Curious where the SBRR (San Francisco) idler flat #4 went to.
I understand it was sold to the group in Salinas CA to be re-united with a reffer body. I understand it was sold or sent south ..... Where did it go? Any one know the plans for it? By the way, Idler #1 is at the Double T Museum, and #2 and 3 are also there in storage awaiting a day to retirn to SF when space to store / display them is available. Perhaps one day they can join SBRR 0-6-0 #4 under going a restoration at the former Bayshore Roundhouse site. http://www.sanfranciscotrains.org
John G

State Belt idler flatcar #4 consisted of a relatively flimsy wood-on-steel deck built on a Pacific Fruit Express reefer steel underframe and archbar trucks. (The deck only had to carry trainmen while switching cars on & off car floats and ferries; it wasn't designed for heavy cargo like a normal RR flatcar). Golden Gate Railroad Museum gave this car to a group in Salinas (whose name escapes me at the moment), along with two PFE wooden reefer bodies rescued from a South San Francisco junkyard. The worst-condition reefer body was stripped for parts to help rebuild the other reefer. The plan is to reunite the best reefer body with the underframe and trucks, and display it with the SP 1237 (class S-10, 0-6-0) and caboose next to Salinas depot.

Cris Hart at http://sanfranciscotrains.org/ should have more info.

- Doug Debs