W&LE Freight Car Fleet of 1926
I have an interest in freight cars and marvel over the advances made in freight car construction between 1919 and the end of the steam era in the late 1950s. The late 1926 period I am concentrating on for this layout is fascinating as steel-sheathed box cars are just gaining a foothold on the US freight car fleet. The Wheeling & Lake Erie fleet is also quite interesting and a number of freight cars will be challenging to build and produce. A review of the 1925 and 1926 Official Railway Equipment Registers offer a good picture of the W&LE fleet. These ORER volumes are available on disc from two vendors. Donald R.Hensley, Jr., offers the October 1926 ORER. Al Westerfield offers a 1925 ORER.
Several W&LE Official Railway Equipment Register entries can be reviewed at the Alphabet Route website.
From these sources, I compiled the W&LE freight car data for the late 1926 period. Images or links to images are included to illustrate the prototypes. References to the two John Corns books on the railroad, W&LE V1 and V2, are also noted.
Hopper Cars: all steel
55001-55500 : 497 cars known as Standard Steel Car Company channel rib cars. An HO scale model is available from Westerfield. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 119.
FL5001-FL5400 : 301 cars originally from DL&W and very similar to the above series of hoppers. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 119.
59000-59999 : 992 cars similar to the PRR GLa style, but with longitudinal hoppers. Prototype images can be found in Corns’ W&LE V1, p 58 and V2, p 119. Here’s an image from an Enterprise Manufacturing ad in the 1916 Car Builders Cyclopedia. Note the longitudinal hopper doors. These will complicate the process of getting cars rolling quickly.
60000-60499 : 494 cars with ORER specifications similar to the previous series of hoppers. No image known.
77000-77999 : 1000 cars similar to PRR H21 and B&O W-1 class 70 -ton hoppers, but originally built with longitudinal hoppers. These were rebuilt in the early 1930s with a more traditional sawtooth hopper configuration. Image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V1, p 58. An image from the 1919 Car Builders Cyclopedia is displayed below. Again, longitudinal hopper doors.
Total hoppers: 3284
Box Cars
18000-18305 : 1 car of 34-foot length. Double-sheathed wood construction with truss rods is suspected. No image known.
20000-20251 : 2 cars of 36-foot length. Double-sheathed wood construction with truss rods is suspected. No image known.
21000-21499 : 1 car of 36-foot length. Double-sheathed wood construction with truss rods is suspected. No image known.
21500-21599 : 16 cars of 36-foot length. Noted with steel centersill. Possibly a double-sheathed wood car.
22000-22399 : 287 cars of 35-foot, 8-inch length. A steel centersill and double-sheathed wood car. Prototype images can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 114 and 115.
25000-25999 : 1000 cars of the 1923 ARA standard box car design. Prototype images can be found in Corns’ W&LE V1, p 59 and V2, p 115. Extensive detail on this box car design can be found in Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Volume 18. Here’s an image of a couple HO scale models produced by Red Caboose. On the left is a W&LE 25000 series box car awaiting proper paint and lettering. On the right is a PRR X29 box car. Both box cars are representative of the ARA 1923 Proposed Standard box car design.
27000-27999 : 1000 cars built by Western Car & Foundry. Single-sheathed wood construction with staggered doors and Vulcan vertical corrugated metal ends. Prototype images can be found in Corns’ W&LE V1, p 58 and 59. One of these cars survived into the 21st century. W&LE modeler Dean Payne took the image below in Warren, Ohio in 2005. Note the vertical corrugated ends. Thanks to Dean for the use of his image.
28000-28034 : 35 cars of 36-foot length. No image known.
29000-29199 : 198 automobile box cars. Single-sheathed wood construction with staggered doors. I am uncertain if these cars also sported Vulcan vertical corrugated metal ends. Prototype images can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 115 and a prototype image can be seen at the Fallen Flags website.
Total box cars: 2540
Gondolas
40000-40500 : 1 car of 35-foot 7-inch length. Wood construction.
43000-43999 : 5 cars of 36-foot length. Wood construction. Remainder of original AC&F cars built in 1905. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 116.
R6000-R6099 : 100 cars of 41-foot length. All steel construction. I wonder of the ‘R’ prefix in this number series indicates the cars were equipped with coke racks.
52000-53899 : 1900 cars of 41-foot length. All steel construction with ORER specifications similar to the previous series of gondolas. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 117.
51000-51999 : 1000 cars of USRA composite gondola design. Drop bottom doors. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 117. An image of a very similar HO scale Hocking Valley gondola model can be seen below. This model is produced by Intermountain.
70000-70599 : 597 cars of 46-foot length. 70-ton capacity, all-steel construction and 3-foot interior height. The W&LE cars are the alleged prototype for the USRA mill gondola design. A prototype image can be found in Corns’ W&LE V2, p 111. A prototype image of W&LE mill gon 70443 can be seen on the Fallen Flags website.
HO scale USRA mill gondolas are available to use for W&LE models. Walthers produces a plastic version and Westerfield produces a well detailed resin kit. Here’s an HO scale Walthers USRA mill gondola lettered for the New York Central.
72000-72999 : 1000 cars of 46-foot length. 70-ton capacity, all-steel construction and 4-foot 4-inch interior height built by Standard Steel Car Company. No image known.
Total gondolas: 4603
Flat Cars
2001-2100 : 1 car of 37-foot length and 40-ton capacity.
2200-2699 : 112 cars of 36-foot 5-inch length and 40-ton capacity. These were possibly converted from the 43000 series gondolas. Or possibly converted from 54000 series stock cars?
Total flat cars: 113
Stock Cars
54000-54099 : 18 cars of 36-foot 5-inch length.
Cabooses
104 on roster with no details offered in ORER. A prototype image of a W&LE caboose can be seen at the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society website.
Some may find all of these details tedious, but I find these details help me as a modeler to understand what will need to be built to best reflect the 1926 W&LE fleet. Take note that the totals of W&LE hoppers, box cars, and gondolas comes to 10427 freight cars. A small fleet of cars can be built as a representative proportion of the three main W&LE freight car types. For instance, if my fleet needs 20 W&LE cars it should include nine gondolas, six hoppers, and five box cars. These 20 cars may only represent a third or a fourth of the full fleet of freight cars on the model railroad. The remaining portions will be filled with common cars of other railroads, many of which were some of the larger of the eastern railroads; NYC, PRR, B&O, ERIE, NKP and more.
Understanding the home freight car fleet is a good first step. Along the way I’ve also taken note of many other common freight cars of the mid-1920s. I hope to share more detail here soon.