As I have mention I recently bought a United Models Santa Fe 1950 class 2-8-0 and decided to model a freelance Santa Fe branch line set in 55/56 in Louisiana or Missouri. I will be using Accurail 40' cars.
I have studied several on line photos of 55/56 and had mixed results..My own 1956 railfan experience is questible at best since as a eight year old I was more interested in taking photos of PRR fading steam and shiney new diesels. A sad trend that would follow me several decades of my railfaning.
So,my plans call for a end of the branch line switching layout complete with station,water tank and house track/team track with three other industries of which one will require inbound loaded reefers(Santa Fe,NP and PFG).
So.... Should I use a combination of wood and steel cars or all steel?
Been decades since I modeled a steam era layout and to be honest I'm a tad beyond my dieselized ISLs experiences..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I believe the refrigerated boxcar fleet in the mid 1950s was still more than 50% wooden side cars.
.
My ratio is 2/3 wood sides and 1/3 all steel.
None of my cars have wooden frames or ends.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
For the line you chose, proubly only steel at that time unless there were cars in service that only ran on the line, no interchange, sometimes refrigerator cars would be in that lot.
Larry,
It would definitely be a mix of cars in the 50s, although steel cars would already predominate. Wood underframe cars (think truss rods) would be very rare by this time (only 2, Southern and SP, are shown among the ~250 cars illustrated), but there would be many composite, wood-sheathed, steel-framed cars around.
These would also incude a dwindling number of "war emergency" cars where steel sheathing was replaced by wood during WWII in order to devote the steel to war goods. After the war, when the sheathing wore out, it was often, but not always replaced by steel. If you assume about a ten-year life for such wood components, then that is probably a good general guide. Quite a few that way still in 1950, but far fewer by 1960.
A good guide for such questions is a Larry Kline and Ted Culotta book published by the NMRA, "The Postwar Freight Car Fleet." It's from a group of pics shot in the 3 years up through 1947 around Harrisburg, PA. So it might scratch two itches at once.... In any case, while a little before your era here, it gives you an idea of what was still in the fleet in the next decade if you apply a little thought to it.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Brakie:
After checking a number of books that cover refrigerator cars, it appears that SFRD and, PFE fleets had begun to see steel cars replace wood, beginning in the mid 1930s. By the mid 50s, steel cars made up over half their rosters. NP's fleet was much smaller but probably close to PFE's percentages since they used clones of the PFE R40-23 and R40-25 cars. Fruit Growers Express/Western Fruit Express/Burlington Refrigerator Express continued to operate a large fleet of wood bodied cars right up to the mid 1970s.
If prototypical accuracy enters the equation, Intermountain produces HO reefers based on 1940s vintage SFRD steel cars and, PFE R40-10, 23, and 25 cars.
Wooden cars were only used on the elevated subways, all underground trains had to be steels.
The last railfan event that I attended had the wooden cars running on the Brighton Line, but when the train was to return to the tunnel, we haad to leave the wooden cars and move to the steel cars that were added to the consist.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
If you are really picky about details, you will have to go back 1 or 2 years. The Santa Fe steam roster of July 55 (https://sfrhms.org/links/sf-links/, look under Steam "live list 1955") shows just one remaining 2-8-0, and that was a 2507 class. The 1953 roster still has a number of 1950 class Consolidations.
Beyond the Consolidations, the 1955 roster is quite interesting. It contains a lot of "big steam" (4-8-4, 2-10-2, 2-10-4) and 2-8-2s, some 4-6-2/4s, and a (to me) surprising number of 2-6-2s. I guess the Prairies were mostly used for the remaining branch line trains.
JW
Just give me a minute Larry, I'll go ask the wife which ones she's interested in tonight
Sorry, I couldn't resist that one
I do have a lot of boxcars, It is my plan to run both. I couldn't possibly put them all on the track at once.
I will change them up sometimes. I have enough locomotives and rolling stock where I could run more modern trains at one time, all the older wooden reefer trains another time. A mix is good too.
TF
Thanks guys for the valued information..It's deeply appreciated and with that information I think 60% steel and 40% wood should work?
JW,This is more of a thing of love since I loved my 1950 class 2-8-0 I had in the early 60s and always regretted selling it..I waited years to find one at the price I was willing to pay and that came about on e-Bay.
The reason I choosed 55/56 is that about when I got a new Schwinn bicycle and that improved my range of railfanning much to my Mother's worries and to a point disapprovement of those long bike trips to various yards including a seven mile trip to NYC's McKinney Ave yard..I was 8 years old when I made that trip.
Thanks for the interesting thread Larry. I do hope my humor was not a little bit too sketchy. I found this antique Woody over in Mandan, North Dakota. It made me feel like grabbing my tool bag and fixing the door for her. She certainly put in her time. I don't think this one saw any steelies.
My favorite Steely in the same resting yard.
Thanks. TF
The ATSF in Louisiana? That's a real backwater. Why would you need that many reefers in the piney woods of Louisiana?
If you did something in Missouri you could hit the east side of KCMO (Independence?) and have a market that woud support more reefers, plus be on the trans-con which was a major reefer route.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
FWIW I was born in 1958 and lived across the street from a railroad, and I only saw wooden cars a couple of times in the 1960's. I can't imagine there were a lot of wood cars around just 5 or 10 years before that. For 1955 I'd guess more like 75% steel / 25% wood would be more correct.
As Mike noted, a fair number of cars were built during WW2 with wood sides (like 40' boxcars with steel ends, roofs and underframes, but wooden sides) but by 1955 many of them had been or soon would be rebuilt with steel sides. Most house cars built in the 1910's-30's were only 8-1/2' high, many with double or single-sheathed wood sides. Some were still around in 1955 but I suspect many railroads felt it made more sense to buy new larger steel cars than to spend money rebuilding the older smaller cars.
Track fiddlerThanks for the interesting thread Larry. I do hope my humor was not a little bit too sketchy. I found this antique Woody over in Mandan, North Dakota.
Next time you are this close to the LION you MUST stop by.
LION been there many times, The will be happy to let you bring your tool box.
ROARING
BroadwayLion Next time you are this close to the LION you MUST stop by. LION been there many times, The will be happy to let you bring your tool box. ROARING
You're on. Next time I come over to visit my son. I will bring my tool box and step stool. You provide the barbecued wildebeest.... and remember TF likes his meat rare
dehusmanThe ATSF in Louisiana? That's a real backwater. Why would you need that many reefers in the piney woods of Louisiana?
Its true..Santa Fe did go to Louisiana according to a Sante Fe map. Santa Fe went as far north as Longview and as far east as Oakdale.
In my HO world there is a fruit and vegetable distributor.. Beside all that those folk in the piney woods gotta eat to and stores and restaurants need food stuffs.
My wife is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I would imagine most fruits and vegetables are brought in by Railroad. I don't think much grows down there in the swamps and bayous.
Track fiddlerI would imagine most fruits and vegetables are brought in by Railroad. I don't think much grows down there in the swamps and bayous.
You betcha! Apparently, Amos Moses could eat-up his weight in groceries. Probably enough for a trainload or two.
The original (I think) version is HERE.
Wayne
Haven't heard that one for quite a few years. I like the first version best of the two. That Southern boy really put his heart and soul into it.
That train load of groceries would go well with the poached gator
TF,I don't know about poached gator,I do know deep fried gator nuggets are good.
BRAKIE TF,I don't know about poached gator,I do know deep fried gator nuggets are good.
Good one Larry, I think you may just be toying with me here I may have poached eggs for breakfast this morning, now that you brought it up.
The swamp people down there don't have a mortgage or any bills to pay. They live in their own world in shacks. They come to the French Quarter to sell their stuffed Gator heads and other things that the tourists buy. I don't think they care if a gator is out of season when they need to eat. They just season it up and eat it.
I don't remember what railroads I saw in New Orleans last time we visited family. I will have to pay attention next time.
PS I don't think the game warden or the DNR is tooling around in boats messing with these people. .....The Gators need to eat to you know
Track fiddler My wife is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I would imagine most fruits and vegetables are brought in by Railroad. I don't think much grows down there in the swamps and bayous. TF
That makes sense and sparked a memory. I remember when I was a little boy, my Mom and stepdad got married in New Orleans, Mardi Gras time. They brought back a bunch of souvenirs for my brother and I. Among them was sugarcane stocks and voodoo dolls. No Trains though
Trouble is most people don't know about the other states. They do grow veggies down south, remember people were there before the railroads and thrived. It is like peoples perception of California, you don't know how many times when I have been out of state that people say we are all rich, ha, I know alot more poor people and have met very few rich, even though I live in the bay area. In other areas of California there are areas that are very, very poor. Back to the question at hand, reefers, think sea food, one of the perceptions about Louisiana that is true and guess what they shipped in back in the day.
Similarly, people seeing this image:
...might be surprised to find out it's in Minnesota, which many people only think of as a "prairie state".
https://currentlywandering.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/03-5872-post/Minnesota-North-Shore-Split-Rock-Lighthouse-State-Park.jpg
Frankly, I find wood cars more interesting and attractive.
Time Marches on, though. They have their era. Pre-WW2 is fine, and some would have been around longer.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Track fiddlerGood one Larry, I think you may just be toying with me here
Actually they are very good when dipped in BBQ sauce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytq5flS6nZs
wjstix
wjstix. I love to visit the North Shore frequently, just not lately. I always get honked at on the highway when I'm passing through Silver Bay, slowing down gawking at the Mine. Last I heard they are going to start up operations again. I don't know if they already have yet. When they do the railroad tracks are ready to go down there.
Further up the highway I have always enjoyed the Temperance River that runs through the Gorge. I jumped over it at that narrow spot when I was young and crazy. I seen a few kids do it the last time I was there.
I do believe Cleveland Cliffs bought the rights to that mine in Silver Bay. I hope to see it operational and Trains running next time I go through.
Ore cars are my favorite steelies. Some of the old ones had wood extensions on top to get more taconite in them. The new ones are all built up with steel.
BRAKIE
I'm sure they are. The part I was saying you were toying with me is you were saying they're better fried than poached.
It was synonym confusion. I was referring to poached as hunted illegally, you were referring to poached like a poached egg
I had gator at the State Fair once. It was all right, nothing to write home about. I didn't go back and get it again the next time I was at the fair.
I put a bookmark on the video you posted after I watched it. I may have Judy's family mail some fresh stuff up on dry ice and try this guy's recipe. Did you post that video at random or do you know it's good? Possibly one of your favorites?
PS I like wood sided boxcars better than the steel ones too. Why are they called reefers?
Track fiddlerDid you post that video at random or do you know it's good?
Its close to the way my oldest sister made gator nuggets when I visited her in Florida so,I used that video.
There is a lot of gator poaching but,usually the poachers is ripping off other legal hunters limb lines.. Its legal to hunt gator around three weeks a year with tags and license.
Track fiddlerPS I like wood sided boxcars better than the steel ones too. Why are they called reefers?
Maybe because they were wood sides refrigerated cars? Back then, using ice?
Just a quess.
Mike.
My You Tube