I was working on the Mop at Fredonia, Kansas and we were handling one of the 80 Cap wooden cars. The other Brakeman on the job climbed up to release the hand brake and the ladder rung on the top edge of the car came off in his hand and he fell to the ground. The Frisco kept a lot of these cars on a spur out West of town for brick loading. BTW, no injuries to the other brakeman.
In the pic above of double door box SLSF 150033-E, somebody remind me what the "E" stood for. Thanks. Ken
I don't know much about these cars, but I can provide what I'm reading in the 1943 Official Register: (1) Of the entire class of 150000-150999 cars, there were 4 cars total with the "E" suffix: 150033-E 150353-E 150565-E 150657-E These are the only cars in the aforementioned series with the A.A.R. Mechanical Designation XAR ("Automobile - Similar in design to general service box car, but with side doors at least 10 ft. wide, with our without end doors, and equipped with permanent automobile stowing equipment"). Width of side door opening was 13' - definitely the granddaddy of the class (all others were either 6' or 10'). The register at this date shows no end door openings on any of these. There is one more "E" designated class XAR boxcar: 151390-E in the 151285-151499 series. Now...getting to Ken's actual question, "somebody remind me what the 'E' stood for," anyone else's guess is as good as any WAG that I'd have. Best Regards,
I'll take a wag that the "E" stands for extended doors? BTW can someone explain to me why I do not see a brake wheel on 147556 and 150963? Great pictures - thanks for posting.
Sherrel - Instead of a wheel, those two cars have a lever. You pump the lever (like a water pump out in the country) and it turns the brake staff just like a wheel would. Ken
Yeeks! What's a box car without a brake wheel? Guess that I had not noticed it before, or did not see one? Thanks, Ken
Sherrel - You were too busy flying around to notice. Ya can't see either brake wheels or levers from 24,000 ft! Ken
Good point - Tonto! However, early one beautiful fall morning, I flew 727 at 3000' all way from MKC to STL. All the pax loved it - trees were turning, air was slick as glass, and visibility was to the horizon. Only added 12 min to the flight due to the reduced speed, but actually used less fuel. Received several written appreciation and only one negative comment - negative from the front office!
Assume the ATC was in agreement? We were flying STL-Seattle in 1995. Clear, smooth day, and we were way ahead of schedule. As the flight approached Devils Tower the pilot came on and said there was no other traffic in the area, and as we were way ahead of schedule ATC wanted him to kill some time, so ATC has given him clearance to do a 360deg turn over Devils Tower as a way to kill time. He said to cheer if we pax wanted to do that so as to take a view. We wern't very low, and the tower was tiny, but it was fun. He turned to the left, and had only half the right side at a time step over to the left to look out. Each group got 180deg. The plane, I think a 727, wasn't even half full, so I gather it wasn't a big deal weight-shift wise. We had those little cards to turn in, and I gave the crew a big positive comment. Loved TWA! Warmed quite a few TWA seats, likely behind you out of or in to STL more than once. Ken
Along those lines, anyone have a Walther's part number for a Miner hand brake lever? I have not been able to find one. Best Regards,
Chris - Thanks (Danke!) for the umlaut keys. The only Miner brake lever detail part I know of is PSC's 585-39081, brass, and 585-39082, plastic. I bought several from Walthers in 2009, so they were in stock then. Ken
That is the same one that I found and yes, they are both in stock. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/585-39081
Tichy Train Group AB brake set part number 3013 contains a Miner brake lever...sub-part AB-32 within the 3013 set. List price was $2.50 recently and these sets contain all parts to do one car. John Sanders
Attached is a Howe truss car with Miner hand brake lever. I started this car in 2003. About time for some paint and decals. John Sanders
Terry - I'm not sure. Early on, when brake wheels first started to be mounted on the car end with the wheel in a vertical plane, there were a lot of injuries from the wheel spinning quickly as the brakeman released the catch to release the brake. If a hand or fingers were inside the wheel, the quickly spinning wheel could brake a hand, or even throw the fellow off the car. Perhaps the lever action device was a way to solve that problem. I think later brake wheel mechanisms solved the problem by having a device to prevent the wheel from spinning rapidly when released. I'm not real sure of all of this - will need to read up on railroad car brakes. Does anyone have the facts? Ken
While we're at it, is this car anywhere close to something that Frisco had? I cannot find anything on this particular car. USA Trains makes it in three different road numbers. As a 1/24 scale, it is 39 feet long, so it would be an " oldie" for sure. And the color is just a bit LOUD!! I could tone it down with a bit of weathering. Thanks for any direction. Dan
Thanks for the part numbers, John and Ken. I think I might even have a Tichy AB set in my box of freight car parts, but I'm not sure it's the right one. That'll give me something to look forward too after we move and I unpack everything. Best Regards,
