Freight Car Type Designations PS-1, PS-2, PS-3, PS-4, PS-5 - Pullman Standard Car Company - Inquiry

Pullman-Standard (PS) or more formally the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company was at one time the largest passenger and freight car manufacturer in North America.

Their modern freight car series designations included PS-1 boxcars, PS-2 covered hoppers, PS-3 open top hoppers, PS-4 flat cars and PS-5 gondolas. Pullman Standard was an early pioneer of using welded construction and assembly line mass production for freight cars.

The original Pullman Company began in the 19th century (1862) and produced first passenger and then freight cars. Major merger acquisitions occurred with other major car builders including the Haskell and Barker Car Company (1921) and The Standard Steel Car Company (1930). This merger resulted in the name change to Pullman-Standard.

Pullman-Standard operated plants in Bessemer, AL (on the Frisco), Butler, PA, Chicago, IL, Hammond and Michigan City, IN and Worchester, MA.

They were a significant contributor to many railroad's rolling stock equipment fleets, including the Frisco.

Hope this helps.

Mark

 

For your information, there is a good book available on "P-S" if anyone is interested in becoming a freight car junkie.

The book is Pullman-Standard Freight Cars, 1900-1960, by Edward S. Kaminski, 2007, Signature Press, ISBN 978-1-930013-17-9

There are some good photographs of new P-S Frisco cars in it.

Ed has also done equally good books on American Car and Foundry (ACF), in fact two, and on Magor Car Company.

Ken

 

Your car ends look to be equivalent to the USRA 5-5-5 riveted box car end.

This is the end used on the Frisco's USRA double-sheathed box cars, SLSF 127000-130499, from various builders. In fact, the Frisco had more of these USRA cars than any other railroad, and they ran them for a long time.

Over time, the wood side sheathing was replaced with steel, but they kept their original ends. This would be a good car for you to build. It is classic Frisco!

There is a lot of information around on what these SLSF cars looked like and how to letter them. For example, I am looking at the Westerfield HO-scale kit 3810 instruction sheets for reference.

I do not know if this end will work for a Frisco single-sheathed outside braced box car. I have not found a photograph of one that has this end, though I do not have many pictures of the older SLSF box car fleet.

This same 5-5-5 riveted car end was used on the standard USRA single-sheathed box car.

Ken

 

I think you mean go with the double-sheathed.

With this type car there is wood sheathing on both the inside and the outside of the car framing, hence "double" sheathed. The car sides are smooth, with no braces showing.

The single-sheathed car only has sheathing on the interior, or inside of the framing, hence you see the bracing on the outside of the car.

The double sheathed car was a bit tougher given its double layer of side sheathing providing more protection for the goods in the car. They were also more rigid as the siding braced the framing from both sides like a sandwich.

That is probably why the Frisco liked the DS car, and also why they lasted so long given the Frisco's high standards of maintenance.

Do a Google search of USRA boxcars. I will bet there is information readily available as there were a bunch of both single and double sheathed types of USRA cars built for many roads.

There is a neat USRA single-sheathed car preserved at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI.

Ken