B7 GN 35000 SERIES DOBLE SLIDING DOOR STEEL BOXCARS
These GN 35000 series cars by Moloco are models of 50’ 6” inside length St. Cloud built steel double sliding door box cars with a 15-foot clear opening. The left sliding door was 7 feet wide, and the right sliding door was 8 feet wide, GST code B7. During 1956 Great Northern’s St. Cloud shops began a multiple year project to build 50’ 6”, 50-ton capacity cars, with wide side doors. All 1,000 of the 35000 series cars had a distinctive triangular reinforcing gusset adjacent to the doors. Capacity was 100,000 pounds as built, increased to 110,000 pounds in 1963.
The model has the signature diagonal reinforcing panels on each side of the doors. The body is an accurate match for 50 cars 35000 to 35049 built in 1956 which had 4933 cubic foot capacity and equipped with permanent auto stowage devices tor automobile transport service, and 350 cars 35050 to 35399 also built in 1956, also with 4933 cubic foot capacity used to haul lumber, plywood, wood pulp, and paper. The last lot of 1956, 35400 to 35499 had 4947 cubic foot capacity and were equipped with full width end doors. The Moloco models are NOT accurate for this lot. Due to parts shortages delivery of these cars was delayed to 1957. The program continued with 250 cars numbered 35500 to 35749 built in 1957 which had 4953 cubic foot capacity, and ended in 1958 with cars 35750 to 35999, also of 4953 cubic foot capacity. Most of the models in the store are painted Vermilion Red with slanted road name and round reflectors, the as delivered paint scheme. The store also has a few ‘750,000th CAR OVER HUMP, and some Big Sky Blue painted models with 1968 repaint dates. This car is a rivet counter.
The notation GST XX is the alpha numeric car kind code assigned to freight cars by the General Superintendent of Transportation in the late 1960’s and used on computer generated train consists to identify the type of car. The first letter was the general car type, such as B for box cars. For box cars, the number indicated both length of the car and doors. Even numbers indicated a nominal 40-foot car, while odd numbers a nominal 50-foor car. Numbers 1 and 2 indicated a single 6 or 7 foot wide door. Numbers 3 and 4 indicated a single 8 or 9 foot wide door. Numbers 5 and 6 indicated a single plug door. Numbers 7 and 8 indicated two doors, which could be either plug or sliding in any combination. The 35000 series cars are GST code B7.
Fifty-foot box cars existed in small numbers since about the beginning of the Twentieth Century. They were originally intended to transport light density products. Some early GN 50-foot box cars were stenciled ‘Furniture’, for example.
The January 1942 Equipment Register shows that GN owned 3,057 50-foot box cars. There were 685 automobile cars and 2,372 plain 50-foot cars. All were wood side, steel underframe construction of 100,000 pound carrying capacity except that 99 cars, 88 in Automobile service, were of 140,000 pound carrying capacity. Automobile service cars had minimum 10-foot-wide side doors and permanent auto stowage devices.
By 1955, Great Northern’s 50-foot box car fleet was getting old. The largest groups were built in 1925 and the newest in 1928, Over half of the fleet was 30 years old in 1955. In addition, customers demanded wider doors so that they could use forklifts to load and unload all manner of products; especially lumber and plywood.
Interchange list data to the CB&Q, presumably in the 1965 to1970 time frame, shows that commodities in double door box cars included: Aluminum Ingots, Copper, Copper Bars, Ingots, Zinc ingots, Lumber, Plywood, and Shakes.