I recently acquired this industrial flatcar in trade and am hoping someone out there might recognize it and be able to fill in its history.

What I know is this;
- Car is 30' gauge, 22' long and 5' wide
- Car was built by the Pressed Steel Car Company of Pittsburgh. (Still has a builder's plate in one corner)
- Car was originally around 16' to 18' long, an extension has been welded into the center. The car has seen extensive use and rebuilding during its life.
- Folks I got the car from got it in Pennsylvania and know nothing else of its past.

Some photos of the car are below;

Thanks

Jason Midyette

Any idea what part of the country it came from?

30" gauge was not all that common in the US. Aside from several US Steel plants (Homestead and Edgar Thomson Works) the only other 30" ga. operation in SWPA that I'm aware of was the Alco Spring plant at Latrobe, PA. They had, among other power, a 35 ton GE built to 30" ga. But considering what they made there, a really long car like this would definitely have been out of place. Their 30" Alco (who else?) 0-4-0T ended up as a display at the Crown Metal Products facility in the 1960s, but I don't think any rolling stock came with it.

The only remaining 30" industrial operation in surrounding states is the former INCO speciality metals plant at Huntington, WV. They bought several of the last small locos that Plymouth built and in 2012/2013 bought a new Plymouth design 30" loco from PLW successor W. W. Williams Co. Williams applied the next PLW serial to the loco, a nice historic touch.

Possibly a refugee from the Anaconda Copper facilities on the East Coast. A large brass smelter/foundry was in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. A number of 30" and 3 foot 0-4-0's have been scattered around the Northeast.

Anaconda also had a zinc reduction works and copper electrolytic refinery in Great Falls Montana, that had significant 30" and standard gauge operations. It was the presence of much of this equipment that led to the creation of the 30" Alder Gulch Shortline Railway between Virginia City and Nevada City by noted historic site
entrepreneur Charles Bovey.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

It looks very similar to the flatcars that the Houghton County Historical Museum of Lake Linden, Mich., converted into passenger cars for their Lake Linden & Torch Lake Railroad. Those came from the ammunition plant at Baraboo, Wisconsin. However, they're 36" gauge.

Make an inquiry at the Pullman Library at IRM. They have drawings from Pressed Steel Car Co. Maybe with the builder's plate/serial number you could find out who ordered it.

T7

Thank you all for the replies. It would seem that industrial flatcars made by the Pressed steel car Co. were fairly common, though the 30" gauge may narrow it down.


The car has seen some serious use and rebuilding, the truck seen in the photos seems to be more or less original as it still shows signs of riveted construction, while the other one seems to have been completely built of welded construction. Both trucks are roller bearing.

At any rate, the car has come a long way since it left the factory.

Termite- thanks for the IRM idea, I will clean the many, many, many and then a few more layers of paint from the builder's plate and see if I can find a serial number. I am amazed that the plate is still on the car considering the amount of modifcations and rebuilding the car has seen.

Jason Midyette

There was a large lot of 30" equipment from a powder plant that surfaced in NJ 15-20 years ago and I understand made it's way to PA.

With regard to Pressed Steel Car, I believe that previous posts have identified where one might get information on the company. The Pullman Library collections at IRM do not have Pressed Steel Car information of any kind to my knowledge as curator there. We do have a very large collection of drawings for the following freight car companies:
1) Pullman Car Works from around 1912, through Pullman - Standard (P-S) to 1942, as listed in the Freight Car Drawing Journal in our collection and located in drawing tubes, some missing drawings. See Eric Neubauer's CD of Pullman companies for order numbers.
2) Pullman - Standard Correspondence and Order files filling a baggage car, from 1950's through end of production order numbers late 5000's, most 8000's, 9000's, finally 1000's with occasional General Drawings, and Underframe and Brake drawings.
3) About 50% or more of original Standard Steel Car Company (hence the confusion with Pressed Steel Car also of Pennsylvania) freight, baggage and interurban cars from near beginning of production to incorporation into P-S. Most of the others at Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg.
4) Haskel & Barker Company, Michigan City IN, early 1900's.
5) Seims Stembel freight cars for the short term of their production.
6) Middletown Car Company drawings. mostly foreign orders including WWI freight cars.
7) Standard Motor Truck drawings.
We welcome inquiries but please keep in mind, serious inquiries only as our time is limited and please keep pestering us for those inquiries in the pipeline. We have a major project for the next few months and my mind can keep track of only a few things at a time! Thanks for your patience!
Ted Anderson, IRM Pullman Library