Gentlemen:

This submission is intended to provide technical information and guidance for the pending acquisition and safe removal of my former Rock Island PS-1 boxcar from Pemberton, New Jersey. The car was restored and equipped to support railway restoration - a 14 year effort.

If the moderators of our website allow, I will post additional technical information below for the car and provide photographs for future considerations. I do hope this effort provides constructive detail to help our old car find a decent home.

Many thanks,

Jim Kovach, P.G.

Is this related to the other Pemberton posting?

Perhaps, a little historical background is a good place to start...


Throughout the early 1900s, efforts were made by the railroad industry and the government to develop a standardized 40-foot, all steel boxcar design. By 1932, the American Railway Association adopted a standard design, which was widely accepted by most American railroads. The resulting design was so successful; it prompted additional experimentation and improvements, including the introduction of the Pullman-Standard PS-1 boxcar in 1947 .

The PS-1 was an experiment in lightweight car construction. A load-bearing body framing incorporated with a light-weight, welded center sill added strength to the car while decreasing average weight by nearly two tons. Most of the car’s construction was a welded design, which offered more strength than riveted contemporaries. In addition, the use of standardized roof, end, brake, coupler and related components decreased construction costs, providing additional savings to Pullman’s customers. The first PS-1 car built in production was bought by the Lehigh Valley Railroad

The Journey of Car 5830

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad purchased 100 40-foot, PS-1 cars with Damaged Freight (DF) load production belts and 8-foot door openings in 1959. The cars received the 5800-series road numbers and reportedly became part of Rock Island’s “Maytag Fleet”. The car’s were originally painted box car red with black ends and continued in revenue service until the demise of the Rock Island in the 1980s. In the late 1970s, the car was renumbered 505823 and repainted in a light blue scheme with large “Route Rock” herald.

Following the failure of the Rock Island and Union Pacific to successfully merge, the Rock Island entered its third and final bankruptcy on March 17, 1975. Faced with a crippling strike in 1979, a deteriorating physical plant, and insurmountable debt, successful reorganization could not be achieved. In 1983, assets were sold in the largest bankruptcy liquidation in US history at that time. Car 505823 was purchased at auction in El Reno, Oklahoma, by Mr. Harry Currie, of Oklahoma City. Mr. Currie manufactured plastic bags and utilized the car to ship his products throughout the mid-continent. We purchased the car from Mr. Currie in 1989, after he retired it from revenue service.

Restoration of Car 5830

We moved the car to our leased area at Stillwater, Oklahoma, on the Santa Fe Railway in 1988. At Stillwater, we replaced lower door tracks and AAR outside sill-door patches, and repainted the car Rock Island blue. Santa Fe personnel were excellent to work with and good relationships were quickly achieved. As often the case, fate intervened as drastic changes occurred in the oil industry prompting job relocation to Pennsylvania – my home State. Car 5830 became part of our journey.

The former 40-foot Rock Island boxcar was accepted for handling by the Santa Fe Railway in April 1989. An AAR OT-5 series application form was completed and car inspection performed by W.C. Lyman, General Manager – Transportation for Santa Fe’s Oklahoma City office. The car traveled to Pennsylvania via Santa Fe and Conrail following a job transfer in 1989. The car was interchanged again in 1995 when it moved to Cressona, Pennsylvania. There the car was moved numerous times by Reading & Northern during routine switching operations.

Over a 14-year period, we framed and insulated interior walls and ceiling and added large sliding pocket doors to reduce heat loss. We also installed large wooden cabinets for paint, electrical, airbrake, and mechanical supplies. Work areas are equipped with a large radial arm saw table, work bench, chop saw, floor mounted drill press, and pedestal grinder. Amenities also include a changing room, food locker, and fold-down lunch area. The exterior car body was wet blasted and coated with Benjamin Moore rust arrestor (as needed) and self priming Ironclad acrylic industrial paints – freight car red sides and black ends. On the roof, we applied Finnaren & Haley’s Weather Barrier roof coatings – final coating was freight car red. Trucks and couplers were left uncoated for easy inspection of metal surfaces.

Mechanically, the car was kept in sound condition. Airbrake equipment and supplies were procured from Pittsburgh Air Brake Company (PABCO) while journal lube is purchased from the Strasburg Railroad. The car rests on Barber S2 stabilized trucks which are in extremely good shape and marked CRI&P. Plain bearings were routinely inspected, lubricated, and rolled (hand car movers) to maintain an adequate oil film. Car brakes were also tested with shop air and responded well during movements by railroad personnel. An AB valve is presently in service and an ABD is onboard should replacement be needed. A new retainer valve was installed in 2009. All safety appliances remain intact and the car was registered with the Umler system – our reporting marks were HRCX 5830. Copies of the original Rock Island purchase order and other mechanical documents are available via our archive.

We were forced to find a new home for the car in 2009 upon loosing our Cressona lease after 14 successful years. The car was subsequently donated to Pemberton based on information available at that time and prepared for shipment during the late Summer and Fall of 2009. I requested assistance from AAR personnel who kindly inspected the car and provided a one-time car movement permit. The car was relocated to a nearby work area and safely loaded onto flat bed truck using a large forklift with ample counter weighs. The car arrived in Pemberton in late December 2009. I was made aware of the changing circumstances by PA Museum personnel. As previously reported, this information is provided to assist with safe passage of the car from Pemberton.

Photographs of exterior and exterior restoration will be provided as soon as well as we are able to access archive files -- please bear with us. Interested individuals are also welcome to contact us via email to jim (dot) kovach at comcast (dot) net. Several pages of colored photographs are available immediately upon request. In addition, logistic and contact information for riggers, truckers, and related personnel associated with the last move will be provided to assist a safe, quick passage from Pemberton.

Respectively,

J Kovach, PG

Steve,

Yes, this pertains to the Pemberton "boxcar"

Hope this helps.

Jim K

Unless memory fails me, "DF" stood for "Damage Free." I do not know whether that meant loads were supposed to arrive free of damage (from shifting in transit) or it meant that the railroad didn't charge extra for damaging the freight.

Many thanks,

Good catch - could have been a typo on my part or original info we used. Nevertheless, a lot of good work was put into the car during our years -- many fond memories.

Thanks again,

Jim K

Jim,

Thanks for providing the detailed information. I hope your former car will find a good home. Maybe someone here will be able to help.

"DF" stenciled on post WW2 boxcars generally referred to their being equipped with interior lading restraint devices, such as moveable cross-beams and even moveable bulkheads and load dividers. The concept was to provide additional bracing and a means of keeping freight from moving around, by providing devices that were (movable) parts of the car, rather than separate items-- lumber used for load bracing, etc.

The idea was to cut down on Loss and Damage ("L&D" in railroad terms) claims for such things as dented canned goods, household appliances, broken bags/sacks of bulk items (grains, etc).

The 1950s-60s Car Builder's Cyclopedias contain pages of proprietary DF systems that were available from the car builders and component suppliers.

Howard P.
Dunnage, NY

I've been to Dunnage, NY, it wasn't pretty....

David W.
Wisenheimer, MO

Oh, so this was one of the nails in Pemberton's coffin.

Remember it is a boxcar. Boxcars at railroad museums tend to get filled with stuff. The substantial clutter around the Pemberton property suggests that they have already max'ed out the boxcar. So you may have to empty it out prior to movement, and the township won't much appreciate you emptying it out onto the ground.

Gentlemen:

Thanks for the interest in our car. I reviewed files overnight and have several items to share. To assist the court appointed reciever and interested parties / bidders, I thought it wise to share logistics / contacts / what-not we experienced moving the car via truck. Previous moves were by rail. That said, I put the following together early this morning - kindly excuse any typos.

* * *

The following logistical information is intended to assist interested parties / bidders remove my former PS-1 boxcar from Pemberton. Over the years, I coordinated moves for several interesting pieces, including: an F-9, a 0-6-0T, my PS-1, several cabeese, and countless little things weighing 5-ton or less. At the risk of sounding sappy, long time ago I learned a good crew is priceless. All are welcome to do what you will, network with friends and contacts. Had I to do it over again, I would have no concerns about calling these folks for help.

For the boxcar, our rigger was:

Albert N. Lykon Sr.
A&A Machinery Moving, Inc.
201 Dean Sievers Place
Morrisville, PA. 19067-3700
1-800-626-6330
Field Crew: Nick Lykon, Robert Albertson, & James Lowler

Mr. Lykon and his field crew are a full-service rigging company and were excellent. A&A Admin assistance Kathleen Burns and permit coordinator/dispatcher Terry were also a great help. Giggle A&A – their website is very informative.

Couple things from our files, car load dimensions were 45’ L, 10’ 8” W, 12’ 8” H (off trucks) with estimated weigh of 30,000. The car’s trucks were hauled separately, with estimated weigh of 14,300. Costs for the move from Cressona (central PA) to Pemberton (east of Philly) was $9,930 and took six hours portal to portal.

The initial permit application failed - A&A had to run a survey to document a safe route.

The car was safely loaded and cribbed in just over three hours using a large rubber-tired forklift with counter weights. Our ground conditions were excellent – frozen gravel-covered rail yard with good access and swing room in the loading area.

We had the car prepped – dropped all brake rigging and air reservoir, removed stirrups – all were safely stowed and secured onboard and the car was double chocked. During loading, we also removed both knuckles to accommodate the truck bed.

When loaded, the car and cribbing measured at 14’ 10” – I understand we were permitted to 14’ 8½” The driver decreased height 3” with air shocks. The escort sensor was set at 15’ 2’’. The load departed Cressona at 12:00-hours

Our trucking company was:

D. L. Landis, Inc. - Double-Drop Removable Goose Neck Trailer
1331 Byerland Church Rd
Willow Street, PA 17584-0306
(888) 464-1303
Field Crew: Dennis Landis & Tom Townsend

Dennis was a treat to work with – the guy really knew his stuff and could handle the load through tight places departing the rail yard. I just giggled the website – seems fine.

Our escort service was:

Richard Lipson
L&R Transportation, Inc.
1308 Centennial Avenue
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
917-805-3761
Field Crew: Richard Lipson

Ground conditions at Pemberton were awful – muddy with no prep. Support trucks arrived about 15:00-hours and boxcar about 18:00-hours – portal to portal same day (Monday). The trucker dropped load and left Monday evening. A&A arrived on-site the next day (Tuesday) at 07:00-hours. Ground conditions were extremely poor – forklifts kept getting stuck, etc.

I do hope this logistical information helps work moving forward. Should there be any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via Jim (dot) Kovach (at) Comcast (dot) net

Finally, I am compelled to report that in all my moves, we never, ever had a reportable injury or damage to property until Pemberton. That was something we were very proud about. I understand that “supervisor” Tamn was clipped by rear view mirror of a passing vehicle. I do understand that injuries were not serious, and for that I am grateful. Sorry -- under the circumstances, just needed to vent. Humble apologies to all.

Take your time -- be careful -- work safely. It takes time and planning to move these things. I do hope these notes have helped.

Many thanks,

J Kovach, P.G.

Thank you for providing the only useful information to arise in this whole dark comedy of errors. I sincerely hope your (former) car finds a great new home.

It would be very useful it the trust would provide this kind of size, weight and logistical information for the remainder of what they are about to lose. Only scrappers don't care as it will be converted into bite-sized chunks before being loaded off in trucks. I'd consider it a demonstration of their genuine interest in preserving the stuff as a first priority.

dave

Although we do appreciate his donation of the PS-1 boxcar, he was not at the site when the car arrived. So let me set the record straight.

The site was cleared of snow by the township with their huge front end loader. The ground was clear and frozen. Until the sun came out and we started working on setting the car in place. Then it started to become muddy. The hauler went to his yard and returned with steel plates that they put down and completed the unloading task, well before darkness fell.

And yes Mike Tamn was hit in the back of the head with a mirror from a tool vendor who ran through the stop signal from one of the members who was flagging traffic. He was chased down by the escort and the Fire Marshall and returned to the site. Mr. Tamn was kept overnight as a precaution since he isn't 32 anymore. (Who is?)

Later!
Mr. Ed