Illinois Railway Museum Blog

In the Freight Car Department we try to limit the number of active restorations underway at any one time, to keep resources focused and get results in something less than five years.  But we are always planning the next project.  In this case, WELCOME to a tank car used by the Great Northern Railway. 

GN X 1390

The car was built in 1956 by American Car and Foundry in Milton, Pennsylvania and is a 20,000 gallon car of fairly modern construction.  All welded tank and sills, roller bearing trucks.  The tank, underbody, and trucks are all black, with an orange dome and safety panel near it on the top of the tank.  Large GREAT NORTHERN lettering is on the the tank to the left of the dome and ladder, while the reporting marks  GN X 1390  are to the right.

We feel this is a good candidate for our work since it has not deteriorated to the point of needing rebuilding.  Also it has NO windows or doors to complicate the work, no rivets (thousands of them) requiring detailing and extra attention during painting.

The plan is to hire a contractor to completely clean the car and then to apply two coats of primer and two coats of finish paint.  This will result in a good job and be completed in a timely fashion, compared to the option of having our volunteer crew use a needle gun and hand paint the car.  The trade off is that we need money to do the job.  We are actively engaged in the bidding process and it seems this work will cost us about $12,000.  A small price to pay considering our limited staff.  Many of you reading these reports often say you wish you could help - I am guessing you would want to take a turn on the needle gun in 95 F weather.  No?  Then you may still help with a donation to fund RX1390 to top off what monies we have on hand.  The mailing address is:

Illinois Railway Museum

Box 427

Union, IL 60180

The car is mechanically in good condition and has been used in our demonstration freight trains and special events this year.  Amazingly, some (most) of the original GREAT NORTHERN lettering is still visible (with some work).  We are now documenting and tracing all of that so it may be reapplied to the painted car.  The scheme was all black, white lettering, and a bright orange dome area.  The car was needed by the GN to ferry diesel fuel oil to the various on line service facilities as the rush was on to dieselize and a great deal of that fuel was needed in many locations.  The X before the number indicates it was a company service car and not part of the interchange pool of freight cars.  After the merger into Burlington Northern, the car remained on the BN roster until it was acquired by IRM.  Here are some detail shots of the remaining lettering.  The captions will note the areas of interest and what you are seeing.  This is the type of documentation and detective work, sometimes working through layers of paint, to assure the finished restoration will be an accurate and authentic job.

Test Data

On the right hand end of each side it was required to display test data for the tank integrity and safety valves.  This was retested and renewed during the life of the car, typically every ten years or so.  In this case the required testing was done by the Union Tank Car Co (under maintenance contract) at their facility in Laurel, Montana.

ICC Class

Above the test data was the designation of the ICC class for the type of car - in this case 103-W.  Below that is ACF indicating the builder, American Car and Foundry; and its birthday, 1-5-56.

DIESEL FUEL ONLY

Here is some of the needed detective work.  Faintly, in this photo you will see lettering for DIESEL FUEL ONLY which was as the car was built.  It has been painted over and WASTE OIL stenciled in the vicinity by BN.  But if you know where to look - - -  Below the WASTE OIL add on stencil is the original  "TOTAL CAP'Y 19458 GALS."

Documentation

The remnants of the above lettering are traced out in detail and then mylar taped over it to trace again.  This includes the necessary steps of locating the lettering compared to various notation points on the carbody, ends, or underbody.

Length

Since this car was not in regular interchange service it did not carry a lot of the familiar lettering seen on other cars - such as capacity, light weight, or load limit.  But it did have "49 FT. 2 IN."

Weight

Some of the familiar data is not where expected.  On the center sill is "WT. 64500".  It is astounding that this original GN lettering in size and style survives 67 years after being painted.

Center Sill

The reporting marks in 4 inch letters are also on the center sill  "G.N.  X-1390"

Truck Bolster

Some railroads identified the trucks on the car and which car they belonged to.  It is not a consistent practice on all railroads and even not consistent for a single railroad on all their cars.  Above see  "X 1390   A END"

Lube Data

Lube data is recorded on the right end of the center sill.  Here we can make out at least three layers of that data.  Hieroglyphic detectives are welcome to help us peel back the layers.

Logo

Car builders often applied their logo somewhere on each new car as it left their plant.  That only survived until the car was first repainted.  Look at this.  WOW!  The original ACF logo remains visible on the center sill.

End Marks

The original GN reporting marks, also in 4 inch letters, comes through high on the dished tank ends.

End Data

Each end has three lines of 3 inch lettering, one of 2 inch wheel data, and five lines of smaller equipment details.  Who wants to trace all that and cut the transfer pattern?  More importantly, WHO WANTS TO PAINT IT?

Yes this is a very long entry and I have worked along on it for more than one day.  Please help with a donation to the project.