The IT had a number of otherwise conventional boxcars that were equipped with "double-jointed" couplers so as to negotiate tight-clearance curves in such cities as Bloomington, Illinois. Question: were these cars suitable for interchange with steam roads?
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BaltOhio wrote:If you have specific car numbers or number series, post them and I can check old Ry. Equipment Registers to see if they are listed as being suitable for interchange. I have Registers going into the late 1940s, but nothing newer than that.Unfortunately I have no numbers, but thanks for offering to help.
There are photos of IT Boxcars with extended draft gear for sharp curves in Dale Jenkins' book " The Illinois Terminal Railroad" They were built new in 1942, apparently for captive service. It does appear the coupler shank could be extended for sharp curves, or retracted for normal operation. The car numbers were ITC 8000 - 8009
Pete Schmidt
Pete Schmidt
Peter Schmidt
Hmm....things get complicated. My 7/46 Equipment Register shows IT #8000-8099 (92 cars at that date) as 38'5" (outside length) XM boxcars with "steel underframes", which presumes a wood carbody. (Otherwise the listing would show "all steel", as many IT boxcars were.) The same group shows up in my 1939 Register. So was there a second 8000-series in the 1940s, or a renumbering? In any event, none of the IT's rather large fleet of freight cars in this period shows any interchange restrictions in the ER listings.