K109 - Wabash Single Sheathed Automobile Cars
Between 1923 and 1929, the Wabash and its subsidiary the New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois (NJI&I) purchased over 6,000 single sheathed automobile cars. These cars were the backbone of the fleet through the 1940s until large numbers of new steel box cars were built and purchased. These cars were the signature car of the Wabash from the 1920s into the 1950s and could be seen all over the country in a variety of services, including some in specialized service for the auto and farm implement industries.
The first Wabash cars were delivered in 1925. These 1,000 cars (40000-40999, built by AC&F) used Murphy ends with three panels with five corrugations in the upper two panels and six in the lower one. The Murphy radial roof and top-supported wood doors were used. These cars had an inside width of 8'6", an inside height of 10'0", and a door opening of 11'0".
The next group of cars were similar, but had an inside width of 9'0" and a door opening of 11'0-½". These cars all still used the Murphy ends and Murphy radial roof. The doors varied as some used the top-supported wood doors while others were equipped with Youngstown top-supported steel doors. The cars with wood doors were in the series 45000-45399 and 46002-46999. The cars in the series 45400-45999 used a mixture of both wood and steel doors (the doors on individual cars were not mixed.)
Cars built beginning in 1927 (47000-47999) used Dreadnaught ends with three panels with three main corrugations in each panel. Also, the steel doors used Camel no. 50 fixtures which had the rollers on the bottom. The Murphy radial roof was retained.
In 1928 two major changes were implemented: the door opening was increased to door opening of 12'0-½" and the inside height was increased to 10'3" or 10'4". The trademark Murphy radial roof was retained and the Dreadnaught ends remained the same, but with a slightly larger “flat” area at the top of the end. Slightly over 2,000 cars of this type were constructed in 1928 and 1929 and were assigned to the series 48000-49199 and 49200-49699 (10'4" IH) and 17000-17299 (10'3" IH and Dreadnaught end doors.)
The cars of the NJI&I closely followed the design of the earliest Wabash cars, using the Murphy ends and having an inside width of 8'6". However, they were delivered with the Hutchins Dry Lading roof, making them look a little different. There were 150 cars in the 2000-2149 series with an inside height of 10'6" that were built in 1923. There were also 200 cars built in 1925 by AC&F in the 3000-3199 series. These cars had an inside height of 10'0". Most of the cars in the 3000 series were converted to single door cars with a 6'0" door opening and placed in the 78000-78199 series.
These cars were modified and used in many different services throughout their lives. The big changes were the replacement of the wood sheathing with steel on the cars in the 45400-46001 series. The Wabash also convereted 600 cars to stock cars in 1933-1934. Both the Wabash and NJI&I converted cars to box cars with six-foot door openings. These converted cars were assigned to 74000-74352 on the Wabash and 78000-78199 on the NJI&I. There were also many cars assigned to specific services such as tractor loading, automobile parts, and automobile engines. There were specific stencils on the cars to indicate these services (included on the decal sheet.)
More versions to follow in the future including stock car and 10'4" IH cars (but not immediately.)
| K109.1 - Wabash Single Sheathed Auto Car Murphy ends, wood doors |
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> $40.00
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| K109.2 - Wabash Single Sheathed Auto Car Murphy ends, top-supported steel doors |
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> $40.00
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| K109.3 - Wabash Single Sheathed Auto Car Dreadnaught ends, bottom-supported steel doors |
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> $40.00
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