Hello Rupert;
Actually, the FM-10's had fish belly center sills, and a unique straight
steel side sill that incorporated a truss rod. There was also
apparently another truss-rod on each side between the center sill and
the side. I concur that the construction was an anachronism in 1925.
There is a pretty decent photo of 89557 in use as a Thiessen cucumber
transport, complete with four wooden tubs mounted on its deck. The
photo appears on p.25 of BB #28. The photo caption indicates that "in
the early 1930s, FM-10 flat car 89557 was modified at West Burlington,
equipped with the tubs from two box cars" and that "the one-of-a-kind
car lasted until about 1950".
Do you ever see a CB&Q entry for a lone tank car or a single flat car
with different dimensions that might correspond to this car?
I don't find an entry for Thiessen in my 1937 ORER, so it would appear
that something is wrong, at least with the dates.
I am also puzzled by the complete disappearance of the cars by 1937,
though they were of only 80,000 pound capacity, probably inadequate for
many potential loads, and of a less robust design than even the much
earlier FM-7 cars.
What quantity remains in 1935 and 36? I see 74 on the roster in 1934,
none in May, 1937.
Perhaps the decreased platform length was due to some sort of end
bulkheads or other retaining equipment being installed. Can any of our
other members shed light on this?
And...We must, of course, keep in mind that the ORERs are not without
errors, and once an errant notation made its way into print, it could
stay there for many years without being corrected. The quantities are
generally good, but dimensional discrepancies are not uncommon.
I'm betting some of the FM-10s ended up in company service, and would
love to hear from anyone who might have a photo of a car assigned to
MOW. As a steam-era modeler, I think it would be a neat car to have a
model of.
Kind regards, Rob Adams
Rupert and Maureen wrote:
>Does anyone know anything about the FM-10 flat cars numbered 89500-8959?
>
>They are listed as having been built at Aurora in 1925, and the first ORER
>reference I've found is April 1927 (does anyone have a 1926 ORER?)
>
>A couple of strange things about them. They had fish-belly side sills but
>also had truss rods! Isn't 1925 a bit late to be using truss rods rather than
>steel underframes.
>
>The next unusual item is that they had disappeared from the roster by 1937, a
>very short life cycle for a flat car. The FM-7's built in 1907 lasted until
>1947, and the FM-11's built in 1928 lasted through till 1970.
>
>Were these perhaps rebuilds of cars built at the beginning of the century? The
>FM-9's were created from stock cars, so there was a precedent for such a
>conversion.
>
>One other odd fact is their size. In 1934, they were 41' 6 3/4" long and 9' 1
>1/2" wide. In 1935 (when fractions of an inch disappeared from the ORER's and
>the length increased as it was now measured over deadwoods rather than end
>sills) the dimensions reduced to 38' 8" platform length, 40' 10" over
>deadwoods and 8' 11" wide.
>
>Any information or suggestions would be gratefully received.
>
>Rupert
>
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>Yahoo! Groups Links
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