I recently photographed a Huron and Eastern Boxcar (Seen here: http://davidellias.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3870347 ) and I noticed the faded out ELS markings.
My question is: Who owned these before Escambia and Lake Superior?
Can you see and read the markings on the car? On the casting and wheel on the trucks? Any markings either cast or stenciled on the sill or anyplace else?
David 66:
Here is a link that might help your investigation @ http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/133652.aspx
link is from a Thread on Classic Toy Trains in 2010, and contains a photo of a Lionel(?) PH&D Boxcar,
The paint on the car (in my mind) sort of reminded me of Models of Cars from a number of years ago that were owned by the Port Huron& Detroit Railroad (PH&H) They were a dark blue with a white horizontal stripe. It also claimed the wording" The Blue Water Line" its main terminus was on the US Side at Port Huron, Michigan…
The line was I remember a privately held company ( Duffy?) it was sold to the C&O Railroad ( which was merged, or about to be merged into the CSX Corporate family. Not sure as to the specifics of that.
About 1970’s (?) AMTRAL (co-opted the Name Blue Water Express?) for a passenger run ( about 320miles from Port Huron to Chicago…I think that lasted til about middle of the 1980’s (?)
Hope this will give you some clues
The ELS 20000-20099 series was obtained in 1991 from the Waterloo Railway Company; their numbers were in the WLO 502339-502649 range. The cars originated with the National Railway Utilization Corporation (probably NSL or PT). The ends and side sills make the car look like it was built by Berwick Forge and Fabricating Company, but it could have been built from a BFF kit by the Golden Tye Car Company of Pickens, South Carolina (the Pickens Railroad was one of the NRUC railroads).