Drawbar Connected Airslides

[Robbman]

I still think the humps in the roof are from over pressurizing the car. Not all humps are the same height of bulge from one car to the next if you look through them.

Jon

That's what I had always thought too... but after doing a lot of research, I don't think that anymore

None of the cars with roofs like these show any kind of damage to the sides, ends, or bays, which if they were over pressurized to the extent of bulging the roof... there'd have to be some signs.  Those carlines on the roof are 3.5 x 2.5 by .25 angle... the plenums and the bays are .1799" formed sheet held together with huckbolts... the sides are .1799" sheet, and while the side stakes add rigidity,  you're looking at a less than 3/16th weld holding the bay sheet to the side sheet (heck... holding anything to the sides, ends or bays)

Now if you ran a rod through that modified center hatch and lifted up on it... now I can see bending the roof like that and not damaging the rest of the car.

[Robbman]

Okay, I don't doubt you, but the 'B' ends to the left could happen regardless of pairing.  It would be nice to find a photo in the GACX numbering that shows any of these cars clearly paired up (like two matching road numbers) but maybe they were in some assigned service that didn't get much camera play.

Of course, none if this means that the cars ever had drawbars.

Jason

I highly doubt they ever had drawbars...

[ljudice]

[just found these photos]

Amazingly - some of these cars did have drawbars!

http://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=2838

And the larger ones too!

http://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=40948

[jmlaboda]

"I doubt they ever had drawbars, probably just 'permanently' coupled."

"Not recent pairings... GACX paired them long ago."

The use of a drawbar instead of couplers is how permanently coupled cars are set up.  The reason for this is to take advantage of shipping rates for higher capacity cars, i.e." connecting two 50T cars together to take advantage of the 100T shipping rate.

Southern Railway did this back in the 60s with twin bay hoppers, first ones coming from the shortline Interstate that they acquired and followed by wood sheathed twins that were rebuilt with steel sides.  Two hoppers would be set-up with a drawbar and used as one car since the tonage would be factored in as a single car.  Because customers (primarily power plants) were demanding cars capable carrying the greater tonage these cars were created as a stop-gap measure while awaiting additional 100T cars.
http://southern.railfan.net/images/archive/southern/freight/hop/sou102127.html

[Robbman]

It's not the only way though Jerry... read the thread.  There have been plenty of non-drawbarred cars that are assigned one number, that are just never uncoupled... still have pin lifters and all

[wcfn100]

The use of a drawbar instead of couplers is how permanently coupled cars are set up.  The reason for this is to take advantage of shipping rates for higher capacity cars, i.e." connecting two 50T cars together to take advantage of the 100T shipping rate.

The items you qouted from Robb have absolutely nothing to do with what the Southern did in the 60's or any other railroad at any other time in history.  They were only about cars on this thread specifically.

I haven't done the research, but there may be two setups; permanent  and semi-permanent, the first using draw bars and the second just coupled together.  Both could take advantage of shipping rates however.

Best rest assured not all had draw bars.


Jason