Re: [CBQ] Flatcars

["Steven Holding via groups.io" <sholding=sbcglobal.net@groups.io>]

To add to Bob's post.  Some facilities do not know what they have.  I researched at the U of Ill. in 1991-2 on weekends while my son was in a 4-H program.  With nothing to do but wait I went to the library.  I was looking for the McGraw Red Books.  An electric industry record like Poors.  The librarian could not find it in the computer.  BUT the halls at the  time were lined with card catalogs.  So I looked in them and found the location numbers and walked right to them.  They had two complete collections.  And a wall of book cases lined with railroad annual reports. 

Research takes time, and money for support.  I often add a day or so to a trip to make a research stop.  ie.  The BRHS Annual Meet in Burlington, Iowa.  A couple days after the Mt. Pleasant, Iowa tractor show.  I hope to get to IRM during the week between the meets.

On another note.  I recently have had a book published by CERA.  I started the research in about 1987 and worked on it until about 2012 before it was turned in to be published.  It takes time with all the busy life style we live in.

Hang in there

Steve in SC

On Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 07:33:12 AM EST, Bob Webber via groups.io <cz17=comcast.net@groups.io> wrote:

The first step is to determine who built the prototype.  Haskell & Barker drawings start in the 1900s - not because they didn't build anything before that, but due to a series of fires that wiped out earlier drawings.  I say that as it is an unfortunate fact - a lot of fires, floods & a typical institutional disregard for paper (in general, and specific to drawings and documents more than 50 years old).  St. Louis has few ACF drawings before 1920 or so, but it might be worth contacting them (Museum of Transport archives).  Lake States may have something.  DeGolyer has a good collection that includes CB&Q drawings (mainly, as I understand it, facilities)

You can contact the B&ORRHS as they have much of the Ralph Barger collection - he literally had a room with nothing but diagram books from all over the country.  Look for MOW cars as much as revenue as a lot of elderly revenue cars, esp. flats went into MOW cars. 

Flat cars are typically a frustrating find in that era - most collections start post steel era, or have had issues with fire, floods, and other insults to paper over a period of 100+ years.  A lot of flats were home built, kit-built or re-purposed (razed gons, house cars, etc.).  So create a list (or find one) that includes, if known, builder and if not known the specifications - length, capacity, construction. 

You *may* be bale to find the CB&Q's or ICC's collection of Account books (not accounting) - I think freight is Account 53 (Passenger is 54).  They were started in the Valuation era - which is later (~1917) than your era, but flats & MOW survived even if not in interchange service (MOW has it's own Account ledger).  Account books provide AFE numbers, dates, updates, and details of cars. 

Railway Gazette (prior to Railway Age) for the 1800s are extant, that may be a good bet (along with the aforementioned Car Builders).  BUT - be advised that a lot have been removed from collections due to age & lack of interest.  I think we have 5 or so pre-1900 bound volumes, but local (to you) may have them. 

Paper (books, documents, AFEs, car cards) of items more than 120 years old is becoming problematical.  Archives are running out of space, and there is little interest.  In a larger context, the institutional feeling about such things is "it's just paper" (we have experienced that in a general sense).  Good luck! 

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