As an old ex-railroader my opinions may be suspect, but the worn out and
dilapidated cosmetic appearance of stock cars also came from the fact that the
wood cars were only in use for a short period most of the year, and as a
consequence were stored in the worst, most out of the way places. In Colorado
and Wyoming they were left out on prarie and plains sidings where they were
exposed to blowing wind laden with sand etc 24/7. Seems like the only paint
they received on the exterior was a rectangular area where RR numbers and
reporting marks were stenciled, FRA/ICC regs declared these areas were to kept
clear and legible. Another problem with paint was on locomotive wheels. Many
have stated that outside faces on wheels were painted white to make cracks and
shells more visible, this is actually the opposite of what was done. FRA/ICC
was quite clear on the fact that paint was not to be used on wheels for
purposes of inspection or testing because it "hid" and
disguised or covered up cracks etc. I remember a superintendent at the 7th
Street Rice Yard who was a really decent guy and great to work for, asked me if
I and a helper could paint the "rims" on an 800 SD-9 for an employee day
exhibit at Denver Union Terminal. I assured him that if we did that, within
weeks the SD9 with whitewalls would be in every fan magazine and the butt of
unending jokes (as would he) in the railfan press.
From: Douglas Harding <doug.harding@iowacentralrr.org>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2011 7:56 AM
Subject: [CBQ] Re: SM-16 and SM-18 Stock Cars
Nelson, you may need to check dates, as I suspect the red trucks came about
when the cars were repainted.
As to the interiors, on stockcars they often were not painted, ie left as
bare wood. The steam cleaning of interiors after each use quickly removed
paint anyway. You will note many stockcars have almost bare wood while the
metal parts are still nicely painted, the steam cleaning is why.
Doug Harding
www.iowacentralrr.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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