Galvanized 50's boxcar roofs

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

Hello Everyone,

Do any of you guys have photos of the roofs of boxcars that were built during the 1950’s and early 60’s with galvanized roofs showing peeling paint and weathering. It seems nobody was taking photos of roofs back then. I’m wondering how many boxcars had their roofs peeling as opposed to the boxcars that just had grimy roofs with no peeling paint. I rarely see peeling paint on model steam era boxcar roofs re-created.

Thanks,

Alex

2

I have no photos but purely based on recollections I think boxcar roofs did not peel much back in the 1950s/60s. There probably was still plenty of lead in the paint back then.

Dave Nelson

3

It would have been quite rare to see a steam-era boxcar with peeling paint on the roof panels. Many railroads during the 50s used “car cement” as a finish on galvanised roofs. This was a bituminous finishing product with adhesion qualities superior to paint, and often had granular material mixed in to provide a non-slip surface.

Cheers,

Mark.

4

I would also note that, post WW2, many boxcars had unpainted galvanized roof panels, with only the seam caps painted.

5

Thanks for the info,

Mark, you mentioned that post WW2 boxcars had the ribs painted and the galvanized roof panels unpainted. Were these panels then covered with the tar mixture?

I have seen photos of old boxcars from the post WW2 era that were still being used in the late 60s and early 70s with lots of rust streaking down from the roofs and the glimpse you could get of the roof looked rusty. Were the protective coatings wearing out by this time and exposing the roofs to oxidation?

I am trying to model the late 60s and early 70s and these older boxcars were still a large part of the fleets at the time. I’m trying to get as much info on how to accurately weather the cars.

Thanks for the resposes,

Alex

6

What co;our was the coating please… and when would cars with it have rununtil please?

TIA

[:)]

7

I held the 3d trick opr/towerman job at Burnank Jct (SP) in the mid to late 60s and had an oportunity to observe MANY box car roofs. The general practice was to leave the roofs unpainted galvanized steel with an interesting but rarely modeled touch. The sides were painted w/o bothering to mask the roofs so you would see overspray on the roof from the sides. I model this effect by masking off the side w/ the tape extending slightly above the roof line and then spraying the silver/gray for the galvanized roof from the side, leaving an irregular line of side color on the edge of the roof.

8

That’s interesting. You usualy think of galvanized roofs with overspray as a more current practice. Too bad nobody was taking photos. I assume overall photos of railroad yards at this time might show us something.

Alex

9

G’day, Alex, as far as I’m aware, boxcars with painted/cemented seam caps had unpainted/uncoated roof panels. The finish would be that of the gal coating. I reckon this accounts for the numerous references in the hobby press of the era to “silver” roofs. I imagine that by the period you’re interested in, the galvanised finish would have detoriated o the point where the roofs started to rust. Jim’s observations on the appearance of the roofs from when he was a towerman sound right to me.

All the best,

Mark.

10

G’day Dave,

I assume you’re asking about the colour of car cement? Usually black, from what I’ve seen, although it could be pigmented to match whatever shade of boxcar red was used elsewhere on the car. The ATS&SF used car cement made by Texaco, which was the same shade of mineral brown as their paint. To make the surface of the roof and running boards non-slip, they sprinkled red slate granules onto the car cement while it was being applied.

If you’re asking about the appearance of galvanised sheet metal, it has a dull, granular silver finish when new, but weathers fairly quickly to anything from light grey to almost white.

All the best,

Mark.