Department of the Interior railcar photos?

[arbfbe]

Does anyone know of a source of photos of the passenger cars the US DOI used for a varity of purposes?

I haven't found anything on the DOi web pages. Thanks.

[coalminer3]

Which cars are you looking for? Pix of Bureau of Mines cars are on the web.

work safe

[arbfbe]

There is a wooden passenger car that is now part of a bar in Mullan, ID. It is pre 1900 wooden construction and I have been able to determine from the extremely faded paint on the metal logos the car was part of the Department of the Interior fleet though I have not yet been able to figure which Bureau it might have come from.

Any link to the Bureau of Mines photos? Thanks

[coalminer3]

Wood BOM cars were built in the 1910s and 20s; they were replaced by steel cars in the 1930s, except for a car which was in Alaska.

Follow this link:

www.msha.gov to get to the MSHA homepage. You'll see a list of links on the right side of the page. Click where it says education and training. You'll see a list that says training materials. Click on Holmes Safety Bulletins. Then go to the December, 2001 Bulletin. You'll find an article titled "Bureau of Mines Safety Cars." It has maps, car diagrams and interior and exterior shots. It's a pdf file and the pictures come up real well. I have a print of car 3 on the wall in my office; this car was based at Pittsburgh and the shot was taken at 4800 Forbes; the old BOM building which now belongs to Carnegie-Mellon University.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

work safe

[Anonymous]

A couple of questions about the cars: first, when were they all retired from service? The article only goes until 1939 when two cars were in service. Secondly, what colors were they painted, e.g. the main color and lettering? Thanks in advance.

[arbfbe]

coalminer3,
Thanks for the link. It was problematic getting it to open, I finally had to left click on it and 'save the target as...' to the desktop. Then the file was damaged and would not open so I had to resave it with Norton Anti Virus disabled. Yes, the logo looks like a good match. I have seen another photo of a steel car but the car in Mullan is certainly wood construction. I wonder what of these old photos still exist in the B of M archives.

lemscate,

This car was certainly Pullman green or another dark green similar to it. It may have been less brown than the Pullman color though. There is a possibility this wooden car was dark brown above the raill at the bottom of the windows. The window frames look to have been green like the lower body.

An old timer I talked to in the neighborhood said the car was behind the Silver Dollar bar when he got there in 1939.

Alan

[coalminer3]

They were painted Pullman green/gold lettering.

IIRC, they were all gone by the early 1950s (at the latest). One car is in Alaska, but it is not operable. BOM pictures/publications are at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, WV. Info. abt. the Academy Library is available on the MSHA website.

work safe