I'm wondering if anyone out there has any experience with repairing or replacing a concrete floor in a coach. We have an ex-LIRR Pullman in which the floor has badly deteriorated. It may need total replacement. I know wood is an option. Any other ideas? Thanks.

Is this a lightweight car? If so, the floor material was not concrete but likely a composition plaster-like material called Tucolith that was poured over a corrugated metal sub-floor. This material was still available maybe 10 - 12 years ago but I haven't tried to locate any in recent years. If it is still available I would try and replicate the original application.

I've been involved in passenger car restoration & maintenance for longer than I care to remember. First off, floors don't generally rot out unless there is water getting into the car. Unless the car is going to be a static display under cover, find and address the leaks first, whether they are from the roof or the windows. Otherwise, anything you do to the floor will end up being a temporary band-aid. After the leaks are addressed, you need to remove the damaged part of the floor. Be careful here. Many passenger cars had tiles and mastic (the glue holding the upper flooring down) that contained asbestos. Your crew should at minimum wear breathing protection and use some sort of dust control. After all the rotten stuff is removed, any rust in the subfloor, supporting ribs, and side sills should be addressed. Hopefully one of your crew is competent with welding and metal work. Media blast and needle scale as needed, and replace any severely rusted areas. Paint with good quality rust resistant paint. After that, the next consideration is what the use of the car will be. Will it be operated, and how fast, or is it a static display. If it is a static display, or is only being operated at low speeds, (or you are only patching small areas) plywood, sheet metal, and board flooring work OK as a subfloor. If you are operating the car at any type of medium or higher speed, remember why they used concrete in the first place. It is very effective at deadening sound and vibration. We've had good results over the years with the regular concrete mixes available at your local home stores. However, they have some newer stuff out now for patching that is fiber reinforced. That might work very well considering the vibrations that an operating passenger car is subject to.

Regards,

Actually you may be right here. It is a very powdery like material with a pinkish tinge to it. I just assumed it was a deteriorated concrete.

A few more details on the car. It is a 2800 series ex-LIRR Pullman coach which I believe was built in 1955. We purchased for use mainly for Day Out With Thomas, so its present use it limited to six days a year. It's maximum speed with be 15, maybe 20 mph at the most. It is stored inside when not in use. We knew the floor had some problems when we purchased it, but it seems to have deteriorated more since acquiring it.

You might try experimenting with epoxy as a binder, and your choice of aggregate (including ground up old floor). You'd want it be as "dry" as possible (highest aggregate:epoxy ratio you can manage) otherwise the stuff will be too strong.

If your shop has West System, that's a great place to start. If not, it is amazing stuff that will change the way you do a lot of repairs.

Many rapid transit cars had what at first glance is a concrete floor. In the Chicago area it was a lightweight product called MASTIPAVE and was still available as of a year or two ago. But not in a big box store so do a Google search to find a distributor. That was supported by a sheet metal sub floor that was often folded to provide a sort of dovetail joint on the cured concrete. A popular one was sold as KEYSTONE Flooring. The advantage there is a mechanical lock is created to overcome the situation where the cured concrete merely floats on top of the metal floor. While Keystone is not available it does not look too complicated for a sheet metal shop to perhaps use a brake to emulate it.

If you have a run of that made, let us know, I am sure IRM would chip in on an order.

Bob Kutella