In the steel car era, I don't think Barney and Smith provided much in the way of competition. However, in the wooden car era, Barney and Smith was arguably the leading manufacturer. I think that while there were other factors in their downfall including a monumental flood or two, their very late and incomplete adaptation to steel construction gave Pullman and other builders many years to develop more efficient steel fabrication techniques. For instance, despite a number of mostly steel products such as the St Paul (it has a wood roof, floor, and interior structure similar to many steel cars in that era), Barney and Smith was building a lot of wood coaches (but with steel centersills) as late as 1912!

--Richard

I think part of the problem was Barney & Smith was "too big to fail". They were at one time the premier builder of sleeping cars, doing all of the fledgling Pullman Co.'s work. Then George M. decided that he should be rolling his own, and by the turn of the century was buying up other, smaller car builders.

Meanwhile, in what may have been a defensive move, many of the other builders coalesced into American Car & Foundry in 1899. B&S was not included... I don't have any references at my finger tips but they may have been considerably larger than the companies that went into AC&F, and may have felt no need. Either way, they were not larger than the result of the AC&F consolidation, nor Pullman either.

That and a very staid management style was to cause them much grief over the next twenty five years. As mentioned, they were slow to make the move to building steel cars, and did not seem to have the engineering talent to do so well. The downturn in car building after the end of WWI finally did them in.

And it's a shame. They are the only major North American car builder that simply went out of business with no successor, which means that none of their archives were saved. Scott Trostle mentions in his history of the company of interviewing an old man who, in his younger days was briefly employed to empty the B&S drawing cabinets into a ravine at the edge of the property so the cabinets could be sold at the sheriff's sale.

At this point in time there does not even seem to be a "lot list" of B&S construction extant. I cited the order number for the St. PAUL, but only because Mr. Buhrmaster picked it up from the railroad's AFE file.

This is another example of a truely unique passenger car at risk, in no small measure because of the fragmentation of our efforts and organizations. Most of us are members of railroad-specific or area-specific groups, usually dominated by the locomotive interests, without the necessary funding, facilities or human resources to "stem the tide" of decay. And then, of course, there is the "I know something that you don't" problem.

Perhaps most importantly, there is no inventory of these existing historically important passenger cars. Without it, every passing year means more historically important and unique examples of this equipment rot and are scrapped for lack of any alternative. It is too late when someone puts up an appeal to say "we only have two weeks to move the car".

Based on my reading of the various boards, the NRHS and similar national organizations are not going to solve this problem. As in all things, it will take the effort and coordination of a relatively small number of people (one per fallen flag would do it) to assemble and maintain a inventory and background on each of the extant cars.

Several respondents to this thread have indicated their interest in such an inventory and I am raising my hand to say "I'll do the work, if you will". My email is railadventures@yahoo.com. If you would like to start (and finish) an existing rail passenger car inventory, drop me an email and let's go.

Craig Brinkman

In 1993, my college roommate was doing some accounting work in Virginia City, MT, and I went out there with him one time. I walked through three cars that were open to visitors in front of the Nevada City depot. One was a sleeper and I remember being wowed by the intact woodwork inside.

Question: I've read this thread, and to be honest I blew a fuse trying to sort out the discussions of St. Paul #1, St. Paul #2, Bimidji, Marquette and others. My question is, what was the sleeping car that was in front of the Nevada City depot in 1993? And where is it now?

I thought we got it sorted, summed up in my message of November 29:

"I may be responsible for the confusion, confusing this car with the Soo BEMIDJI, which was both at Nevada City and is now at Wells. The Soo Line St. PAUL appears to have gone from the Soo --> DSS&A --> Mid-Continent --> French Lick, and was never at Wells"

So the car that was at Nevada City was the BEMIDJI, which is now indoors at Wells, and the car rusting away at French Lick, originally the Soo Line ST. PAUL, was never at Nevada City.

Thanks.