A common misconception among railfans & modelers is that the FRA mandated
that RR's remove roofwalks/running boards & ladders except where needed (to
reach brake wheels, gain access to troughs on covered hoppers, valves on
tank cars, etc). In reality the rule stated, in laymen's terms, that IF a
RR or car owner were to retain the walks & ladders, they must be maintained
(a problem in the airbrake era when brakemen no longer needed to 'walk the
roofs' and thus RRs no longer maintained the hardware so that on the rare
occaision someone did get atop a car, the walk or ladders were often in bad
shape). That's why well into the 80's some boxcars retained roof
walks/running boards & high ladders (or in some cases the former and not the
latter) - as long as they were in good shape, it was OK. Generally the only
em- ployees to get atop were rip track carmen checking roof leaks, etc.
Speaking of roofs - shortly after BN time, they took a number of ex-GN 40'
steel boxcars & put hatches at either end for hide loading (saw them @
Morrell In Sioux Falls & elsewhere). Some were apparently modified by GN
pre-BN but never saw a Q box so modified either pre- or post-BN. Anyone
know of any? Am aware of course of Q 40' wood box cars stenciled for hide
loading only but no roof hatches. Gerald
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