(erielack) Re: ATSF New Cars (Freight and Passenger)

[Gordon Davids <g.davids_@_verizon.net>]

Tommy -

I can think of several logical reasons, and they depend where they were 
built.  Assume they came from AC&F at Berwick, PA, or maybe Magor Car 
Co.  ATSF doesn't want to pay freight on them to Chicago, and EL can 
find loads for them in New Jersey to or in the direction of ATSF 
Chicago.  If the loading station is somewhere on the Greenwood Lake RR 
or the Boonton Line, they could be stored at Great Notch for loading 
nearby.  If the loading station is somewhere else on the New York 
Division, EL might have wisely decided to keep them out of the morass at 
Croxton.

But looking closer at the weighing date, it looks like 4-76, so we would 
be dealing with Conrail.  Same deal, but Conrail could have moved them 
more directly than EL could from Berwick.  That makes it even more 
likely that they were being held for westbound loads from somewhere on 
what had become the Hoboken Division of Conrail.  Those "equipped" cars 
were usually purchased for dedicated, not free-running, service, so they 
would have been tightly controlled by the ATSF Traffic Department, as 
well as the connecting roads.  They almost certainly had a dedicated 
purpose.

Another point - they are Plate F cars, meaning they were higher than 
standard clearances.  Another good reason to keep them out of Croxton, 
where crews were not known to be particular about handling dimension 
cars that just "show up."

Maybe someone more familiar with 1976 operations on the Boonton Line can 
figure out a use for them.

- - Gordon Davids

 > Gordon any thoughts on the ATSF box cars that weremoved via Great 
Notch? That's got me stumped yet I'm sure there was probably a logical 
reason for it.

http://rr-fallenflags.org/atsf/atsf45755ckg.jpg

tommy meehan



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