Elvas Tower: SP_B-50-15_Boxcars - Elvas Tower

Southern Pacific Class B-50-15.
3 USRA 50-TON,40-FOOT SINGLE-SHEATHED BOXCARS
Mesh and Textures ©2008 by Tim Muir

In 1925, the American Railway Association proposed a standard 40-foot, 50-ton single-sheathed ("outside-braced") box car. The Southern Pacific purchased parts and materials to build two samples, SP Class "A.R.A.4D", to study the design in operation. Evidently, the SP was not satisfied and did not repeat the design further than the two prototypes. The railroad did, however, feel that there was merit in much of the ARA design and used some features of the cars for their next class of box car, B-50-15, the subject of this newest model from Railroad Earth. The most noteworthy difference from the ARA cars is the inside height was increased from 8'-7" to 9'-1". There were also changes to the under-frame. There were over 4900 cars of the B-50-15 and -16 classes, 3900 being of the former class. B-50-15 was the last class of box cars to have the corrugated steel ends, while the B-50-16's featured the Dreadnaught design of ribbed steel ends.

The cars in this archive represent three samples of cars with different detail. 14489 has the Murphy Radial Roof that the first 750 cars of the -15 class had. 15627 has the Viking roof the second 750 had, and steel sheathing received during a rebuild. 20033 is an example of the 500 cars built in the railroad's Sacramento, California Shops, with Hutchins Dry Lading Roofs.

B-50-16 cars are to follow in another archive of three cars.

Tim Muir
March, 2008
Railroad Earth

Original File Name = SP_B_50_15_Boxcars.zip