If this has already been a discussion delete this post! I am embarking on a early to mid 50's Chicago Northwestern and Milwaukee Road western Ia layout. My question: What were the type of freight, tank cars and caboose? I have subscriped to both of the road's historical society but have not heard back. Also if there is a website or book that could help just let me know! More questions arise instead of answers!! jeff
Well, my first suggestion would be to get the Morning Sun books for your roads. That will help with cars, paint colors, schemes and time frames. Another source to watch for is older copies of mags like Trains from the era your interested in. Lots of pictures to give you ideas. Freight cars changed alot during the 50's, both in design and use, so the above references will help. Kel
Jeff, The variety of rollingstock in the mid 50's was a lot less than now as there were fewer specialized cars for shipping. The good news is there are plenty of cars available from a multitude of manufactures. Your fleet should inlcude 40 foot box cars for general merchandise and grain. 40 and 50 foot flats for farm equipment. 40 foot hoppers for coal and tank cars for gas and oil. 40 and 50 foot stock cars for live stock. As far as waycars you will have to do a little research. The international car company was not producing their standard caboose back then. Railroads were still using a lot of wood sheathed waycars so MT may be your answer. MILW also had the rib side bay window cabooses but not sure when they hit the rails.
There was probably a higher proportion of box cars in the fifties than there is now. Check out some of the videos of trains from that era. I get a lot of information just from watching actual trains. This also gives you a good idea about how much cleaner and lacking in grafitti cars were back then.
Basically in that time period you would have a lot of cars from the 1920s still on the rails with a few in the 1910 time period still in revenue service. The outside braced single sheathed wood and the double sheathed wood would be around. Plywood sheathed and steel also, with the 40 foot boxcar being common and next in numbers would be the 50 footer. Not too many steel cars were produced during the 1940 to 1946 timeframe due to WWII however the wood cars did have steel ends. Steel double door boxcars were coming on line and the everpresent gondola was out there in both composite and all steel construction. Tank cars would be in the smaller gallon capacity, no jumbos. Stockcars are still present on the rails both 40 and 50 footers. Cabooses are steel underframe retros although still a lot of wood bodies running off the miles. The Milwaukee ribside caboose would have been on the rails then. TOFC is coming in with converted flatcars. And lest I forget the wood ice reefers are still there with the newer mechanical reefers starting to be seen in larger numbers.
All box cars and reefers still had catwalks and brakewheels that extended above the roof ends. This feature did not begin to disappear until the late 50's, when the FRA revised the regulation requiring it.
See: http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=MR&MO=3&YR=1986&output=3&sort=A for an excellent article by John Nehrich on the 1950's boxcar fleet. In 1950, 15 percent of the boxcar fleet still consisted of 36 foor interior length boxcars. The average car capacity was 50 tons, there were a few 70 ton capacity cars, but absolutely no 100 ton capacity cars, except for special multitruck flatcars.
Open hopper cars were 2 and four bay and 55 and 70 ton respectively. Bettendorf trucks were quite common although toward the end of the fifties I think rollerbearings were coming on new equipment in some numbers
You guys are great!!! Thanks for all the help and not telling me: "Why don't you try a search?!" Thanks again!!! jeff
