Jim Wrinn recently wrote in a TRAINS blog:

Of the 1.55 million freight cars in service in North America, we’re down to 18 or fewer 40-foot boxcars that are still listed in UMLER, the service that tracks freight cars in revenue service in North America.

Of the 18, eight carry Burlington Northern reporting marks, seven carry Canadian Pacific, two carry Ferromex, and one is listed at New England preservation railroad Naugatuck. Dozens of others are also preserved at museums or tourist railroads, but just not listed in UMLER.

That is amazing. When many of us grew up most freight cars were 40-foot boxcars (or refers). I remember 50-foot automobile box cars being a big deal.

I recently learned that the Naugatuck RR is a common carrier, owned by the State of Connecticut and leased and operated by the Railroad Museum of New England. So Jim, I guess that's why the Museum's 40-footer is listed. Actually as best I can tell from the web site, the Museum has three 40-foot box cars -- two wood and one steel. I assume it's the steel one. I quickly gave up on searching UMLER.

Howard???

RMNE has a number of 40-foot steel boxcars: three MEC PS-1s, one B&M PS-1, one NYNH&H 1945 "AAR" boxcar, and one Rutland PS-1, a colorful "Green Mountain Gateway" car from 1957. That's the car that is listed in UMLER, due to having tags attached for a 2003 move from Montpelier Jct, VT to Waterbury, CT.

The Rutland car (#445) was built in 1957, as part of Rutland's last order for the colorful green and yellow cars. Sold in 1965 or so to Vermont Railway, kept the same number as VTR 445, and then was privately owned as a storage car near a lumber company in Montpelier. It was donated to RMNE in 2002, and prepped for movement by our volunteers. The plain bearing trucks (with "R. RR." cast in the sideframes) were moved by trailer, and 445 made the trip on a set of roller bearing trucks.

It's painted freight car red right now, will eventually get some metal work (bunged-up doors, scourge of the older steel boxcars!) and then back to Rutland green and yellow.

RMNE also has two B&M 1929 40 ft outside braced cars (restored/resheathed 1987) , one CV 1925 40 ft outside braced car, and one CV 1929 40 ft "door and a half" automobile car, with an end door as well.

There are also some older 36 ft wood boxcars (NYNH&H and B&A), and one B&M 1956 PS-1 50 ft car.

As for Naugatuck Railroad (NAUG), CDOT owns the rail line we lease, not the railroad company. NAUG is a common-carrier, and it is owned by RMNE.

Howard P.

Marty,

RMNE has 7 steel 40' boxcars, 3 of which are right in the yard. The car listed is on track 1 (closest track to mainline fence) right behind ex-CDOT FL9 2002 (which is first out on that track currently). MEC 6391 is just outside the shop on track 4 and MEC 6323 is sitting on track 3 between ex-MN FL-9 2033 (just North of MEC RS-3 #557) and the orange RMNE 45T critter #42. MEC 6324 is stored elsewhere along with a BAR, NH and B&M 40' cars.

There are a few other 40' cars too, including 2 of the 3 B&M cars you see at the shop site.

Jason

Do you remember when box cars carried grain? Not in sacks, but loose. Paper doors were stapled over the regular door openings. The grain was loaded from the elevator. The regular doors closed.

I remember too well stepping in piles of fermenting grain at night (after a good rain or two). Grain that had leaked from those boxcars in Proviso Yard the summers I earned my college tuition as a switchman. I'm surprised my mother let me back in the house.

Today covered grain hoppers also leak. I'm sure you have noticed the green growth between the rails of mainlines in the spring after a winter of covered hoppers leaking and spring rain and heat making the escaped grain sprout.

What else did box cars carry that speciality cars carry today? Liquids, but in barrels. Automobiles, but very inefficiently. And ...

Found this beauty in CSX work train service in August of 2012!



Was very surprised to happen upon a 40' boxcar, even in Mow service on a class one...even more so for one in Reading paint.

Coal. I still hope beyond hope that the last (known) boxcar loader in the PA anthracite region gets preserved.

Rob

Lumber.

The Minnesota History Center of the Minnesota Historical Society located in St. Paul has a full-size Soo Line box car as part of its "Grainland" permanent exhibit.

When I saw these a good number of years ago the museum (er.. History Center) had a video of the car being moved into the building.

Brian, I'm remembering a GN boxcar on display with sacks of flour in the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.

This RDG 40ft was in Brunswick MD the day WB tower was taken out of service. It was a nice added attraction. I recently saw a 40ft NW boxcar on the end of a NS MOW train as well, still with packed bearings too.

Marty -

A group in Atlanta, Illinois decided to preserve their old wooden grain elevator, built in the early 1900's, and open it as a museum. The nice thing is that they then went out and purchased an old wood single sheathed (outside braced) 40' Wabash boxcar and put it on a section of track where the old siding was located. A nice touch!

Les

Les, it sure would be neat if they could put one paper door in it. Who might have one?

This thread is a good reminder how RR museums should be looking to preserve more than just each end of a train...

http://www.haweselevator.org/museum_info_preserve.html

They may have used more than one method, but the one I'm familiar with involved "grain doors". These were wood planks used to seal the doorway.

The grain doors were made of wood panels, and then paper was placed over that to seal it against leaks (hopefully).

A quick Google search didn't find a lot of prototype photos, but here's a company selling HO model of them which will give you the general idea of what they were and how they worked.

http://www.greatlakesmodels.com/Product ... 20Door.htm

Question I hadn't thought of before. How did the grain doors get back to the elevators? I am of the opinion they were re-used. I also presume that once the boxcar was empty of grain, it was returned to the pool. So did they transport the doors back somehow. or was it a one time use item?

Originally they used wooden "doors", these would be 1 x 12 boards cut to fit the doorway and would be installed leaving 2-3 feet open at the top. Usually the boards would stay with the car as long as it stayed in grain service, there was usually a pile of extra boards at the elevator. Paper doors were toward the end of boxcar grain cars, the paper doors were two layers of some sort of heavy impregnated kraft paper with steel strapping between the layers for nailing and reinforcement.

Back when I was younger and drove beater cars I kept a couple of partial paper doors around as ground covers, they were slick enough that it made moving around under the car easier and were thick enough that the rocks didn't poke you, also they could be cleaned with a hose.

-Hudson