I spent some time at the CSRM Library over the last couple
weeks looking at box car photos. Yeah,
yeah, we’ve all heard the refrain that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em
all. Well I’m here to tell you Joe, it just
ain’t so. Case in point Santa Fe Fe-24
13077 photographed at the Topeka Shops on 26 November 1954. True, it’s past my era of 44, but the file
was there and it is Santa Fe . . . The
car was an example of the rail industry going the extra mile to meet the needs
of it’s customers in the Auto industry.
Modified at Topeka for Fisher station wagon bodies from former
Chrysler-Desoto body cars, this was given a raised roof, not unlike the
aircraft parts cars during the war.
Several other photos are in their collection of raised roof Fe-24s and
they look like Fe-24s with a side extension stacked above the side walls. The roof on 13077 looks the same as the
others in the class with the extensions.
But here is where it gets curious, the sides look different. I looked at a dozen other Fe-24s and they all
had the same panel configuration of 4 to the left and 7 to the right of the
double door opening. This is the same
pattern produced by Charlie Slater as masters for the Sunshine Fe-6-20
kits. The side sills differ, but the two
door 50’ steel cars of Fe-6-25 all share the same 4-7 riveted side panel
configuration, EXCEPT 13077. This car
has 4 1/2 panels to the left of the doors and 6 approximately equal panels to
the right. Counting the roof panels
reveals that the doors are moved to the right compared to a standard
Fe-24. Details of the large reinforcing
tab running below the doors also show it moved to the right, with its far right
end slightly overlapping the sill tab just inboard of the bolster. On other cars, there is a foot or two gap
between the under door tab and the small cross bearer tab.
A Very Unique Car.
I will have to get permission to post a copy of the photo.
John Barry,
Cameron Park, CA
11 May 2014
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