The USRA standard cars are often referred to. How important or how common are the US Standard drawings of these cars? This past weekend I assessed the drawings that we have in the IRM Pullman Library, of which there are several hundred in our collection. I have had help from Guy Wilber, who sent me an excerpt from the ARA Car Construction Committee circa 1921 in which on one page are listed some of the cars for which we have general and detail drawings, printed on about 30" x 50" linen, for example drawing number 1001 for a single sheathed box car. A number of these drawings may be found in the Car Builders Dictionary. Does anyone out there consider these of historical significance, as there are quite a few car types, from auto box to tank car (alphabetically), and if so, are there already quite a few out there? I would be willing to catalog our collection if there is sufficient interest in procuring copies at our standard cost structure, and providing they may be difficult to obtain elsewhere. Note that we have US Standard drawings for passenger equipment as well. Thanks for any assistance.
Ted Anderson, IRM volunteer curator & car restorer