanks guys, and regarding years, its variable between '48-'51. I have an eclectic interest so it really just depends on the train I want to build and take to the club layout! On the N&W engineer's name, yes I remember now! I knew I had heard it before but had forgotten. -Rob P On Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 6:11 PM Don Burn <burn@...> wrote:
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Bob’s photos has good photos of both
toggle quoted message
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On Mar 13, 2023, at 7:41 PM, Robert G P <bobgp5109@...> wrote:
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Robert G P
Info I was after, thanks!
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Charles Arthur Seley was an interesting character who spanned the era between wood and steel freight cars.
He was born in Wapella, IL in 1856 and died in Chicago at 82 in 1939 and is buried in Oakhill Cemetery in Worth, Illinois.
He began railroad service as a draftsman for the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba in 1879. He was doing outside work between 1881 and 1886 before becoming chief draftsman for the St. Paul and Duluth Rwy. From 1888-1892 he was with the Great Northern and from 1892 to 1895 he was with the Railway Supply Bureau. Then he became Chief Draftsman for the Chicago Great Western from 1895-1899.
He was a Mechanical Engineer with the N&W from 1899 – 1902.
One of his longest tenures was Mechanical Engineer with the Rock Island from 1902 into 1913.
He subsequently became president of the American Flexible Bolt company (steam locomotive boiler staybolts) and was a very valuable consultant to the Railroad Industry.
All in all he was a cool guy and was an early proponent of the Fowler type single sheathed boxcars.
Steve Hile
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Bruce Smith
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2023 4:53 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Southern Seley hopper and 'SU' boxcar
Seley hoppers were named after the N&W’s Mechanical Engineer.
Probably better to ask about photos close to the year you model, which is?
Regards, Bruce Bruce Smith Auburn, AL
From: <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> on behalf of Robert G P <bobgp5109@...>
Hello everyone,
I picked up (2) F&C kits recently. Both Southern cars, one being a Seley hopper and the second one of the 'SU' 36' boxcars. Both are pretty notable cars for my era.
The Seley hopper I grabbed as I have seen a nice picture of 2 in Cincinnati. Curious if anyone has anymore photos of these hoppers? And do we know the latest they stayed around?
Second is the 36' truss rod boxcar, these were known for being some of the longest lasting 36' boxcars. Again, anybody want to share photos?
I am also curious of the origin of the Seley name?
Many thanks and will post pics once cars are built (whenever that may be), Rob |
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