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"survivor" boxcars?

  • I saw a few of what I call "survivor" boxcars recently, and unfortunately I was in no position to get pictures of them. Has anybody else seen some of these "survivors" (original paint scemes of long-ago fallen flags) worth mentioning?

    The 2 I saw recently were Detroit & Macinack and one from the Ma & Pa. It was neat to see some old throwbacks.
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  • The last time I saw ancient wooden boxcars was on the Soo Line (later Wisconsin Central, now Canadian National) through Des Plaines, Illinois, ca. 1980. The cars looked like 1920's-era USRA double-sheathed boxcars. (However, they may have been a Canadian Pacific design of the era.) They were still riding on Andrews trucks, and carried markings that the cars were not to be used in interchange service. They were being used for storage for crews that were working on the track at the time.

    That was the first and last time I ever saw freight cars that old outside of a museum.

    Up through the early 1980s, it was still possible to see a quite few freight cars dating from the 1950s and earlier.

    Dan

  • Wow! That is really something. I've never seen ones like that, save for an example of an old wooden boxcar (ca. 1890s) that was displayed ouside the offices of the Kinzua mill at Heppner, Oregon. I believe it may have come from the original Condon, Kinzua & Southern railroad.

    These looked like they could have been no older than 60s or 70s vintage. Who knows for sure!
  • i have seen very old dt&i boxcars around the lima area
    stay safe
    joe

    Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

     

  • I have seen old old steel 40-footers in MOW service around southern Ontario and Toronto. They have big signs on the end ladders saying "NO ROOF WALK" and stenciled "NOT FOR INTERCHANGE" above the data.
  • Well, I havn't seen anything as old as a woodside, but I did see a couple of old milwalkee road boxcars at one time......
    TM223
  • There is a Frisco 50' boxcar that frequents the NS former PRR mainline east of Pittsburgh. I have seen it many times over the last few years. At least I think it's the same car, I always forget to record the number. The car has a "billboard" size coonskin emblem and is dirty but very noticible. Good luck and happy holidays.
  • In Australia, Box cars are called Guards Vans. They are not really used anymore on freight trains. Most of the trains before about the 1980s had a driver , a fireman and a guard.
    Thank you
    Peter Hulthen
  • I recently saw 2 covered hoppers with the old PC covered over and privately marked. I was odd seeing the green again. Now we have the bucking bronco. as a side note about 8 years ago I saw approximately 20 PRR boxcars setting on an abandon siding
  • [8D]Recently Ive seen MP,MKT,WP,C&NW, D&RGW ,SSW,SP
    SLSF ATSF C&IM SOO And even two NVC boxcars on UP BNSF NS And KCS
    lines Its really cool to see those these days espesially now that UP BNSF NS KCS & other rr's paint them brown which sucks theres no color on trains any more how about blue coal cars and maybe a red boxcar or orange like ICG's old cars I see them every now and then you still see a few MKT cars like hoppers or gondolas But ive seen the old red KATY cars In dallas A couple years back In the old Katy yd which was down graded only used for local storage but I can still see the old MKT KATY Emblems On the side
    Also the MKT building Is In downtown Dallas on Commerce st Across from
    the break down bus station I mean Grey hound
    (not nearly as cheap as AMTRAK)
  • Their have been a couple of B&O Chessie boxcars around here on the CSX MoW work. Their is also a tool car in the yard that is an old FGE Solid Gold scheme.
  • QUOTE: Originally posted by phult

    In Australia, Box cars are called Guards Vans. They are not really used anymore on freight trains. Most of the trains before about the 1980s had a driver , a fireman and a guard.
    Thank you
    Peter Hulthen


    I don't think you're thinking of the same thing we are. What Austrailians would call a boxcar would be a "goods wagon" or "goods van", which I'm sure railways in Australia still use. Our version of a guards van is a called a caboose, which we don't have anymore, either. Most railroads stopped usng cabooses in the mid-1980's, but there are still a few out there.

    As for fallen flag boxcars, I've seen SOO, Ma & Pa, L.E.F.&C. and others that I can't think of right now. Most of the fallen flags I've seen are on covered hoppers, which are far more prevelant. Other "surivior" boxcars I've seen were some CP boxcars with old CP script lettering and sheild logo markings on a CP MOW train a few years ago. CP obviously isn't a fallen flag but those old logos are no longer used and are something you hardly ever see.
  • There are some remaining Boxcars that have Conrail on them. Kingston Yard has 5 boxcars used for storage. Three Conrail boxcars and one Ex Penn Central with the word "CR" on it and a Lehigh Valley with it's flag.