Freight & Passenger Car General Drawings for Standard Steel Car Company (SSC) and Middletown Car Company (Mid) often may consist of four views: side sheathing (at times showing framing), top view with cutaway to underbody, A end and B end. There might also be a Stenciling Diagram on occasion and the ever useful Underframe and Brake Diagram for the discerning modeler or rail historian. Of course, there were numerous parts and assembly diagrams needed for manufacture. In the IRM's Pullman Library, we have a number of these drawings which I conservatively estimate at 30% of the total for the early years from 1903 for SSC and from 1911 for Mid. I have compiled indexes of the General Drawing from the work by Eric Neubauer and from the journals at the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, with gaps yet to fill in for these two companies as we locate more. This is to help us in the arduous task of locating available drawings, most of which are rolled and stored in archival drawing tubes in our storage facilities. As the low period in our orders is coming up in November and December, with a few patient requesters yet to be accomodated, I wish to share this bit of information for those looking for a hard to locate drawing, that may be in our archive or existing in Harrisburg, etc. We would be happy to look up your request for the General Drawing number keeping in mind that a significant subsequent labor might be involved to make copies of a relevant drawing in the collection under the license terms of our library if so requested. Comments about uses of the indexes are gladly welcomed.
Ted Anderson, IRM Pullman Library volunteer curator