40’ PLUG DOOR BOXCARS
Refrigerator cars and insulated boxcars are useful not only for keeping commodities cold, but also for protecting them from temperature extremes. The post-war increase in canned and bottled foods spurred production of insulated box cars with no means of refrigeration. At about the same time, the hinged doors used on refrigerator cars were being replaced by plug doors. While early refrigerator cars with hinged doors had door widths of only four or five feet; the majority of plug door cars had door widths of eight or nine feet. Since the adoption of plug doors coincided with the move to fifty-foot boxcars, forty-foot cars were not constructed in large numbers.
Compared to sliding doors, plug doors were expensive and complicated, so were only used when needed for a specific purpose. While the purpose was usually insulation, some cars were equipped with plug doors to provide a smooth interior surface for loading devices. A few railroads used them on grain cars, as they leaked less than sliding doors. Although not a concern for modelers, railroad rules prohibited moving boxcars with open plug doors. An open plug door was a clearance concern, as it added about six inches to the width of a boxcar and could be easily damaged by slack action.
Most plug door boxcars carried one of two mechanical designations:
XI- An insulated box similar in design to “XM”, but either wholly or partially insulated, not equipped either with ventilating devices or for refrigeration. A car equipped with loading devices carries a designation of “XLI”.
RB- Beverage, ice, water or vinegar refrigerator, similar in design to a bunker refrigerator, except that it is not equipped with ice bunkers and with or without ventilating devices. A car equipped with loading devices carries a designation of “RBL”.
Some cars could be fitted with charcoal or alcohol heaters, which were indicated by an “H” added to the mechanical designation.
“STATE OF MAINE” INSULATED BOXCARS
EASTERN SEABOARD MODELS
Thanks to Eastern Seaboard Models, N scale modelers now have an accurate model of the popular “State of Maine” boxcars. Introduced in 2010, it is a state-of-the-art model with body mounted couplers and an etched metal running board. It features a six-foot plug door, ventilators and underfloor heaters. The model is available in just about every paint scheme ever applied to these cars, with most schemes including variations for different eras. Each road name is discussed individually below:
BANGOR & AROOSTOOK (BAR)- In 1950, the Bangor and Aroostook received 300 class XIH boxcars from the Magor Car Company. Numbered 2000-2299, they were equipped with charcoal heaters under the floor and painted in the famous red, white and blue “State of Maine Products” scheme. In 1953, Pacific Car and Foundry delivered an additional 150 cars to the Bangor and Aroostook numbered 2300-2449. These cars were used primarily for hauling Potatoes. In the 60’s, the charcoal heaters had been removed from some of the cars. Other cars were modified to handle potatoes in bulk; renumbered 2500-2579, their mechanical designation had been changed to RBLH. The Equipment Registers note that their cubic capacity had been reduced by nearly half, and they were equipped with “Conveyers and controls for loading and unloading of potatoes in bulk”. In the winter of 1969-1970, much of the Maine potato harvest froze while sitting in Penn Central’s Selkirk yard. This was a devastating blow to Maine potato farmers, and ended the shipment of Maine potatoes by rail.
CANADIAN PACIFIC (CP)- Canadian Pacific acquired 1,400 type XIH boxcars to supplement their fleet of heated refrigerator cars. The first series of 500 cars (35000-35500) was delivered in 1959 with six-foot doors and charcoal heaters. Three subsequent series followed in 1961 (35501-35800) and 1962 (35801-36100, 165000-165299) with eight-foot doors and “Thermostatically controlled alcohol heaters”. The prototypes vary from the Eastern Seaboard models in a few details. However, the model is still a decent representation of the series with six-foot doors. The Atlas and Micro-Trains models could represent the later series with eight-foot doors, but lack the ventilators. In 1978, car number 35893 was painted in a “Mandarin Orange Express” scheme to publicize an expedited Vancouver to Toronto freight service. In 1979, forty cars from the original series had their charcoal heaters removed and were renumbered to 36300-36349.
NEW HAVEN (NH)- The New Haven’s fleet of 100 cars (45000-45099) was an add-on to the Bangor and Aroostook’s 1953 order from Pacific Car & Foundry. In order to cut costs, they wore the same State of Maine scheme. By 1966, the cars were no longer equipped with heaters. The 93 cars that made it to the Penn Central merger were numbered 350500-350592. At least 77 cars made it to Conrail, however none of my Equipment Registers (1/78, 1/79 and 7/81) list cars with Conrail reporting marks. The early years of Conrail were a chaotic time, and keeping track of obsolete rolling stock was certainly low on their list of priorities.
OKEE CORPORATION (OKEX)- Okee was a northeastern manufacturer of architectural supplies. In 1971, they acquired a fleet of former Bangor and Aroostook cars which were no longer equipped with heaters. Railcarphotos.com has photo of car 6033 at Brooklyn, New York in 1976.
It is stenciled: “Return to Bay West Paper Co. Agent MILW RR. Green Bay Wisc. via service route”.