Rolling stock information.

[Anonymous]

Where could I go to research specific information regarding when different types of rolling stock were in use. Such as when were 50 ft cars introduced etc. Books, websites etc. Thanks for your assistance.

Additional Information: Even though I was not very specific, my fellow modelers have responded with some great information. Thank You.

I am interested in modeling a real railroad in Northern Indiana in about 1940. I did find some roadnames to use. I do not want to put a freight car or passenger car on it that was built in 1950. Thanks again.

[Texas Zepher]

Depends on the specifics. Do you mean 50' box cars, or 50' passenger cars. Then also do you mean as a regularly manufactured item or just a one-off that a specific railroad or company happen to build.

I would probably start by making a list of the RR car manufacturers (ACF, Pullman, Budd) and start studying their product history. Using your example find each of their first 50' cars and compare one to another. In this way the earliest 50' car should be discovered. My guess is that the first 50' car was a flat car.

Another route would be to look into the books about specific railroad's freight cars. The books like one I have sitting here on my desk "Great Northern Equipment Color Pictorial Book 1- Box Cars & Stock Cars", by Scott R. Thompson. Given a specific car and a specific railroad one can find when they appeared on that railroad at least.
Once again using your example, From this book we learn the 50' wooden box were in use on the GN before they were mass produced by AAR in 1937. One can spot these cars because they have fishbelly underframes.

[orsonroy]

Freight cars have been sadly neglected in both in the modelling and prototype restoration ends of the hobby. Engines, cabooses and passenger cars get all the attention, but it was the freight cars that made all the money!

Unfortunately, there really isn't a single "book" that you can use as a reference guide. There IS a lot of information out ther,e but it's scattered all over the place, or very targeted. The mention of Ted Culotta's 1932 AAR boxcar book is a great example: 200 pages devoted to a single, relatively rare car (compared to 1944 AAR cars or PS-1's).

Your best be is to NOT start with the printed page. Possibly the best single resource anywhere is online, at the NEB&W website:
http://railroad.union.rpi.edu
This is an absolutely fantastic general freight car reference site, including a HUGE amount of prototype and HO scale modelling reference material. While the site isn't inclusive of every car ever built between 1890-1960, it does cover most of them in detail, including roster information, car diagrams and prototype photos, as well as modelling notes. While it is a pay site, for $5 a month you'll get much more out of it than a comparable amount spent on a modelling magazine. And check out the site's bibliography for further research avenues.

[IRONROOSTER]

Kalmbach has a book out on freight cars http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/12450.html that will get you started.
Enjoy
Paul

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by michaeljgartner
I am interested in modeling a real railroad in Northern Indiana in about 1940. I did find some roadnames to use. I do not want to put a freight car or passenger car on it that was built in 1950. Thanks again.

Michael,

Keep in mind that cars were INTERCHANGED. In general, you can have any roadname running freight cars on any other road in North America, and it isn't inappropriate. True, some cars were interchanged less than others (hoppers especially), but there's photographic evidence of ATSF boxcars in Maine and N&W hoppers in California.

Rule of thumb is to make 1/4 to 1/3 of the cars on your layout the "home road" (the road you're modelling), and to mix up the rest of the cars (mostly boxcars and reefers) based on the "national averages". The Pennsy owned the largest freight car fleet on the planet in 1940 (100,000+ cars) so you'd want a bunch of them. The NYC, B&O, C&O and the Canadian roads came in close to the Pennsy, so you'd want a bunch of them as well. The rest of your cars should be an even mix based on region. All this is basically explained on the NEB&W website, along with listings of how many cars each road had for many years.

Which road have you chosen to model? "Northern Indiana in 1940" is pretty broad. Just running along the MI/IN border to Chicago, you've got the PRR, NYC, ERIE, NKP, B&O,CSS&SB, PM, MC, and a bunch of shortlines around Gary/Hammond. Letting us know your target will let us help you a bit better.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking of using the Pennsylnania or the C&O because they have a pretty good following. There are quite a few references on the internet about the Indiana Harbor Belt as well. With this new information, I will go with the PRR. Thanks. All this information is a big help.

[coalminer3]

If you haven't seen it, get a copy of Simons and Parker's Railroads of Indiana - an excellent book, well organized, good maps, and lots of information which be most useful to you.

Hope this helps.

work safe