I noticed this photo of a wooden ballast car on Ebay.

Lettering on far left end reads:

"HART CONVERTIBLE CAR
DESIGNED AND BUILT BY
RODGER BALLAST CAR CO, CHICAGO"

I googled a bit to see if anyone has bothered to save a similar car. To my relief I
did find at least one Hart ballast car saved; here's one at the Alberta Railway
Museum where it is part of a work train exhibit --
http://www.albertarailwaymuseum.com/nar ... html#14040

Always nice to see maintenance-of-way cars preserved. A preserved work train
is a great idea. Good job Alberta Ry Museum.

FLO -

Thanks for posting this photo. I had often thought that the "billboard" sized ROCK ISLAND lettering that the railroad used on cars and locomotives toward the end of its life was a modern day thing. But here you have come up with an arch bar truck equipped car with that same style of lettering! So not so new after all! Wish they wouldn't have put that "E-Bay Scan band" across the photo so that we could have at least read the built date. Oh well.

Thanks again for the posting and for proving once again that not everything is new under the sun after all!

Les

Wooden ballast cars are not all that common these days. The only I know of is a Haskell and Barker (I had recalled it as a Rogers) car from the C&WI. This car is perpetually requested to be disposed of by the IRM freight car department curator as it is a big project that nobody seems to care to attempt. There is something to be said about focusing energy and cutting losses. In fact, it was removed from the "protected" list this last Annual Meeting and is now subject to disposal. Wooden freight cars are restored all the time at other museums. I guess this complete example needing full wood restoration may be a loss if nobody steps forward soon.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/CWI1185/aaa

Since that car was built by Haskell & Barker (the Rogers Ballast Car Co. only existed to collect the royalties on the patents... the cars were all actually built by other builders) The Pullman Library likely has a full set of drawings. Maybe Ted can run a "Buy a set of drawings, get a car free" special?

This falls under the heading of "You can't save everything." While it's an interesting car, it is always hard to justify putting a freightcar under cover when passenger cars with finished interiors remain outside. Since IRM has a very democratic collections policy, basically pony up the money and we'll put you at the head of the line for inside storage (this is Chicago style democracy in action) if someone would have plunked down the cash, the car would have gone inside. Since no one did, we just have to assume that the car really isn't very important. I don't particularity agree with all aspects of this policy, but without a coherent plan that says we need this particular car to tell a story, this is what happens.

Anyway, the car was never complete. It came to us as a flat bottom gon; all the hardware and winding shafts for the center drop doors had been removed and the floor planked solid, so it no longer really illustrates the versatility of the Hart Convertible design. The frame of a sister cars lives on as C&WI 1904, the boom car for steam wrecker C&WI 1900.

I hope that someone who will take on the rebuilding project will acquire it... bring your own bushel basket.

Dennis -

Thanks for this little tidbit of information. That explains the small "American Car & Foundry Co." sign sitting at rail level on the original Rock Island #99724 photo at the beginning of this thread.

Les

Heard today that these particular cars were built for the Rock Island in 1910.

Les

Dennis,

Thanks for the reply. I just did a bit of Googling on Haskell & Barker ballast cars, and found something interesting.

An old book, Ballast, D.C. Buell, 1914, discusses Haskell & Barker cars that do not have center drop doors, but are flat-decked and side-dump only. So I think the Chicago & Western Indiana car posted by O. Anderson above is likely complete and original and was never a "convertible" type car. What do you think?

PS. I'm sending you a PM.

One more source on Haskel & Barker ballast cars. (Notes on Track, W.M. Camp, 1904).

The Northwest Railway Museum is Snoqualmie has a Hart convertible ballast car. It is located inside the exhibit building. Although it is listed as Rodgers on the web site, I believe it is American Car and Foundry.

--Richard

Mid-Continent also has a Hart Convertible car:

http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/wo ... 96791.html

It's interesting that the Haskell & Barker car at IRM was never a convertible center dump car; I never realized that. I suppose that means the car is complete. Let's hope the termites don't stop holding hands before someone takes it.

The car hasn't moved in years, and was more or less complete when it was spotted there, so all the hardware should be there. It does have a steel center sill, even though it has truss rods, so it's not likely to collapse. A few grand worth of lumber and a lot of time would make it back into something, especially since I'm sure the original drawings exist.

Maybe in my next life, when I come back filthy rich.

The Haskel and Barker car at the IRM had a cave in this spring.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/albums/album91/aon.jpg
The container that was holding the north side up was moved for some paving work and it collapsed. Although the center steel box beam looks OK a closer look will show that too has rotted through at the top, the bottom is mostly gone. This car can no longer be moved and I believe Nick has started to document its disassembly. Side dump doors were on a pallet last time I looked. I was concerned about it as a hazard for some years.
If you have something historic, of wood, the best way to preserve it is to get it inside.