Category Archives: Rolling Stock

SNY Boxcar

August 6, 2013 21:30 | 1 Comment |

boxcar-1A one-of-a-kind piece of SNY rolling stock is this unique boxcar, listed on the October, 1940 ORER as a “wrecking car, maintenance of way”. In this late-1930’s or early 1940’s view, the car is clearly marked “MW”, or maintenance of way, and is long out of revenue service. 35 years earlier, however, the car was numbered with four other similar cars (302-305) as being in revenue service, per a 1905 ORER.

I inquired about the origin of this car on the Steam Era Freight Car group on Yahoo, and received a number of very detailed responses about the possible provenance of this car, prior to SNY ownership. The most completely researched response was from Mr. Eric Lombard, who believes this car is most likely a former Philadelphia and Reading class XMk boxcar. The XMk class numbered some 4000 cars, and had an inside length of 36’0″, inside width of 8’6″, and inside height of 8’0″. More information, including drawings and builders’ photos, can be found in “Philadelphia & Reading Freight Cars 1900-1914, Freight Cars Journal Monograph #36, by Eric Neubauer. (Unfortunately out of print.) The car rides on Theilsen archbar trucks, and was built either by Standard Steel Car or ACF sometime between July 1905 and January 1908. Original door on the SNY car has been replaced by a Youngstown steel door, and additional steps and grabirons placed to allow easier access to the interior of the car for MoW service.

F&C sells a similar, but later, XMp class car as a resin kit: http://fandckits.com/HOFreight/8194.html

I may have to obtain one of these kits as a stand-in for SNY #303. Someday…

UPDATE 5/7/16: Ray Breyer has composed a series of .PDF files summarizing the up-coming release of 36-foot double-sheathed boxcars from Accurail: Accurail Prototype Data Sheets

In the 1700 Series data sheet is a notation that S&NY #303 was former Reading XMk 2784, built 11/21/07 and sold to the S&NY 3/9/36 for $200. This information can also be found in the .PDF related to the XMk series compiled by John W. Hall at The Reading Modeler, p. 113.

Posted in: Boxcars, Rolling Stock | Tagged: ,

SNY Hopper Car

July 29, 2013 21:31 | Leave a Comment |
Bill Caloroso - Cal's Classics

Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics

The Susquehanna & New York Railroad rostered a fairly large number of revenue cars for its size. The 1906 ORER states the SNY had 212 items of revenue rolling stock, including 4 box cars, 20 hopper cars, and 80 (!) flat cars. By 1940, however, the number of revenue cars had dwindled to 32. Among these remnants was a series of 10 50-ton capacity hopper cars numbered 1423 -1432. I inquired about this car on the Steam-Era Freight Car group on Yahoo, and received a number of well-researched replies, including a detailed message from the late Bob Karig, noted hopper car expert.

Per that discussion, it seems that this car is one of ten pre-USRA cars bought second-hand from the New York Central in 1940. It was part of a lot manufactured for the NYC by Standard Steel Car Company in 1917, and was an evolution from was called the 1905 Common Design. This car pre-dated the “standard” USRA twin hopper design. Consequently, there is no accurate model of this car in any scale. Al Westerfield mentioned in the Yahoo group discussion that he had wanted to develop a resin model of this type of car, but never got to it.

According to Kaseman’s book, the hoppers were sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority after abandonment in 1942.

I will need a handful of these cars for my model version of the SNY, but I will probably never get around to scratchbuilding them. I will probably settle for Bowser GLa cars as a stand-in. Perhaps Bowser might be interested in doing a run with SNY lettering…Also note the distinctive Bettendorf T-section trucks, as an aside.

Bill Caloroso - Cal's Classics

Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics

Here are a couple more of these cars in Marsh Hill yard, probably during the winter of 1941-42.

 

Posted in: Hopper cars, Rolling Stock | Tagged: ,

Combination Car #206

July 18, 2013 23:21 | 3 Comments |

Part of the fascination of shortline railroads is that they often rostered “unique” one-off or homebuilt equipment. The Susquehanna & New York Railroad was no different in this regard. Among the SNY’s unique equipment is baggage-passenger car #206, a car with a very singular, and tragic, history.

In 1925-26, the SNY was the testing ground for an experimental type of gas-powered mechanically-driven passenger and baggage motor-car built by the Smalley Rail Car Company, of Davenport Iowa. By the early 1920’s, railroads were already losing passengers, and money, to new-fangled automobiles like the Model-T Ford. Railroads sought to save money by using motor-cars, rather than dedicated steam locomotive powered trains, on lightly-patronized branchlines. Motor cars could be run with just 2 or 3 crew members, rather than a complete crew of 5 that a regular train would require; and gasoline engines had improved to the point where operating and maintenance savings could be realized over the operational costs of labor- and maintenance-intensive steam engines.

The SNY, probably hoping such savings could be applied to their bottom line, took delivery of the Smalley car in 1925:

"New Gasoline Rail Car Developed", Railway Age Vol. 79, No. 26. Dec 26, 1925. pp.1181-1185

“New Gasoline Rail Car Developed”, Railway Age Vol. 79, No. 26. Dec 26, 1925. pp.1181-1185

Smalley Rail Car article PDF

(Article PDF courtesy Charlie Marvin)

The motor-car was tested for a time on the SNY, with adjustments being made as necessary by the inventor, a Mr. Smalley. One day, while awaiting orders at Marsh Hill, Mr. Smalley climbed onto the roof of the car to make some inspection or adjustment to the exhaust. Unfortunately, he was subsequently knocked or fell from the car, and died of his injuries.

The SNY was later given the car, sans motors, as compensation for removing and shipping the gasoline engines back to Davenport. The SNY then numbered the car as combination baggage and passenger car 206, and used it as a standard car in regular service. The (former) motor-car is not listed on the 1926 ORER, but is listed on the 1938 and 1940 ORER with that number.

Bill Caloroso - Cal's Classics

Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics

Here is the car in regular passenger/baggage service at the Lehigh Valley station in Towanda. Note the front of the car when it was motorized is now the rear, with marker lights hung.

Bill Caloroso - Cal's Classics

Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics

This is a view of the interior of the car, occupied by (presumably) a crew member who does seem to appreciate being photographed. The car had a capacity of 50 passengers and a 19’8″ long baggage compartment. The region served by the SNY being so sparsely populated, I doubt the car ever carried more than a handful of passengers at any one time during its entire career.

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Marvin

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Marvin

Above is an excellent view of #206 provided by Charlie Marvin, taken at Newberry, PA July 5th, 1941. The large building in the distance (which still exists) is a portion of the Armour Leather Company complex in West Williamsport, PA.

Bill Caloroso - Cal's Classics

Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics

Finally, another photo of #206 in service, here trailing ten-wheeler 119 at Towanda. The Lehigh Valley station is in the background, and to the left is the stone former LV enginehouse.

After the demise of the SNY in 1942, #206 was sold to the Live Oak, Perry & Gulf, a shortline railroad in Florida. I have no information as to the car’s disposition after that.

Update 11/22/2016: Link to an excellent description of #206 during it’s time of service on the LOP&G, including a couple of photos (scroll down a bit on the page): LOP&G #206.

Posted in: Locomotives, Passenger Cars, Rolling Stock | Tagged: , , , , ,