We are rebuilding the interior of an ex-VIA roomette sleeper car into a crew car. After removing all the roomettes, the floor is a mess to say the least. Based on the weight we've removed, and the floor being a "gyp-crete" floor, we'd like to do a 2 inch overlay of high strength concrete. We are thinking of using the new fiberglas reinforced concrete. The area to be covered is the width of the car, and 40 feet in length. Any suggestions or problems you can think of?

Thanks for any suggestions and ideas.

I would recommend asking this question at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PassengerCarList

There are several car owners there who may be some assistance. Warning, concrete passenger car floors were often reinforced by Asbestos being add to the concrete as it was mixed, as it was felt the strong Asbestos fibers would act as mini re-bars. In any case, concrete dust may have these fibers - use appropriate protection.

What is the name and number of the car you are working with?

Tom Cornillie

Thanks for your reply. The car number in question is (or was) VIA car number 9477. Previous to that it was a New York Central "Bay Series" roomette sleeper. We purchased it a couple of years ago and are converting it into a crew/tool car.

Oh yes, I know all about the "big A" word. We are not removing any of the existing floor, we are going to do an overlay on it.

When VIA took it, they converted it to a combo car, part sleeper part baggage. Works perfect for our needs.

The group I'm working with is looking into replacing a wood floor with a concrete floor (1949 RPO/Bag). We would like to find info from anyone who has done a "from the frame up" new floor in concrete.

Thanks for posting the Yahoo Group addy!

Smokebox

I have to think back a few years to when I was actively involved in car restoration. The important thing with a concrete patch or overlay is to remove all of the "soft spots', (any cracking or crumbling areas) down to the underlying metal. The metal must then be patched if rusted or damaged in order to provide a solid base, otherwise the spot will simply crack again. Floors I helped repair in this manner in the late 1980's are still in good shape, the cars saw service on the NS steam program and West Virginia Central. Back in the late 70's, I helped replace a floor in the baggage section of a Budd combine that had wood. We ripped out the old tongue and groove and put in heavy outdoor grade plywood. It didn't look too bad after painting. Vinyl or linoleum would work good over plywood. That car is now on the Cuyohoga Valley, I don't know if the floor has been replaced again.

The original material that was used on most of these lightweight cars is still available. It is actually more of a composition plaster than concrete. If I recall it is known as Dex-O-Tex. The supplier has advertised in issues of the Toursit Railway Association newsletter TRAINLINE in recent years and I believe they are located in the Northeast - possibly Massachusets. I've used this before, some years ago and it is a perfect match. It is still used today in architectural applications as well as the rail transit industry.

This lightweight concrete went by several trade names: Flexolith, Terralith, Tucolith.

Flexolith is available from:
http://www.tamms.com/
Click on products and scroll down to the Flexolith pdf brochure. No doubt this is a modern formula and not what was made "back then" -- pumice, brick dust, plaster, and some cement.