80 Years Ago Today, Sunday, 14 May 1944

 

14 May 1944

USN

Pacific

Submarines Aspro (SS-309) and Bowfin (SS-287) attack Japanese convoy, and sink cargo ship Bisan Maru about 90miles northwest of Palau, 08°55'N, 133°42'E.

Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) attacks Japanese convoy bound for the Sibitu Passage, sinking destroyer Inazuma near Tawi Tawi, east of Borneo, 05°03'N, 119°36'E, and evades counterattacks by what is most likely destroyer Hibiki. Ironically, Bonefish had aimed her initial torpedo at a tanker ( Nichiei Maru, Azusa Maru, or Tatekawa Maru ) but ended up hitting Inazuma instead.

Submarine Crevalle (SS-291), en route to her base, is damaged by depth charges off northern Celebes, 00°57'N,125°51'E.

Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) encounters that portion of convoy 3503 that had been detached to proceed to Guam, and sinks army cargo ship K_ho Maru southwest of Apra harbor, 13°43'N, 144°42'E. Sand Lance survives resultant depth-charging from one or more of the escorts: escort vessel Oki, torpedo boat Otori, and auxiliary submarine chaser No.8 Shonan Maru.

Mediterranean

German submarine U-616 attacks convoy GUS 39 off Cape Tenes, Morocco, prompting a search by Oran-based U.S.destroyers (see 17 May 1944) (Captain Adelbert F. Converse).

AAF

Twelfth AF

Support for Allied ground assault into Gustav Line continues as aircraft hit at lines of communications N and NW of Rome and blast tgts in immediate battle area. MBs claim hits on bridges, bridge approaches, and viaducts at Chiani, Marsciano, Monte Molino, Castiglione d’Orcia, San Giovanni Valdarno, Poggibonsi, Tabianello, and Arezzo. A-20’s pound cmd posts in battle area. FBs hit stations, tracks, roads, town areas, bridges, gun positions, and T/Os in immediate battle area and in or near Esperia, Terni, Narni, Itri, Terracina, Perugia, Chiusi, Orvieto, San Giovanni Valdarno, Maranola, and other locations N of Rome.

5/14/44 Fifteenth AF

Just over 700 B-24’s and B-17’s attack M/Ys at Vicenza, Padua, Ferrara, Treviso, Mestre, Mantua, and Piove di Sacco, and A/Fs at Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. Ftrs fly over 170 sorties in escort. 48 P- 38’s strafe Aviano and Villaorba A/Fs.

Tenth AF

24 A-31’s bomb troops and gun positions at Lahaw. 12 P-38’s hit Tiddim road at Tonzang, causing roadblock. 48 A-31’s bomb positions at Kalewa and S of Bishenpur. 11 P-40’s hit bridge and road at Kazu and railroad shed at Myitkyina. 25 B-25’s and P-51’s hit troop positions at Hopin. Meiktila and Heho A/Fs are hit by 20-plus P-51’s and P-38’s. The ftrs claim 4 airplanes downed in combat. 

Fourteenth AF

60 P-40’s and P-51’s hit trucks at Yoyang, river shipping, boxcars, and trucks at Pailochi and Sienning, and storage area at Shayang. 20 other P-40’s bomb and strafe towns near Mamien Pass, Pingkai and areas around Mengta and Tating. 6 Japanese bmrs hit Kienow, rendering A/F temporarily unusable.

Fifth AF

B-24’s bomb Bosnik supply areas and Sorido runway. In Wakde-Sawar-Maffln Bay area, villages and AA positions are pounded by B-24’s and B-25’s. FBs, A-20’s, B-24’s, and B-25’s maintain strikes against A/Fs, bridges, trucks, villages, and other tgts in Wewak-Hansa Bay area.

Thirteenth AF

23 B-25’s bomb Tobera airstrip. 44 FBs pound supply and personnel areas at Vunakanau. P-39’s and

P-40’s strafe tgts in N and E Gazelle Peninsula, and ftr patrols over Rabaul area attack several T/Os. In Buka-Bougainville area, 40-plus P-39’s and P-40’s bomb Hangan, Tsirogei, Tokiparo, pier at Kessa Plantation, and near Ibu.

Seventh AF

53 B-24’s from Kwajalein and 43 B-25’s from Makin join Navy aircraft in pounding Jaluit.

USA

NEW GUINEA—Co C, 127th Inf, withdrawing from Marubian, finds its route cut by enemy. Japanese also harass Co A at Ulau Mission. Since these positions are becoming untenable, it is decided to withdraw.

ITALY—AAI: In U.S. Fifth Army area, II Corps makes progress all along line against rearguard opposition. 338th Inf, 85th Div, clears Hill 131 of S Ridge, previously an enemy strongpoint, and outposts Formia–Ausonia road. 2d Bn, 337th Inf, then continues toward next 85th Div objective, Castellonorato, reaching Hill 108, N of Spigno–S. Maria Infante road junction, and patrolling beyond there. 351st Inf, 88th Div, seizes Hill 126, at E end of S Ridge, and S. Maria Infante village, initial objectives. Div, with elements of 3 regts in assault, begins drive on Spigno. 350th Inf advances W across Ausente Creek to N slopes of M. dei Bracchi; 349th occupies M. dei Bracchi and, in conjunction with 351st, clears M. la Civita. In Mtn Corps area, two groups advance W to positions just E of Ausonia road, where they are stopped by enemy. Third group reaches base of Fammera escarpment, leaving containing force at Ausonia. On left flank of FEC area, 4th Mtn Div and 3d Algerian Div mop up region W of M. Majo. In center, 2d Moroccan Div, thrusting toward S. Giorgio, reaches Castellone and Cantalupo Hills; elements are pushing toward Castelnuovo. On right flank, 1st Motorized Div, advancing along the Liri, reaches S. Giorgio.

In Br Eighth Army area, 13 Corps continues to expand and strengthen Rapido bridgehead. Preparations are made for next phase of attack, to isolate Cassino in conjunction with Pol 2 Corps, on 15th, but delay of 78th Div in crossing the Rapido forces postponement of assault.

80 Years Ago Today, Saturday, 13 May 1944

 Eighth AF continues to strike strategic targets as Allied forces prepare for Overlord

13 May, Sat. --

 

USN

 

Pacific

 

F4Us, F6Fs, and SBDs, and USAAF B-24s and B-25s bomb Japanese installations at Jaluit; attacks will continue on14 May.

 

Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese cargo ship Anb_ Maru off Suruga Bay, Honshu, 34°31'N, 138°33'E.

 

Japanese landing ships T.128 and T.150 are damaged by mines, Palau.

 

Atlantic

 

Destroyer escort Francis M. Robinson (DE-220) sinks Japanese submarine RO-501 (ex-German U-1224), en route toJapan on her maiden voyage, 400 miles south- southwest of the Azores, 18°08'N, 33°13'W.

 

AAF

 

Eighth AF

689 B-17’s and B-24’s bomb A/Fs, M/Ys, aircraft assembly plant, and T/Os at Tutow, Osnabruck, Barth, Sylt I, Stettin, and Stralsund. 12 HBs are lost.

 

Ninth AF

More than 300 B-26’s and A-20’s bomb A/Fs, coastal defenses, railway battery, and V-weapon sites in France and Belgium. P-47’s carry out dive-bombing raids on various tgts.

 

Twelfth AF

MBs, LBs, and FBs continue to attack lines of comm but devote main effort to spt of Allied ground forces push against Gustav Line (French Expeditionary Force with US Fifth Army gains spectacular breakthrough by fierce assault). A-20’s hit cmd post; B-26’s damage Cortona, Certaldo, Signa, and Montepescali bridges; B-25’s blast towns in rear of battleline with good results at Pastena, Pico, Vallecorsa and Itri; and FBs carry out armed rcn and scheduled attacks against comm, road and rail traffic, and gun positions along immediate battleline and in areas around Esperia, Pico, Sant’ Oliva, Pignataro Interamna, Arce, Fondi, Perugia, Todi, Spoleto, Terni, Orvieto, Chiusi, Rieti, and N of Rome.

 

Fifteenth AF

HBs continue interdiction in spt of ground forces. 670-plus B-17’s and B-24’s, mostly with ftr escort, attack M/Ys at Trento, Bronzola, Fidenza, Piacenza, Faenza, Imola, Cesena, Modena, Parma, San Rufillo, Borgo San Lorenzo, Castel Maggiore and Bologna, and hit railroad bridges at Bolzano and Avisio. Ftrs sweep Bologna-Modena area.

 

Tenth AF

Nearly 100 P-40’s and P-51’s over Mogaung Valley hit gun positions, bridges, spt ground forces (near Nanyaseik), and hit numerous T/Os throughout the whole valley. 12 A-36’s hit positions near Maungdaw. 19 B-25’s and 46 A-31’s pound several points along road and bomb troop concentrations at Bishenpur. 30-plus B-24’s, B-25’s, A-36’s, and P-51’s hit Indaw, Taungbaw, and Mohnyin. 11 B-25’s bomb Monywa.

 

Fourteenth AF

19 B-25’s hit storage and warehouse areas at Mangshik and Lungling, bridge at Hsenwi, truck and tank concentrations SW of Loyang, and town area of Lungling. 39 P-40’s hit military installations at Mengta and Tating, village N of Kaitou bridge at Tingka, and truck concentration at Yingyangchen.

 

Fifth AF

B-24’s hit dispersal areas on Japen I, supply areas and AA guns at Bosnik, and A/Fs at Sorido, Namber, and near Moemi R. B-24’s and B-25’s hit A/Fs in the Wakde-Maffin-Sawar-Arare area. More than 200 FBs, A-20’s, and B-25’s thoroughly pound A/Fs, bridges, fuel dumps, vehicles, villages, AA guns, and supply areas in WewakHansa area.

 

Thirteenth AF

50-plus P-39’s and P-40’s attack piers at Ratsua, Porton, Chabai, and Tarlena. 30-plus other FBs hit various tgts, including supply area SE of Bonis, town of Chabai, village near Ibu, and huts and villages along Numa Numa trail. 3 B-25’s hit coastal guns at Hahela Mission. 21 B-25’s and more than 40 P- 39’s, P-40’s, and P-38’s pound supply areas at Talili Bay. Ftr sweeps over N New Britain and New Ireland continue. Many T/Os are strafed.

 

Seventh AF

B-24’s, staging through Eniwetok from Kwajalein, bomb Truk during the early morning hours. Other HBs from Kwajalein bomb Maloelap and Jaluit. B-25’s from Engebi hit Ponape.

 

Eleventh AF

1 B-25 flies a shipping strike and strafes 2 fishing vessels.

 

USA

 

NEW GUINEA—Gen Gill decides to abandon Marubian area.

 

CBI—In NCAC area of Burma, when frontal and flanking attacks on Tingkrukawng by K Force  fail, the village is bypassed. On Salween front, Japanese almost wipe out a Ch bn in Mamien Pass but situation is restored after reinforcements arrive. Japanese resistance in this region ends. Regt of 53d Army crosses the Salween and attacks Japanese flank, regaining positions in Tatangtzu Pass.

 

ITALY—AAI: In U.S. Fifth Army area, Germans, after offering stiff resistance throughout day, begin withdrawal to next delaying position night 13–14. In II Corps area, efforts of Co F of 339th Inf, 85th Div, to break through enemy encirclement fail. 2d Bn, 338th, clears Cave d’Argilla and Hill 60, in region N of S. Martino Hill, while 1st Bn pushes from Solacciano toward Hill 126, on S Ridge. 351st Inf, 88th Div, continues toward S. Maria Infante. Renewing attack on right flank of II Corps, 350th Inf’s 1st Bn seizes M. Rotondo. FEC smashes through Gustav Line in spectacular push. 2d Moroccan Div overruns M. Girofano, M. Feuci, and M. Maio in center of corps zone. Exploiting this success, 1st Mtzd Div speeds forward on right flank to S. Apollinare while 4th Moroccan Mtn Div, on left flank, clears opposition about M. Ceschito, N of road to Coreno, in skillful enveloping attack. Over 1,000 prisoners are taken. Mtn Corps, upon moving forward from Castelforte to positions N of M. Rotondo, halts until opposition can be cleared from Ceschito. Mtn Corps is organized into 3 groups. One pushes northward toward Ausonia and the other 2 drive W toward Spigno, night 13–14. In Br Eighth Army area, 13 Corps expands Rapido bridgehead. Bridge is completed in sector of 4th Div.

80 Years Ago Today, Friday, 12 May 1944

As I model the WWII era, it's appropriate to provide some context.  The following entries are extracted from the official combat chronologies of the US Navy, Army Air Forces, US Army and US Marine Corps

12 May 1944 Friday

USN

Pacific

Submarine Tautog (SS-199) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant collier No.2 Banei Maru off northeast Honshu, 40°01'N, 141°58'E.

Japanese transport Kasumi Maru is sunk by mine (probably Japanese) in Straits of Malacca, 03°50'N, 99°30'E.

Japanese river gunboat Saga is damaged by aircraft, South China Sea.

AAF

Eighth AF

800 B-17’s and B-24’s operating in 3 forces, bomb oil plants, other industrial tgts, M/Ys, A/Fs, and some unidentified T/Os at Merseburg, Lutzkendorf, Zeitz, Bohlen, Zwickau, Gera, Chemnitz, and Brux. An estimated 430 ftrs offer intense opposition. 46 HBs are lost.

Ninth AF

IX TCC carries out EAGLE, a full-scale exercise of the tactics and techniques of paradrop, glider tow, parapack in resupply, air landing of supplies, and medical evacuation as a dress rehearsal for the airborne invasion of Normandy. More than 450 MBs attack coastal defenses, A/Fs, bridges, railroads and railroad guns, and V-weapon sites in France and Belgium. Thick haze impedes visibility and causes many aborts.

Twelfth AF

A-20’s blast cmd posts along main battlefront as Allied ground forces seek to break through Gustav Line. MBs hit concentration near Fondi, attack forces at Vallecorsa and Pastena, and bomb numerous positions along main front. FBs pound cmd posts, guns, bridges, road and rail traffic, and troops along assault front and in rear areas, concentrating especially on the Monte Cassino Benedictine Abbey and surrounding area.

Fifteenth AF

Around 730 B-17’s and B-24’s (largest HB force used by Fifteenth AF on any day to this time) attack German HQs at Massa d’Albe and Monte Soratte; town of Civitavecchia; A/Fs at Tarquinia and in surrounding area; M/Ys at Chivasso, Piombino, Marina di Carrara, Viareggio, and Ferrara; Orbetello I; Piombino harbor; docks and comm at San Stefano al Mare; harbor, M/Y, and railroad bridge at Chiavari; La Spezia M/Y and harbor; and several T/Os. 26 P-38’s strafe Piacenza A/F. Other ftrs fly over 250 sorties in spt of bombing missions.

Tenth AF

24 A-31’s hit positions at Labawa and SSE of Maungdaw. 36 A-31’s hit villages around Bishenpur while 4 B-25’s strike at Tiddim road NNW of Tonzang. 50-plus B-25’s and FBs knock out railroad bridge at Pinbaw, pound gun positions and supply area at Myitkyina and hit defensive positions near Kazu-Tiangsup. 4 B-25’s damage Myothit bridge while 8 P-38’s bomb Kyaukye. 21 P-51’s hit A/Fs at Meiktila and Heho, claiming 8 interceptors downed. 4 B-25’s knock out bridge at Daga while 2 others bomb camp at Taungbaw.

Fourteenth AF

16 P-40’s and 11 B-25’s hit several tgts in S China and in Indochina. Military installations, arty positions, and tank concentrations are pounded in Yoyang area, a bridge and several trucks are damaged at Sienning, a naval vessel is attacked at Hong Kong, a radio station on Cat Ba I is bombed, and railroad yards, supply dump, and river junks are blasted in Phu Lang Thuong area.

Fifth AF

B-24’s bomb Mokmer A/F and attack tgts on Ceram, Amboina and Timor. A-20’s, B-25’s and FBs blast villages, coastal bridges and roads, vehicles, airstrip at Boram, and other tgts throughout WewakHansa Bay region.

Thirteenth AF

12 B-25’s and 20plus P-40’s and P-38’s pound Tobera airstrip and nearby personnel areas; some of the B-25’s returning from Tobera bomb Sohano I. 12 P-39’s and about 70 Navy SBD’s and TBF’s sink numerous barges throughout Rabaul area, especially at Simpson Harbor and Keravia Bay. Gun positions in Matupi area are also attacked.

Seventh AF

12 Makin-based B-25’s bomb Nauru. A single B-24 from Kwajalein bombs Jaluit.

Eleventh AF

1 B-24 reconnoiters and bombs Matsuwa I installations, concentrating on the A/F on Tagan Cape.

USA

NEW GUINEA—Charov outpost is withdrawn in order to strengthen base at Nyaparake. CBI—In NCAC area of Burma, K Force clashes with enemy near Tingkrukawng and is soon pinned down by superior numbers. Ch 38th Div is now able to maintain communications between its 114th and 112th Regts; 113th is approaching West Wala and Maran.

On Salween front, 198th Regt begins clearing Mamien Pass. 36th Div, Ch 53d Army, which is to clear Tatangtzu Pass, surrounds enemy outposts at E end of it; night counterattack forces 36th Div back to the Salween.

ITALY—AAI: Aircraft join in battle for Rome at dawn.

In U.S. Fifth Army’s II Corps area, enemy is resisting strongly and making determined counterattacks. Elements of 339th Inf, 85th Div, withstand attacks on S. Martino Hill and are passed through by 1st Bn, 337th, which completes capture of this feature. Co F, 339th, is isolated on M. dei Pensieri during enemy counterattack. 338th Inf makes another vain effort to drive up draw between S Ridge and S. Maria Ridge but takes Solacciano. Stiff opposition slows progress of 351st Inf, 88th Div, toward S. Maria Infante; Co F is isolated and wiped out. 350th Inf takes Ventosa village with ease and halts to await forward movement of French. In FEC area, 4th Moroccan Mtn Div, reinf by regt of 3d Algerian Div, tanks, and TD’s, clears Castelforte on left and assists 2d Moroccan Div on right. 2d Moroccan Div is unable to advance. 1st Motorized Div is committed on right flank; 4th Motorized Brig assisted by armor pushes N toward S. Andrea but makes little headway. Mtn Corps, consisting of 1st, 3d, and 4th Groups of Tabors, 1st Moroccan Inf of 4th Mtn Div, and 2d Bn of Algerian Arty Regt, follows 4th Moroccan Mtn Div into Castelforte.

In Br Eighth Army’s 13 Corps area, Ind 8th Div gains firm bridgehead on W bank of the Rapido and puts 2 bridges across the river, but Br 4th Div is unable to expand its small bridgehead. Pol 2 Corps, in Cassino area, seizes Phantom Ridge, NW of the Monastery, but is forced back to line of departure, where it remains for several days.

GERMANY—In powerful experimental blow at oil fields in central Germany to test enemy reaction, more than 800 heavy bombers of Eighth Air Force, escorted by U.S. and RAF fighters, attack oil plants at Zwickau, Merseburg–Leuna, Bruex, Leutzkendorf, Boehlen, and other points with 1,718 tons of bombs. Damage at Bruex, Boehlen, and Zeitz is so severe that the plants are temporarily put out of operation. Excellent results are also achieved at Merseburg–Leuna. German Air Force reacts violently and 46 bombers of Eighth Air Force and 10 Allied fighters are lost. Almost 200 enemy aircraft are claimed destroyed.

The Elusive Single Sheathed Bx-35

 

I posted a short note on working with a photo of the Fe-U donor car three years ago, you can see it and the 1944 railroad map here: https://northbaylines.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-fe-u-and-1944-railroad-map-ive-had.html

This is the before photo

But I still didn’t have a full view of a Bx-35 in the ‘40’s.

The Santa Fe converted it’s 500 car Fe-U class of 50’ single sheathed 10’2” inside height double door Automobile Cars to single door box cars between December 1939 and 1943.  The conversion was a simple one, sealing the left hand door and extending the lining to the center door post.  All 500 cars had the “Automobile” lettering removed and were re-classed as Bx-35 in the 150001-150500 series: 431 Fe-U’s from the 66201-66700 series in 1940, 51 in the 67261-67311 series in 1942, and the final 17 engine carrying cars in the 6200-6217 series in 1943.

 Photos abound of Bx-35s after they were rebuilt with steel bodies in 1953-54, but are scarce as hen’s teeth after conversion, but before rebuilding.  When John Dobyne wrote his 2001 Santa Fe Boxcar book, the only available single sheathed photo was same the Fe-U builder’s photo used in Hendrickson’s 1997 Furniture and Automobile Boxcar book.  Ironically, that book did contain a partial view of a single sheathed Bx-35.  On page 80, the intro photo for the WWII period Auto Cars was a Jack Delano photo of Fe-22 7114 with a load of hay in front of the Kansas City Live Stock Exchange.  Tantalizingly coupled to its right is a partial view of Bx-35 150312.  Visible are the left three single sheathed panels and most of the sealed left hand door, but not the door hardware or center post. 

 

https://loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8d15156/

 

This evening, I was looking through some photos that I’d obtained from Stan Kistler for something else and discovered a Bx-35.  W.C. Whittaker captured ATSF 1261 about to come off the Muir trestle westbound and enter Valley Division tunnel 2 on 14 April 1946.  When I enlarged the photo to look at the locomotive’s tunnel smoke deflector, my eyes drifted back along the consist to GN 46930 behind the tender with a tank car conveniently between it and the next car.  The tank gave a line of sight to the car number stenciled on the A end of the single sheathed apparently double door car, A.T.S.F. 150179.  I’m pretty sure Will wasn’t even thinking of the rare bird he bagged that post-war, mid-April day, and I don’t know if Stan noticed it either when he added it to his collection.  I certainly didn’t when I obtained a copy to get another view of the massive steel trestle.  But I’m grateful that they captured and preserved that rare piece of Santa Fe freight car history that day almost 80 years ago.  Sometimes you find the darndest things in the background. 

 

W.C. Whittaker Photo, Collection of Stan Kistler

 

John Barry

Lovettsville, VA

15 August 2023

78 years to the day after the Japanese people heard their Emperor’s voice as he broadcast an offer to surrender and end WWII.

Follow the Money – The War Production Board Mailing List

 

You have surely heard the old saying that if you want to know what’s going on, follow the money.  This find is a result of that.  Not in the dollars and cents aspect, but from the arcane bureaucracy that came from government regulation of the economy during the WWII emergency.  Capitalism and centrally controlled economies are more than a tad incompatible, but total mobilization to win WWII tipped the scale toward the latter.  The agency responsible for deciding who got what resources and what they got made into was the War Production Board.  To do this, they had to keep track of what industry was doing, so they collected data, reams and reams of it.  But before the internet, the favored means of communication was the US Mail.  Industry had to provide periodic reports that told the WPB how many widgets they made that period, what resources they consumed, etc.  But to make sense of all that, it had to be provided in a standardized format so the WPB clerks could aggregate the info from A.A.A. Mfg. Co., through Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corp. to J.A. Zurn Mfg. Co. 

 

Why did I mention AAA and JA Zurn with the likes of Ford and GM?  Because the WPB needed info from every plant using controlled materials and they are the first

and last entries

 in the Mailing List for Form WPB-732, Plant Report of Operations.

This mailing list allowed the WPB clerks to send out the blank forms and allow us, 80 years hence, to see a large cross section of plants supporting the war effort.  It’s not complete, lacking direct reference to the Army and Army Air Force depots or Petroleum companies, but it does have 135 pages of manufacturers, and their plant mailing addresses.  The data on the pages is explained on the cover page:

OK, but what did these plants make?  For that, we need a not so super secret decoder ring, the Industry Classifications from the 1939 Census of Manufacturers.

So, for our first entry, AAA Mfg Co, their industry code is 1611, which is in the Electrical Equipment group, Group 16, specifically a manufacturer of wiring devices and supplies. 

They are in Waltham, MA, which falls in Region 1 for labor markets, with an area code of 017

 

 

And that is the Boston-Quincy area as shown on the following map from the back of the mailing list:

 

The Mailing List is available on Google Books at

https://books.google.com/books?id=_jLiav3U0fMC&newbks=0&dq=MAILING%20LIST%20FOR%20FORM%20WPB&pg=PP6#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

while the Industry Classifications is available on Google Books https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadOAct7IDmfOFVVtZt4gg1ddDe3XcFDYIIPkb0gycya3iMXQ2nsIkqgsmOwgRXxA8s3f9RxZ2LAW-mm11QZCFlHJklKBLCq0eMqURQohtH0jXBJRj6Yx_PGZIeP7MLm1ThkpLHqWk9J9nWNAH20cNETb8NENaKgsGDMkV4HQ8unzHVgU85bniOhbhCzSB4r2eaSqF6GgV67JbtEq1lmwBSbTRZG65ovdtoeuetot6g4iKzQDog0hT8-WN8KhIYE8vo1dmNzxE9NwVoYhq575RG8m_g2nw

 

I hope that you find this WWII industry information helpful.

 

John Barry

Lovettsville, VA

28 January 2023

House car distribution on the Santa Fe 1929-43

About ten years ago, I discovered a document at the California State Railroad Museum Library that was apparently a justification for an authority for expenditure to revitalize the railroad at the end of WWII.  Among the hundreds of pages related to weight of rail and traffic on certain segments, tonnage ratings for the various districts and a myriad of other info that supported the business plans, were a couple of tables showing the house car fleet.  These tables showed how many Santa Fe box, automobile and refrigerator cars where at home and off line each month from January 1929 to December 1943.  They also showed how many foreign cars of those types were present on Santa Fe rails over the same time period.  With those three numbers, we can calculate the total Santa Fe fleet on those dates, the number of cars of each type on Santa Fe rails, the percentage of the Santa Fe fleet at home and away, and the percentage of Santa Fe and Foreign cars on Santa Fe rails.  Gilbert and Nelson have described a theoretical distribution of free running freight cars where they postulate that the percentages of foreign road cars on a railroad are approximated by the relative totals of cars owned by the various railroads in the US car fleet.  The percentage of home road cars varied by year.  The data in this document show how that percentage varied through the Great Depression into the peak traffic years of WWII.  Due to the vastly different economic conditions, straight percentages won’t be accurate for what you would see in typical freight trains.  During the Depression, many freight cars were stored, traffic was way down, and lots of older cars were eventually scrapped or rebuilt and not available for use, but were in the home road totals until they were disposed of.  That said, there was an absolute higher percentage of home road cars in use on line during the Depression than during the traffic crunch of WWII.  

The Santa Fe Reefer fleet.

The Santa Fe Reefer fleet began 1929 with 18,177 cars, peaked in June 1931 with 18,798 before contracting to 14,080 cars in Jun 1937.  It ended 1943 with 14,687 cars.  In January 1929 4204 or 23% of the fleet was on foreign lines while 1471 foreign reefers were on the Santa Fe or about 10% of the reefers on home rails.  That percentage of foreign cars dropped to 4% in May and July of 1930.  The numbers of foreign reefers show annual spikes around November, but remain consistently low both in number and percentage on Santa Fe lines until the wartime traffic increase with a peak of 8898 cars or 48% of the reefers on line in July of 1943.   

Santa Fe retired many of its truss rod reefers in the mid 30’s resulting in a decline in numbers to around 14,000.  

 

The percentage of foreign reefers remained fairly consistent through 1936 , then began increasing as the economy recovered and wartime demand called for utilization of every available rail car.  These numbers comport with the long held image of nearly pure SFRD reefer blocks on the Santa Fe, at least in the Depression era.  SFRD business practice of providing its own reefers for loading whenever available contributed to the low percentage of foreign cars.  ICC car service orders changed the distribution during the war years.

 

The traffic increased with more foreign cars providing a greater share of the on-line cars.

 

The foreign portion seen on the Santa Fe during the depression averaged less than 10% of reefers on-line with slight seasonal bumps.  Starting in 1937, the percentages steadily increased with larger seasonal peaks.  

If you are a Depression Era Santa Fe modeler, you don’t need many foreign reefers.  And many of those should be meat reefers, of which the Santa Fe/SFRD had very few.  Not so if you model the WWII era.  In addition to the commercial meat reefer fleet, you will need a fair number of competitor’s reefers such as PFE, FGEX, ART and others.  

I’ll address the box and auto cars in future posts.

John Barry,

Lovettsville, VA

US Refineries in the 40’s

 

Back in June, Dave Parker posted a document to the Steam Era Freight Car list that listed the petroleum refineries as of 1948.  As Dave stated in his post, he thought it might be helpful to fellow steam era modellers.  I found it helpful, but thought there could be a better reference for my 1944 modelling era.  The title of Dave’s Report was Information Circular 7483, Petroleum Refineries, including Cracking Plants in the United States, January 1, 1948.  The US government publishes all sorts of helpful information on the industries it regulates or have impacts on our economy and national security.  You just need to know what to look for, and Dave’s post put me on track to solve what to me had been a mystery of the origins of the loads arriving at Port Chicago in November 1944.  http://northbaylines.blogspot.com/2012/09/interchanges-2-port-chicago.html

 

An internet search led me to locate several versions of the circular from the ‘20s and later.  Information restrictions during WWII apparently restricted or halted publication during the war years, but I did find the 1941 and 1947 versions that bracket my time of interest.  Thanks to my Library of Congress reader card, I was able to download each report in its entirety at one shot, rather than the page by page method I had to employ before I got the card.  Once I had the reports, I transcribed the refinery information into an Excel spreadsheet.  I simplified my data into single columns for crude and cracking capacity for each year yielding 4 data columns rather than 12.  If an operating plant had capacity shut down or under construction, only the operating capacity is shown.  Similarly only shut down capacity is shown if there was construction at a shut down plant.  The capacities are shown as follows: operating in black, shutdown in red, and under construction in grey.  In another project, I’ve been transcribing the April 1944 Official List of Open and Prepaid Stations.  I’ve added which railroads served the cities where the refineries are located.  I omitted steamship and barge carriers, as the coastwise shipping was shutdown during the war and I didn’t have an interchange with a water carrier.  The list of railroads and the abbreviations used is included as a spreadsheet in the Excel file.  That sheet also has the 1944 Railway Accounting Codes that were required as header information on each company’s waybills.  As a Coast Lines Santa Fe modeler, I am sensitive to the fact the Santa Fe had four distinct operating companies with different Code Numbers in my operating era: Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, AT&SF, 22; Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Coast Lines, ATCL, 30; Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe, GC&SF, 315; and Panhandle & Santa Fe, P&SF, 617.

 

The four refineries supported by my layout are listed below:

PLANT	CITY	ST	41 CRUDE CAP	47 Crude Capy	TYPE	41 CRACKED CAPY	47 Crack Capy
Tidewater Associated Oil Co	Avon	CA	43600	60900	Comp	8000	11100
Shell Oil Co Inc	Martinez	CA	26500	45000	Comp	6200	8050
Union Oil of California	Oleum	CA	30000	60000	Comp	3500	6500
Standard Oil Co of California	Richmond	CA	100000	125000	Comp	11500	25100

 

That is a small example of the data contained in the 656 entries in the spreadsheet.  You can also filter by railroad.  For instance the Atlantic Coast Line served three cities with refineries:

Mexican Petroleum Corp of Georgia	Savannah	GA
Standard Oil Co of New Jersey	Charleston	SC
The Texas Co	Norfolk	VA

 

That doesn’t necessarily mean that ACL served the refinery, though, as C&O, N&W, NS, PRR, SAL, Sou, and VgnRy also served Norfolk and only one or two of those roads would have directly served the plant. 

 

I’ve placed a copy of the Excel file my 1940s US refineries folder on Google Drive at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gG7PrXx2Zr8kjw-HWmYeLieVgY0pxdGX?usp=sharing

 along with a PDF listing of the refineries sorted by City and State.  The files are ©2022 John C Barry.  You may download for your personal use, but for commercial use, contact me at NorthBayLines@att.net.

 

John Barry,

Lovettsville, VA

7 August 2022