Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1907-03-06
fse1 Steel Box Car.

After experimenting with steel fiat
cars and steel passenger. postal. bag'
gage and Pullman cars. railroad off
esals are devoting their attntion now
10 Steel box cars. and IL Ii likely this;
large contracts viii be awarded
shortly by some Of the largest rail-
ruad systems In the eountry for his
class 81 equipment, Eastern railroad
officials have been In Omaha inspect
ing the e steel box car just com
pletsh at the Omaha shops by the
Union Pacific. II Is the first steel
box ear ever built. and vas construct
cd largely as a sample. The car has
a capacity Of 100. 900 pounds. II Is y"
fee, long over its sill ends and eight
feet ten and one-half inches wide over
,ha side slrts, The height inside IL
seven fee; ten inches. II Is 50 buif
as to carry full capacity OF the lighter
graius-corn. rye and barley, tn"
weigh, IL but $3.50 pounds. while h
wooden car Of the same size weighs
% O pounds. Il Is hoped to furthei
reduce the weight.
There 10 only one center sill. when
Il made of a l5-ineh 4e-pound. J.
beam, and this extends II inches be-
vona the center OF the body bolster.
At this point i2.inch. 90 l.? pound
channels are riyeted to the web OF
the center sill and they extend out.
forming the draft timbers n arr
epaced IL rs inches apart back "a
hack Of the channels. The end sill Is
an S.inch II IA pound channel and to
this Is riveted a steel casing which
supports tin outer end Of the couple
The new box car weighs about !"
per cent Jess than the standard box
car now used on the Hartman lines
but the two cars have practically the
same dimensions. the difference ir
cubic capacity being only about 81
feet. This saving OF weight Is ac
complished largely by the using "I
only one center sill and designing the
side frames az efficient plate girders
of considerable length.
The body framing OF the wooden
car has already been more or less 81
a failure as a truss to carry that par
OF the load between holsters. TIL
combination Of green timber and i'm
perfect fitting usually results In d
side frame which carries little O.
none Of the load after a few months
of service. but the steel car. the sides
having all the members rigidly at
tached to each other. supports ?
great deal OF the load which woul
otherwise be carried by the longi' ~
nal stills.
One or two other roads which have
been experimenting with the stee
box cars have instructed their mo
tive power officials to watch careful
~ the experiments with the new ca
built by the Union Pacific, and upon
the result of these Investigations will
depend largely what action Is to be
taken by the various roads in con
struction of the new class OF equiv
ment.
The new box car Is considered BY
motive power experts as the extreme
development Of the steel car. and the>
think 1t strange that the experiment
os building a box car with a stee
hodv has not been tried before. for II
L. only a short step from the higf
steel gondola to the box car. some
officials have not thought 1t import
ant that the steel construction should
he carried above the underframe' ou'
,hev now realize that this can De dont
TO good advantage. -,
Railroad officials realize that it VII
cost more to repair the steel car
than The present equipment but 'hes
,;enre that repairs will not be re
- ntfan