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Stock cars: Open or closed bulkheads

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Posted by doctorwayne on Monday, April 24, 2023 10:58 PM

maxman
I guess nobody reads. sigh

Well, I don't recall where I read it, but I do remember reading about a railway conductor who asked that at least one or two boxcars be included between the loaded stock cars and the caboose, to lessen the chance of getting a "shower" (of sorts) if the caboose doors or windows were partially open.

Wayne

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Posted by maxman on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 4:38 PM
I guess nobody reads.  sigh
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Posted by tstage on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 3:44 PM

Stix,

The two kits I have are Life-Like Proto 2000.  I was only showing the Walthers photo as an example of what the bulkhead plate looked like installed.

And your list of AC&Y rolling stock is similar to the one I found on the Fallen Flags website but with fewer numbers.  I'm not sure why the stock cars are not mentioned.

One of our members, ACY Tom, mentioned in a thread one time that the Proto 2000 stock cars were accurate for the AC&Y.  I ran across that post yesterday but sure as shootin' can't locate it today. Sad  He is/was a member for the ACYHS but hasn't posted here since 2018.  I emailed him with my query on 4/16/23 but haven't received any response yet.  I hope he's doing well.

Tom

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Posted by maxman on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 2:49 PM

wjstix
From what I could find on a quick search, it appears the lowest number of an AC&Y freight car was 400. Since this is ACY 289, it might be a "foobie". 

From dehusman's post, above:

"According to the 1953 ORER the ACY had 13 stock cars.  10 single deck cars in series 200-219 and 3 double deck cars in series 285-299". 

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Posted by wjstix on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 2:04 PM

From what I could find on a quick search, it appears the lowest number of an AC&Y freight car was 400. Since this is ACY 289, it might be a "foobie". 

AC&Y Cars by Number (railfan.net)

BTW are you sure it's a Walthers Proto car, or could be an old Life-Life Proto 2000 car? 

 

Stix
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Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 11:58 AM

Of the 13 stockcars that I could find, only three had open slats in the upper ends of the cars, and only four cars were double-deckers (two with slats and two with steel ends).

Eleven were home-road cars (EG&E), along with one from the Wabash and one from Grand Trunk Western. 
I do have enough room on the partial upper level of my layout to make a wiener factory, and a hoof-sorting depot, too...hoof-arted?

Wayne

 

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Posted by tstage on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 10:04 AM

wjstix
If you're talking about the openings at the ends of the cars, my guess would be they would be open during the warm weather months to allow more ventilation. Perhaps they could be blocked off during the winter months to try to keep the interiors warmer?

That very thought had crossed my mind as well, Stix.  Since my next layout will most likely be modeled during the non-winter months, not installing the bulkhead plates is probably a safe bet.  Course...since I have two identical stock cars but with different #s...I could model one car with and one w/o the bulkhead plates. Big Smile

Tom

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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 9:36 AM

If you're talking about the openings at the ends of the cars, my guess would be they would be open during the warm weather months to allow more ventilation. Perhaps they could be blocked off during the winter months to try to keep the interiors warmer? 

Seems like most (model at least) stockcars I've seen had openings at each end if they were all-wood cars, but cars with steel ends and roofs had standard solid ends like a steel boxcar.

Stix
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Posted by tstage on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 2:52 AM

Dave,

PC101 is correct.  What I was referring to was the vertical bulkhead on each end of the car.  The upper portion is where the supplied bulkhead plate can be installed - just above the upper deck.  These fill in the slats (Photo 2) accented by the yellow box in PC101's photo above:

Thanks for the data about the AC&Y stock cars.  They weren't even mentioned on the list of rolling stock I found on Fallen Flags about the AC&Y.  The two cars that I have are #285 & #295.

Tom

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Posted by gmpullman on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 12:50 AM

While not a Mather but an ACF product from 1922, it looks like slatted ends were OK back then.

 9338 002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

 9338 001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

A Nashville, Chattanooga & Saint Louis car has solid planked ends with a feed/inspection door:

 9385 002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

 9385 001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

While this New York Central car has solid planked ends:

 9398 001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

Those diagonal tension rods look neat!

 9398 002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by PC101 on Monday, April 17, 2023 10:55 PM

This is what I think he is asking about.

Close up the openings between the slats in the upper half of the ends of a double deck car.

That would not be a nice thing to get pooed or drenched on while between the cars while coupling or uncoupling. Stock cars and trailers were one place you never walked close to the sides.

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Posted by dehusman on Monday, April 17, 2023 10:07 PM

When you say "bulkhead" do you mean a vertical bulkhead, as in an interior wall or do you mean a horizontal floor?

Stock cars came in a couple varieties, there were single deck stock cars for loading horses and cattle, and there were double deck cars with an interior floor for loading sheep and pigs.

If you are carrying pigs, put in the floor.  If you are carrying cattle, leave the floor out.

According to the 1953 ORER the ACY had 13 stock cars.  10 single deck cars in series 200-219 and 3 double deck cars in series 285-299.  Since the model is 289, that's in the double series, so put the floor in if you want to be accurate.

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

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Posted by tstage on Monday, April 17, 2023 9:50 PM

I neglected to add that the model has a CR shop date of "08-49"; should that make a difference.

Tom

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Posted by wvgca on Monday, April 17, 2023 9:19 PM

i don't know about your particular model, but all of the [ cheaper] models of stock cars that i had did not have bulkheads in place ..i also modeled 1890 if that matters ...

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Stock cars: Open or closed bulkheads
Posted by tstage on Monday, April 17, 2023 9:14 PM

I just finishing assembling one of two Proto 2000 AC&Y Mather double-deck stock cars.  Lotsa delicate parts to make you take your time putting it together but it was enjoyable.

The only thing left to do is the glue on the assembled roof.  However, there is an option to add an interior bulkhead plate to the upper front & rear of the car to fill in the slat openings, as seen in the one below:

I haven't been able to locate ANY photos of AC&Y stock cars yet; nor have I gotten any reply back from the AC&Y Historical Society.  Given the possibility that further attempts to glean info may come up empty-handed, is it a fair presumption that most stock cars had full bulkheads on the front & rear?

From the photos that I've viewed so far, very few if any had open slats facing the front & rear of the car.  The Walthers Proto 2000 RTR AC&Y stock car (pictured above) shows the bulkhead plates added.  I didn't want any determinations to be based soley on that though.

Tom

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Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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