Rutland Milk Car with Roof Vents
- Thread starter Old Smokeblower
- Start date
I take it that these cars are just insulated cars for the transportation of milk cans, rather than a car with glass-lined tanks for bulk milk shipment. There was an article some time ago in RMC about refrigerator cars that had been fitted with ventilators in place of the former ice hatches. I'll check.
I've just spent some time looking for the article, which turned out to be on a PFE reefer. It was called a Bohn Ventilator, a pretty large addition over top of the ice hatches. After a little more hunting, I came across an article in the September 2000 issue of RMC which covers kitbashing Rutland wood-sided milk cars, using the Accurail reefer as a starting point. While the author upgraded many of the kit's details, the major changes were to eliminate the ice hatches and install lateral roofwalks, plus to add what the author thought, at the time, to be a vent, over the left-side doors. A letter to the Editor in the December 2000 issue notes that an article in the March 1986 RMC mentions this to be a sliding door over the opening used for the loading hose, so it would appear that the cars were indeed fitted with bulk milk tanks. The 1986 article provides extensive coverage of the General American milk tank cars, and also some interesting information on milk service, with lots of photos. You may be able to get the back issues of RMC that I've noted, but if not, the sliding door that the author added to the Accurail car is over the left door, on both sides of the car. It's not quite as wide as the door, and pretty well fills, height-wise, the space on the carside above the door. There doesn't appear to be much detail on it, perhaps a few rivets.
Hope this is of some assistance.
Wayne
I've just spent some time looking for the article, which turned out to be on a PFE reefer. It was called a Bohn Ventilator, a pretty large addition over top of the ice hatches. After a little more hunting, I came across an article in the September 2000 issue of RMC which covers kitbashing Rutland wood-sided milk cars, using the Accurail reefer as a starting point. While the author upgraded many of the kit's details, the major changes were to eliminate the ice hatches and install lateral roofwalks, plus to add what the author thought, at the time, to be a vent, over the left-side doors. A letter to the Editor in the December 2000 issue notes that an article in the March 1986 RMC mentions this to be a sliding door over the opening used for the loading hose, so it would appear that the cars were indeed fitted with bulk milk tanks. The 1986 article provides extensive coverage of the General American milk tank cars, and also some interesting information on milk service, with lots of photos. You may be able to get the back issues of RMC that I've noted, but if not, the sliding door that the author added to the Accurail car is over the left door, on both sides of the car. It's not quite as wide as the door, and pretty well fills, height-wise, the space on the carside above the door. There doesn't appear to be much detail on it, perhaps a few rivets.
Hope this is of some assistance.
Wayne