07-21-2012, 12:49 PM
I'm not sure where yout get your info on 89 foot flats, Russ. As Andrew and I have pointed out, the cars are often unique, no two alike in many cases. I've posted drawings of three such cars here made from my own measurements and confirmed by dimensions in the ORER. None of these is mounted on an 89 foot flat. I'm not saying you didn't work on a particluar car that was mounted on an 89 foot flat, but that would be one more case of variation. I've been interested in these cars for a long time, I've measured a fair number, and while I've seen a great many in the 60 foot range or shorter, I've never seen one in the flesh on an 89 foot flat. The Boeing cars, a number of separate series, are all purpose-built. The BN and SP cars are mounted (welded) on flats in the 60-foot range originally built for farm equipment, lumber, or similar service. Again, you can confirm this in the ORER, since individual flats were rebuilt from series where their fellows remained in the original service. I'm not aware of any such cars rebuilt from piggyback or cofc service. If you're aware of them, why not post your own photos/drawings, measurements, references to the ORER, etc? That way we might all be able to share the info!