Okay, it sounds straightforward but… I have a manufacturing plant on my model railroad. I model today, 2009, and would deliver 50’ boxcars but the plant was built for 40’ foot cars. At first glance it seems like the door spacing on the warehouse would be 40’. But with the draft gear I think 40 foot cars were more likely spaced about 42’ apart between doors on adjacent cars. If that’s the case were the warehouse doors spaced 40’ or 42’ apart or perhaps another number in this approximate area?
Okay its a model railroading question but I thought this would be the best place to get a difinitive answer. So any venerable railroaders who could give me a hint? Or someone today who works in an older warehouse? Its a scratchbuilding project and I haven’t placed the doors yet.
Well, Paul, it would be more like 44 feet coupled length for those cars. And yes, the doors on these warehouses were spaced for 40-foot cars to remain coupled. Your typical 40-foot box car had a door width of six feet, but I suspect that the warehouse doors might be a bit wider, so a few inches’ difference could probably accommodate an inch or two, more or less, of variance in the length of these cars.
In 1973 and 1974, a warehouse for a major company was built on some property within our yard (the company itself is now gone, but its initials were MW). For some strange reason, it was built with four spurs to accommodate box cars, all of 40-foot length (gentle hint–it was late 1974 when the first Railbox cars and other IPD 50-foot cars began showing up). It wasn’t long before even CNW began running out of 40-foot cars to supply this place. Fifty-foot cars couldn’t be spotted closer than every other door, and naturally had to be separated and tied down individually.
The building still stands, but it looks like piles of junk where the tracks used to be.
The solution is to build the loading dock to run the full length of the buiding and either build a roof over the siding or fully enclose the tracks. Then you might not need or want a door for every car spot.
OK, fully enclosed kind of takes away the desired effect of modeling.
Thanks Carl. I thought it was going to be something like this. I’m modeling the warehouse situation you describe. I’m thinking the building went up in the 20’s or 30’s and today 50 footers can only use every other door. I want this specifically to add to the operational interest. The spur is perfectly flat though. I’m not a masochist.
Big thanks. How much time would this simple research have taken 30 years ago. This morning here in Waikiki I typed a question. Went to work. And here’s an answer.
Also, in the 30+ years since the 50’ box car came about, the warehouse could have reconfigured the doors to deal with the cars. But that would take away “operational interest.” [:-,]
With warehouses constructed from the late 50’s onward with concrete block being the normal construction media…changing door spacing in the wall is almost a non-event construction project…easily accomplished in a few days for several thousand in expenditures.
I’ve seen some buildings where every other door was blocked off. Either permanently sealed or a railing installed if the door was still opened for ventilation. One place had signs saying “Spot rail car here” were placed at the doors still in use.