I received the attached regarding E5s from Eagle Imports:
Charlie Vlk
February 20, 2003
We at Eagle have been interested in the "conversation" concerning "E 5 -
stainless steel side panels."
After over a year of painstaking research, we finished the spectacular SAM
HOUSTON ZEPHYR train in HO (an E 5 and five Budd cars -- click on the hyperlink
and check it out: SAM HOUSTON ZEPHYR ) . What follows should answer all the
questions going around at the BRHS concerning "stainless steel side panels".
We're very well acquainted with the panels as we were the first importer to use
die pressed corrugations. We used Budd profile drawings to form male and female
dies and "press" them for soldering to the car bodies of both the locomotive
and passenger cars.
The E 5 exteriors were constructed almost entirely of stainless steel. This
includes everything save for the trucks, pilot, diaphragm, air horns, prime
movers exhaust stacks and some "trim" mentioned below. "Everything" means the
entire car body including the fuel tank skirts, rear end and roof as well as
the battens, rivets and screws. The pilot, air horns, trucks, couplers, exhaust
stacks, fuel tanks and diaphragm were made of steel and then painted aluminum
except for the exhaust stacks which were black.
The "stainless steel panels" viz. corrugated stainless steel panels - were
manufactured by Budd in Philadelphia and applied by EMC in La Grange - later
EMD - so as to match the passenger cars Budd manufactured for the Q. (There are
some interesting "rub strips" which EMD-Budd used to get the locomotive
corrugations to match up with the car corrugations.)
The trim around the headlights and side car body windows (not the cab) was
"German Silver" which is an interesting metallurgical concoction somewhat
resembling "nickel plate". It looks like nickel plating when new but, quickly
begins to oxidize, leaving a dull, dark gray finish. We represented the German
Silver trim with dark gray - dull finish paint.
You all have it exactly right concerning the shorter side window height than E
3-6's being a function of the "letterboard" added to accommodate BURLINGTON.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck and please feel free to share this with your friends.
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