D&RGW FB #22359

: DRGW 22359

This D&RGW bulkhead flatcar is found at Monte Vista, Colorado.

According to Rio Grande Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment (MSCG), 22330 – 22474 series bulkhead flat cars were rebuilt between 1955 and 1959 for plasterboard service at Sigurd, Utah. They had steel lockers in both bulkheads for shipping joint tape and compound at the same time[1]. The plasterboard was wrapped in a vinyl sheet and packed in a wooden crate[2].

22000 – 22199 series flat cars built in 1944 by Mount Vernon or 22200 – 22329 series flat cars built in 1951 by the railroad are the ancestor of these cars. This particular car seems rebuilt from #22279 built in December 1951.


D&RGW 22330 – 22473 series Bulkhead Flat Cars
The Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) for July 1974 shows the group with 130 cars in place, described as follows:

AAR Designation FB and description “Flat, Stl. Underfr., Blkhds, (Wall Board)”

The inside length of these cars is 48 feet 6 inches, inside width 10 feet 6 inches, outside length 53 feet 6 inches, extreme height 10 feet 2 inches and capacity 110,000 pounds.


All photos are taken on Sep. 6, 2017

revised, Nov. 17, 2023

[1] Eaton, Richard (2006) “Post WWⅡ Improvement Programs” Vol. 5, No. 1, The Prospector, The Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society
[2] Annual Report 1963, The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company

: DRGW 22359. Locker (doors missing) in bulkhead


このRio Grandeオリジナルの番号を保つ貨車は、コロラド州Monte Vistaの町で見つけた。

1958年から59年にかけて自社工場における改造により誕生した、D&RGW 22330 – 22473 series FBの内の１両である。改造元の番号22279が透けて見えている。

以前紹介したユタ州Sigardからの石膏ボード専用車で、同時に出荷する目地処理材用のスペースがbulkhead両端に設けてある。