History is the search for information that was once readily available.
It is interesting that when that historical moment was the present, all of the information we, as modelers could want, was readily available. Now, more than 100 years later, we scour photos, drawings, books and any other resource we can find to understand even the basics of what was.
How did the railroad manage trains in 1907? What color were the stations painted in 1898? What were the boxcar roofs made of?
This latter question has recently been debated, again, on the Maine On2 Yahoo! group. The group is a great asset, as it prompts me to consider and question my direction on designing and building. When the construction of the boxcar roofs surfaced again, I turned to Google, the library and other information outlets. There are great pictures on the On2 group that show metal sheathing on the top of 1898 Sandy River boxcars, and comments that the B&SR cars were sheathed as well.
Was this the way it was at the beginning, when the first cars were built, or sometime later on, as in the sheathing was added as a maintenance effort? A great publication I found is “Boxcars-The Roof Problem,” by Randy Hess, which indicates that metal sheathed roofs did not become commonplace until the 1890s. The comment is that they were not commonplace until the ’90s, which means the application was started sometime earlier.
Were the Maine narrow gauge builders, such as Laconia, at the forefront of this movement, the forefront of this new technology? That appears to be the opinion of some on the group, and there is material to substantiate this within a certain timeframe. For myself, it is a matter of time. Did the first boxcar out of Laconia have a double wooden roof, which was commonplace in 1883, or a single wood with metal sheathing, the abnorm?
I don’t have the final answer, as I only have a photo of the interior of a B&SR boxcar (below) which shows it had the typical board roof, but it doesn’t tell me whether or not there was another layer of wood planking on top of it, or metal sheet. There are photos within Jones’ book, on pages 208, 209 and 218 which show wooden roofs on the boxcars. Based upon the end view of one of the boxcars, I would surmise the cars were built with double sheathed wood plank roofs.
Maybe, at sometime in the future, a piece of history will materialize that shows all of the construction details of the B&SR boxcars. Until then, with regards to my modeling, I am going to build at least some of my B&SR boxcars with double plank wooden roofs and consider others with metal roofs, as it does add additional detail and character to the cars and I like that. I will mull it over.
Just wondering where the picture is below . After studying and building a / many 1/13.7 scale models and visiting real cars I think single layer of wood on the roof . These cars were also built cheaply , so why waste money on more wood . At the SRRL site there are good pics of the roof with tin missing showing wood .
Just looked at the pics on the pages you mention and if you look real careful they all show tin roofes ,it’s not wood you are looking at its metal . Mike
Thanks for commenting Mike. My apologies for a delayed response. I wanted to get one in before I flit off to two weeks of business travel, at the end of which I look forward to regaining my free time to dedicate to continued research.
I pulled out the magnifying glass and some other reference material and I agree with you. The pictures I cited, along with a few great rooftop photos in MacDonald’s “In Quest of Maine Narrow Gauge (1938-1950)” show the cars photographed with sheet metal roofs. MacDonald’s photos on pages 11 and 13 are very clear in the seam details.
So, I concede that the B&SR boxcars had sheet metal roofs at the end of their B&SR/B&H lives. I am, however, still unsure of whether or not they started out with them, especially those built in 1882. The technology was still uncommon at that time and the tin/steel/etc. could have been easily added as part of maintenance.
The cars, all of them to various degrees, changed over time. Between paint colors, coupler styles, ladders and grab irons and brakes, the equipment was upgraded as resources and improvements became available. I have a bit more research to do before I settle in on all or some having sheet metal. It would be great to find some indication that the cars were upgraded around the time I am modeling and run cars with wood and sheet metal. That would certainly add character to the fleet. I could also just cite “creative license” and do it anyhow.
Regarding the picture I have from inside, I will have to search my digital collection and find it. It shows the typical period construction of longitudinal stringers with boards running from the central (peak) stringer to the side of the car. Unfortunately, to my recollection, it did not offer an indication of metal or not. I will have to find it, as if a board or two was missing, it may give insight into a single of double roof.
I would like to offer an opinion though: I would not be inclined to refer to the equipment as being built “cheaply.” Inexpensive, with respect to the standard gauge equipment, yes, but not cheap. The equipment was built by the same builders of standard gauge equipment, with all the same methods and materials. The savings came through reduction in material usage and labor on the smaller cars. I would not say they were the IKEA or Wal-Mart products of the day.
Regards,
Rick Uskert
Hi Rick,
I’ve just found a photo in one of my old disk backups which shows B&SR Boxcar #64 loaded onto a Laconia owned flatcar for delivery.
This would be sometime in 1905.
The picture is sufficiently detailed to show the tin squares on the edges of the roof.
Terry
Rick,
you may wish to read message #12892 on the Maine On2 Yahoo! group.
Good luck with your determinations, and remember that if you want to model gaps in your planked roof models then that’s your choice,
Terry