Seeking Purina boxcar expert

[Anonymous]

Can anyone direct me to a source of information, or better yet, to an expert on the history of Purina boxcars circa 1915-1930? A little digging around on the net has yielded - zilch. These cars are very appealing. Wooden sides covered in a checkerboard pattern - presumably red and white.

Any help would be appreciated.

- Charlie

[ezielinski]

Yep, attractive looking checkerboard pattern. I'm no expert, but I have an old Tyco one, with new trucks and Kadee no.5s, of course.

[leighant]

Haven't found any boxcar data yet. I did find a company website
with history of Ralston Purina company
http://www.purina.ca/fr/company/profile/timeline.asp
It does document the beginning of the checkerboard pattern.

"Fallen Flags" website has a pix of a modern locomotive owned apparently secondhand by Ralston Purina. Reporting marks RPCX. Might be interesting hunting up the reporting marks in an old Official Railway Equipment Register I have one for 1954-- but not for 1915-1930 period.

Santa Fe had a class of "roofed hoppers" that were originally "built by Ralston". I wonder if the same Ralston Purina company that made animal chow etc. built their own railcars and or built railcars for others?

The ATSF "Ralston" cars were CLASS GA-24
Ralston open quad hopper 1929
ATSF #181075-181149 listed Jan43EqptReg as open hoppers- 75 cars
converted to roofed hopper 1945 w BX-8,-9,-10 roofs
Listed Apr54EqptReg- 75 roofed hoppers
Listed 61EqptReg as 58 roofed, 17 roof removed
ATSF #181130 Listed Oct71EqptReg- 1 open car remaining
Photo Santa Fe Diesels & Cars p.54
Photo roof detail, kitbash article MR June47 p.476

Any of this give you any ideas or clues for further research?

[orsonroy]

During 1915-1930 those cars weren't owned by Purina, nor did they likely often carry Purina products.

During the era of "billboard cars", the railroads (and private car owners) treated their cars, especially reefers, like rolling billboards, and anyone could pay to have their advertising slogans painted onto them. What they carried was immaterial. Purina, like everyone else with their product slapped onto the sides of cars, just paid the car owners to paint the sides witht heir names.

So, if you want to know about the "Purina cars", you're really asking about the history of "the ART reefers built between 1915 and 1930, which had Purina slogans painted on them", or at least a similar question. THAT is both easier and harder to find data on. Easier, because most freight cars have had at least some research done on them, and harder because, 100 years later, it will be virtually impossible to document EVERY car with the Purina slogan added: invoices usually don't last too long.

So: which cars are you interested in? Have a photo?

[marknewton]

QUOTE: Originally posted by leighant

Santa Fe had a class of "roofed hoppers" that were originally "built by Ralston". I wonder if the same Ralston Purina company that made animal chow etc. built their own railcars and or built railcars for others?

They're two separate, unrelated companies.

From: http://www.ironhorse129.com/rollingstock/list/bldr_list_R.htm

"Ralston Steel Car Co. Columbus, OH 1905-1953 Chicago attorney Joseph S. Ralston bought the patents for “a stock car with drop doors adaptable for grain, coal, or cattle,” and had Pullman build a few. He bought an old factory, and produced both his own type car, and other more conventional designs. (White/Freightcar-399; Lucas/Cars-106/07; RAG1913/02/14)"

All the best,

Mark.