I had had the goal of obtaining a set of hopper cars that are all the same except for car number. But from old photos, I see trains made up of a mix of coal gondolas, hoppers and boxcars. Based on this I’m starting to realize that freight cars of different ages (sizes) may be more realistic.
As I look for boxcars for my 1930 layout, it appears that an old 36’ wooden boxcars cars, even if no longer being built but still in use, may be just as appropriate as newer 40’ steel box cars.
So what is the range of ages for cars in a train, 20+ years? And how bad would a car need to be (look), to be removed from service?
Of the about 5000 Harriman Standard box cars on the SP built from 1895 to 1905, with interior lengths of 34 and 36 feet (excluding the CS-20 class with interior length of 39.5 feet), 644 remained in service as of 1930. All but 5 were of the CS-33 class built from 1903 to 1905. Interestingly, only 2 of the about nearly 1700 of the 39.5-foot cars were still in service as of 1930.
What you need is an Official Railway Equipment Register from the 1930’s (available on CD from Westerfield).
You also need to know the dates when things came into play.
For example in 1925 the ARA (American Railway Assoc., predecessor to the AAR) set stencilling standards that would be around for decades. In 1938 billboard reefers were banned. In 1940 archbar trucks were banned from interchange.
For a 1930 era layout, boxcars would for the most part have and IH of 10 ft 0 in or less. The “standard” 40 ft steel boxcar (a la Athearn blue box, is too new for a 1930 era layout). A large number of cars would be USRA steel/X29 type cars or USRA single/double sheathed boxcars (the Accurail car is close on the single sheathed cars). Most boxcars and gons would have a steel underframe. The majority would be 40 ft with some 36 ft cars in the mix. Reefers would be mostly 40 ft for the fruit and produce trade and 36 ft for meat. All ice.
The vast majority of hopper cars would steel 50-55 ton twins or 70 ton quads. The majority of PRR hoppers would be GL, GLa twins and H21 quad hoppers. The B&O would have steel twins and offset quads. The RDG would be mostly 50-55 ton
It will depend on the car types, but for 1930 I would guess that there would be not much left from the previous century, at least in original condition. The older technology of wood underframes and truss rods did not have the durability of steel as trains became heavier. Steel construction was introduced incrementally, and boxcars especially continued to use a substantial amount of wood above the frame for the first quarter of the 20th century. My guess is that the outside-braced design was the more common choice in later years than the double sheathed alternative. In 1930 all-steel boxcars were fairly new technology so would likely be in a minority on most roads. In other words, lots of wooden boxcars of a number of designs would be appropriate
Several factors come into play for removing a car from service. Major wrecks will gradually reduce the numbers. Sometimes they will not meet new interchange regulations and it is not worth spending the money to upgrade them because of other general wear & tear. Obsolescence is a big factor, especially weight capacity. If the new cars can carry 70 tons and the old one only 40 tons, the latter become despised by both railroad and shipper. While most get scrapped, of course a few usually linge
The wooden underframe cars were heavily retired by the 1920’s.
After about 1900-1905 most new construction had steel underframes.
Actually the “outside braced” boxcar is newer technology than the all steel boxcar. Small numbers of all steel boxcars were built before WW1. About the time of WW1 the USRA developed 3 designs, an all steel car, a composite (outside braced) single sheathed car and a wood superstructure double sheathed car. The PRR developed an alternate design for the USRA steel, the X29. Prior to WW1 most of the steel underframe boxcars had wood double sheathed superstructures. If Greg is modeling the Pennsylvania area in the 1930’s he would be right in the middle of 4 roads that had lots of USRA style cars, the RDG, the B&O, NYC and PRR.
True, in 1930, many of the early steel underframe wooden superstructure 36 ft cars would still be around, plus all of the USRA design/derivative cars.
The 10’-6" “high car” steel boxcar didn’t come into production until the mid/late thirties. 10’ cars had been built before that, but usually only for specialized purposes. Generally most cars were around 8’-6" high. Many cars built in the teens and twenties had steel underframes, and often steel roofs and ends, but wood sides.
Unfortunately they’re no longer made, but in the eighties-nineties Walthers made several variations of 40’ boxcars, including single-sheathed and double-sheathed wood, steel roof/ends with single- or double-sheathed sides etc. plus similar 8’-6" high reefers and stockcars. I’m sure you can still find them at flea markets and online auction places.
BTW the increase in car height part of the reason bay-window cabooses started to become more common around then. Earlier wood cabooses had their roofline the same height as a typical boxcar, so the cupola allowed the crew to see ahead along the roofs of the cars in front of it. After the 10’ high cars came along, that view was blocked.
Arch-bar trucks and wood underframes with trussrods were outlawed during the 1930’s, but both would have still been common in 1930.
The Walthers cars, originally by Train Miniature, can often be found “used” if you have a decent LHS. I bought quite a few of the original ones, but have more than doubled my roster of them via the “used” table at my LHS, and at a good price, too.[:D] I’m modelling the mid-to-late '30s, although I have a few cars more appropriate to the early '40s, too.
Here are some examples of Train Miniature cars.
ARA/USRA steel boxcar:
The same type car, with a different door:
A similar car, modified to a door-and-a-half type:
And as a doubledoor car:
A single sheathed car, with modified bracing:
They also offered a plug door boxcar in the same low-roof style. Wh
