Very nice to see a car still roaming around with the Frisco lettering still on it. But I'm surprised that with the lack of paint on it it hasn't been through the paint shop. Long live the frisco. Ethan
I thought it was interesting that the reporting marks were stenciled on the side and end. It makes me wonder about the actual lineage of the car. Can someone verify the car type and if the reporting marks were originally stenciled?
That sucker sure gets around. In Canada - http://www.railfan.ca/cgi-bin/view.cgi?image=Brantford_14.01.06_2594.jpg If one clicks on the photo to get a larger shot, be prepared to wait a bit. But it does show a lot of detail. To bad it is too new for me.
It is a joy to see SLSF reporting marks after 30 years, but it does lead one to wonder why. That 3077 on the sixth panel from the B end suggests it carries "Environmentally Hazardous Substance, solid, n. o. s." or "Other Regulated Substances, solid, n. o. s." The placard was on the car in Canada six years ago. It is probably in steady service carrying something like contaminated soil or hazardous waste that makes it inconvenient to repaint because regulations may require some prior decontamination procedure. George Nelson
Page 91 of Nicholas Molo's Frisco/Katy Color Guide to Freight Equipment has a picture and a caption that identify it as a product of Darby from a 100 unit order built in February, 1966 and numbered 65000-65099. These were designated as GBS by being equiped with full length belt rails on both sides. Molo speculates the belt rails were used to retain tarps over hazardous ores like lead, copper and zinc and perhaps they were used in service on the Lead Belt. The photo reveals that the orginal paint job included Railroad Roman reporting marks and FRISCO spelled out in billboard letters between the ribs. Alternating width ribs and the unique ends differentiate this car from similar gondolas. Rich
I looked at the blown up picture of that car and you can see the letters F R I S C O on the side of the car. The "S" is the most prevalent one to be seen.
For those who want to see this a bit speedier and save a copy, I copied the full size photo and posted it to my folder on the ACL-SAL website. Click here: http://www.aclsal.org/abdfiles/slsf65005.jpg Rancho Bob
