I had a request for information about the Baggage-dormitory transition cars for the Hi-Level El Capitan, including underbody details, and when the skirting was removed from these cars. I only found a scale drawing of underbody detail from one source: Railroad Model Craftsman July 1973 p.34 Tracking the removal of car skirting: These baggage-dormitory transition cars came in three similar but not identical classes. How can we tell which cars had skirting when? “Portrait” broadside views of cars were generally taken when they were converted, such as when the transition “boot” was added to these cars to fit them for El Capitan. Many of the clear, dated photos of cars that have been published come from that “event”. The continuation or removal of skirting was not the kind of event to warrant any public announcement or deliberate photographic recording in a car “portrait.” However, there are many dated published general views of El Capitan which include an image of the baggage-dormitory transition cars, with or without skirting, but not close enough to read the car number and identify the car. An understanding of spotting characteristics allows identification of the car classes from photos taken a block or two away. The differences may seem subtle but they are based on the history of the cars. The six Hi-Level transition cars fall into three classes, 3477-3479, 3480-3481, and 3482. All of the cars were built as conventional height cars long before the Hi-Level El Capitan was planned, all with generally similar-appearing corrugated stainless steel sides. All six cars had the transition “boot” added for the 1956 creation of El Capitan, all have a conventional-level passenger-entry vestibule at the back end of the car side, under the transition boot, and all six have similar baggage-dormitory interior arrangements. In these major characteristics, the cars are similar. Of course, the most obvious feature, the transition “boot”, makes them unmistakably different from anything else. Now let us look at the differences. The first class, 3477-3479 was built by Pullman-Standard in 1947 as baggage-dormitory cars. Since the dormitory space was for the convenience of the crew and not to impress paying passengers, the cars have small windows, similar to the windows in the kitchen portion of dining cars, not the big broad “picture-windows” of coaches. Also, the baggage door is not over the car trucks but set back about 12 feet from the forward end of the car, a common arrangement for baggage doors. Any car with the high-level transition boot, small window and baggage door set back from the car end is in this class. Two other classes, 3480-3481 and 3482 were originally built in baggage-dormitory-COACH configuration. The cars had big wide windows for the paying passengers in the coach section. Also, putting three different kinds of interiors- baggage, dormitory and coach space- in one car, pushed the baggage door all the way to the front of the car sides, flush with the end of the car. The cars were converted to baggage-dormitory years before the Hi-Level conversion, with coach sections removed. but keeping the big-wide COACH WINDOWS and the baggage-door location. Any car with the hi-level transition boot, coach-style windows and a baggage-door jammed up against the front end of the car falls into one or the other of these two classes. Another spotting characteristic relates to car BUILDER. Budd introduced corrugated (fluted) stainless-steel cars made possible by its patented shot-welding process. The corrugations on Budd cars contributed to the structural integrity and strength of the car, and Budd used the corrugations on both sides and roofs, generally more finely spaced on the roof. As the stainless-steel trains and cars became popular, other builders copied the APPEARANCE of the “silver” cars, but they did not have the patented process that made the fluting an integral part of the car’s structure. The fluting was applied as a cosmetic surface on car sides, analogous to ornamental brick facing added to the front wall of a wood frame house, with less expensive slate shingles on the sides and back. Non-Budd cars with fluted sides generally did NOT have fluted roofs, and among the Hi-Level transition cars, only the 3480-3481 Budd-built cars have fluted roofs. There are subtle differences in the side fluting, as explained in “The Characteristics of Fluting,” in Southwestern Prototype Modeler January 1976 p.6. But a view from a block away allows one to identify what class a transition car falls into by its corrugated or non-corrugated roof. I used Microsoft Word to make a "table" of spotting characteristics of 3 classes of Hi-level Transition cars. But I could not get it to "paste" here and display properly. Sorry. Next: using these characteristics, we will trace the timeline of skirt removal on these cars, as well as giving a list of published photos, scale drawings and data.
A bibliography of published photos and plans of Hi-Level Transition cars (arranged as near as possible within each class by date of photography, to trace evidence of removal of car skirts) #3477-3479 built 1947 Pullman (high level end adapter added 1956) 82'10"length per 1957 Pass Eqpt Circular 1947 Builders photos, plans (as built without hi-level adapter), Pullman Std. Library,vol.I,p.91-94,XII scale drawings INCLUDING UNDERBODY DETAIL, before & after conversion Railroad Model Craftsman Jul73 p.34 Feb 1956 photo #3478, partial left side, as rebuilt coming from car shop, skirted Railroad Model Craftsman Jul73 p.34 late 1956? railroad publicity photo (runby of train, posed for camera?) shows car in this series, skirted Santa Fe Streamliners: the Chiefs and their Tribesmen p.82 undated photo #3478, left side, skirted Railroad Model Craftsman Jul73 p.34 undated photo #3477, right side, skirt removed Railroad Model Craftsman Jul73 p.34 undated photo #3479, both sides, skirts removed. Santa Fe High Level Cars (Kogan, Ochiello & McCormick) drawing, floor plan, Amtrak Car Diagrams p.86 -------------- #3480-3481 built 1938 by Budd (high level end adapter added 1956) 79'10"length according to 1943 Pass Eqpt Reg. 73'6"length per 1957 Pass Eqpt Circular floor plan in 1938 configuration as built, Baggage-Dorm-Coach. Car Names, Numbers & Consists p.189 1938 photo, left side, unk #, skirted in baggage-dorm-coach config Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail p.206 photo as built for El Cap conventional height train, Santa Fe Streamliners: the Chiefs & their Tribesmen p.36 interior diagram plan as converted to baggage-dorm (no coach seats) Quarter Century of Santa Fe Consists, p.114 1956 newly converted #3481 right side, with skirt Warbonnet 3rdQtr 1999 p.23 undated photo #3481, left side, skirted Santa Fe Diesels & Cars p.48 undated photo #3481, left side, skirts Quarter Century of Santa Fe Consists, p.114 May 1968 photo #3480 right side, skirt removed Warbonnet 3rd Qtr 1999 p.22 undated photo #3480, both sides, skirts removed. Santa Fe High Level Cars (Kogan, Ochiello & McCormick) summer 1968 either #3480 or #3481 -skirted, in distant photo Santa Fe Trackside with Bill Gibson p.99 ----------------- 3480-81-or-82 (unsure which car or class) Dec.29, 1957, skirt appears to have been removed in distant shot Santa Fe 1940-1971 in color Vol4 p.116 -------------- #3482 built 1940 by Pullman as baggage-dorm-coach 79'10"length according to 1943 Pass Eqpt Reg. rblt 1952 to baggage-dorm (coach section removed) high level adapter added 1956. Builders pix,plans (pre-Hi Level) Pullman Std. Library,vol.I,p.62-67,VII photo published June 1963 (unk date photographed)- skirted in Santa Fe Steel Rails through California p.80 1964 photo #3482 , right side, skirted Warbonnet 3Q 1999 p.23 March 1968 dated photo- skirt removed Santa Fe 1940-1971 in color Vol4 p.98-99 undated photo #3482, both sides, skirt removed. Santa Fe High Level Cars (Kogan, Ochiello & McCormick) Summary and inference about removal of skirting based on photos: 3477 class: photos show skirting in 1956, gone by photos published in early 1970s which suggests they were taken late 1960s since it often takes mags 2 or 3 years to publish articles, etc. 3480 class: photos show skirting 1956, skirt gone from #3480 in May 1968, skirt on either #3480 or 3481 in summer 1968 3482 class: photos show skirting 1956-1964, no skirting in 1968
As a side note one of these cars is part of the collection at the Arkansas Railway Museum in Pine Bluff. I'll check to see which one it is that was used in SSW 819's excursion consist.
The ex-AT&SF #3480 is now the Pegasus. It is housed at the Arkansas Railway Museum. The former Santa Fe car is used as the concession car behind the #819 when it is on the road. The transition piece has been removed from the roof.
