Mastapave. they biggest reason was sound insulation.
R
The reasoning behind it was simple. It lowered the COG on the cars also it gave them a very easy way to heat the cars. Steam radiant heat was understood pretty well by engineers by then. So they figured out that make the floors out of concrete run the heating pipes thru them and bang no need for radiators in the cars that someone could get burned on. Also concrete is CHEAP easy to repair.
ROBERT WILLISON ATLANTIC CENTRAL Thier no such thing as a dumb question in my book. CandOforprogress2 The Buffalo Southern is working on its collection of passenger cars in Hamburg NY and is creating havoc with its resdential neighbors due to them having to jackhammer the floors to replace them because they are poured concrete over a frame. The cars are turn of the century Long Island commuter cars. Whats going on here? Yes, as others have said, pretty common for most all steel heavyweight cars, actually build very similar to a steel framed multi floor building. Now C&O, I'm not trying to pick on you, and I don't know much about you, but as a train enthusiast and modeler, I have known this fact for about 45 years, learned this kind of stuff not long after I started in model trains at age 10-11. I am always amazed at how many "train fans" have very little technical understanding of how trains work or how they are built. And I don't mean the nitty gritty details, just the basics of how rail cars are built, how air brakes work, what makes the locmotive go, how does the wheel/rail relationship work, etc. There is a reason they were called heavyweights, 6 yards of concrete being a big part of that. Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Thier no such thing as a dumb question in my book. CandOforprogress2 The Buffalo Southern is working on its collection of passenger cars in Hamburg NY and is creating havoc with its resdential neighbors due to them having to jackhammer the floors to replace them because they are poured concrete over a frame. The cars are turn of the century Long Island commuter cars. Whats going on here? Yes, as others have said, pretty common for most all steel heavyweight cars, actually build very similar to a steel framed multi floor building. Now C&O, I'm not trying to pick on you, and I don't know much about you, but as a train enthusiast and modeler, I have known this fact for about 45 years, learned this kind of stuff not long after I started in model trains at age 10-11. I am always amazed at how many "train fans" have very little technical understanding of how trains work or how they are built. And I don't mean the nitty gritty details, just the basics of how rail cars are built, how air brakes work, what makes the locmotive go, how does the wheel/rail relationship work, etc. There is a reason they were called heavyweights, 6 yards of concrete being a big part of that. Sheldon
Thier no such thing as a dumb question in my book.
CandOforprogress2 The Buffalo Southern is working on its collection of passenger cars in Hamburg NY and is creating havoc with its resdential neighbors due to them having to jackhammer the floors to replace them because they are poured concrete over a frame. The cars are turn of the century Long Island commuter cars. Whats going on here?
The Buffalo Southern is working on its collection of passenger cars in Hamburg NY and is creating havoc with its resdential neighbors due to them having to jackhammer the floors to replace them because they are poured concrete over a frame. The cars are turn of the century Long Island commuter cars. Whats going on here?
Yes, as others have said, pretty common for most all steel heavyweight cars, actually build very similar to a steel framed multi floor building.
Now C&O, I'm not trying to pick on you, and I don't know much about you, but as a train enthusiast and modeler, I have known this fact for about 45 years, learned this kind of stuff not long after I started in model trains at age 10-11.
I am always amazed at how many "train fans" have very little technical understanding of how trains work or how they are built. And I don't mean the nitty gritty details, just the basics of how rail cars are built, how air brakes work, what makes the locmotive go, how does the wheel/rail relationship work, etc.
There is a reason they were called heavyweights, 6 yards of concrete being a big part of that.
Sheldon
Robert, I think you are taking my comments in a way I did not intend. Agreed there are do dumb questions. I am one of those types of people with a thirst for knowledge about how things work, or how they are built. So I am actually curious as to why some people are content to not know at least the basics about subjects they otherwise express an interest in?
And my comment was not directed at the OP in any mean spirited way, dispite the fact that we often disagree on culture philosophy.
The closing comment from the OP, "What's going on here?", seems to indicate shock and surprise that the floor of a railroad car is concrete. Surprise, a great many were concrete.......
One of the reasons given for the superior riding of the late PRR P70s was the 2" or so of cement in the decks, combined with the proper spring rate and compliance in the trucks.
No mystery. That was a pretty common practice. I have heard these floors referred to as Pullman Monolith floors. They were among the reasons a Pullman heavyweight car weighed about 80 tons: one ton per lineal foot.
Tom
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