Were the Apex steel running boards and brake steps on XM-32A boxcars painted when applied to new cars built in 1947-48? The only high angle roof photo I’ve found is the one in BB#7, p.11 that shows a car with unpainted steel running board
and significant paint loss on the diagonal panel roof. The car in the photo would be XM-32B or later, but the date the photo was taken isn’t given. Text references typically state that Q boxcars were painted mineral red ‘on all surfaces’ until 1958 when the
Chinese Red scheme was initiated.
There is a thread on another group about whether or not the Q used asphalt roofing compound on boxcar roofs, and if so what dates, what cars, etc.? The only photo I found that supports the use of roofing compound is
on page 49 of Spoor CB&Q in Color Volume 1 which clearly shows an XM-32 series boxcar with black roof cement complete with a bit of overspray on the sides. Apparently, they did use it
once, so what was the usual practice for series XM-32 boxcars?
Nelson Moyer