Hol Technically, those "Cardboard" doors were known as
"Paper Grain Doors"...two main manufacturers "Signode"
and "International Stanley". This "changeover from Wood
to the "paper doors" was going on during my period as
Manager Freight Claims" at the Rock Island. The arcane
nature of the handling of grain claims involving the
different types of doors and various methods of
"coopering" cars was a real eye opener for me.
Representatives of the above mentioned manufacturers
attended the various Freight Claim "conferences" ,
supplying "hospitality rooms" and other inducements to
"cause" us Claim guys to tout to our "managemnts" the
virtues of their products. On the RI there was kind of
a "division of territories" for the different
manufactures...I think IIRC that one manufacturers doors
were used north of Kansas City and the other South of
KC.
Your mention of covered hoppers brought back another
"recollection" ie When the CH began to be used with
increasing rapidity in the transportation of grain in a
very rare case of railroad "solidarity"..all of the
carriers got together and "conspired" to deny any
carrier liability for grain loss from CH's. except in
the case of defective equipment where an actual leak was
observed. There was much "weeping and gnashing of
teeth" from the grain industry, but ultimately the
carriers prevailed. and nobody "caved".
I'll be happy to take questions from anyone who has
any interest as to how the above mentioned claims were
handled when grain was moved in boxcars...It's too
lengthy and "mysterious" for me to explain without
specific questions.
Pete
-----Original
Message-----
From: Hol Wagner
holpennywagner@msn.com [CBQ]
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
To: CBQ
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Dec 23, 2015 9:00 pm
Subject: Re: [CBQ] St Francis Branch
Kirby:
That's correct; boxcars with wooden
-- and later, cardboard -- grain doors
nailed in place were used to haul grain
well into the 1960s, when covered
hoppers finally supplanted them.
Hol
Hol:
How would grain have been
hauled in 1920? Would it have
been in boxcars with boarded
up doors?