How were freight cars of all wood construction assembled?Especially the all wood frames(centersills,sidesills,and endsills).Thanks.
Have a good one.
Bill B
Trains had an excellent story, with pictures, about a boxcar building competition on the D&H. Try a search of magazine articles on the main Trains website.
If I had a clue where a given magazine was in my stacks of old Trains, etc, I’d dig it out and share some high points.
Generally, this was called composite construction, a combination of wood structural parts connected together with bolts, rods, nuts, washers, and smaller metal castings or formed pieces. There was also some use of wood joinery such as mortise and tenon joints. Nailing was used to attach sheathing.
The book, The American Railroad Freight Car by John White is an excellent source for information, drawings, and photographs of the wood car era.
There was a contest I recall seeing in pictures but dont remember where. Three crews were competiting with each other for the fastest build (With quality) for a wooden car years ago.
YOu get the wheels, trucks and underframe first then work on the end walls and framing. Work down the sides and get the door frame in. Then you work the roof framing and finally fit the car with the required “Stuff” like brake wheels, bracing, lines etc. Painting and testing is last.
Ever see an Amish Barn Rasing? It sorta worked the same way long before heavy duty equiptment became availible.
It IS an excellent story but it was Model Railroader magazine, not Trains. The August 1977 MR has the article “Prototype carbuilding contest” about how 3 teams of D&H shops set out to see who could build a complete wood boxcar the fastest – year was 1924.
If I can summarize what the photos show - the assembly was remarkably like that of an Ambroid, Silver Streak or other “craftsman” kit. First came the frame (steel) with end sills and, surprisingly, the coupler and brake hose – very likely that meant the brake piping too, which makes sense given that the car could not be turned upside down. This was on steel horses, not the trucks, but directly over rails so the trucks could be rolled into place. No cranes are in the photos.
The car was surrounded by a crude sort of scaffolding, as if an HO car was inside a frame of a box to about s or O scale. That enabled the workmen to work up to the roof and on top of the car.
Then came the inner framing (rather like a truss bridge) of this double sheathed car, including the inner roof ribs. Then the sides then the (wood) ends and then the roof. After that must have come the various safety appliances etc. It appears the trucks were the last thing to be added.
By the way, the winning team assembled their 38 foot steel framed wood box car, completely painted and lettered, in 6 hours and 30 minutes. That came to 52 man hours.
I strongly recommend getting this article for anyone interested in wood car construction.
Dave Nelson
Thanks for checking that out Dave - I’ve been getting both MR and Trains for a long time, and it could logically have been in either. I was beat (first weekend on the railroad plus that two hour commute) and didn’t really want to take the time to look it up at the time.