Paint Shop – 71 : Pennsylvania Railroad Boxcar 32123, part 2

: PRR 32123

Here are the data of the car and the belief history of the railroad.

PRR X55a Class 32000 - 32699 series boxcars:
According to the PRR Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment Vol. 2, PRR X55a boxcars were built in 1960 by the Railroad’s Samuel Rea Shops at Hollidaysburg, PA.

The Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) for April 1974 shows the group #32002 to #32699 with 411 cars in place, accompanied by other two cars #32004 and 32005 with the same dimensions but with the description “Box, Stl., Evans 19 Belt Rail DF Loaders, Nailable Stl., Flrs. Full Length, Assigned Service, X55a, Considered Part of Car. Pallets, (Auto Parts)”, described as follows:

AAR designation XL and description “Box, Stl., Evans 19 Belt Rail DF Loaders, Nailable Stl., Flrs. Full Length, X55a, (Auto Parts)”. The inside length of these cars was 50 feet 6 inches, inside width 9 feet 2 inches, inside height 10 feet 6 inches, outside length 54 feet 6 inches, extreme height 15 feet 1 inch, door opening 15 feet, and capacity 4860 cubic feet or 90,000 pounds.


Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR) was established in 1846 and the route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, both in Pennsylvania, was completed by 1854. The Railroad reached Chicago, Illinois in 1869, and both Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri next year.

Through the mergers and acquisitions, the Railroad became the largest in the world by its traffic and revenue to called “The Standard Railroad of the World”. However, unfortunately, in 1968, the Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged to establish Penn Central Transportation Company only to survive the next eight years before the coalition of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). Most of the PRR route is now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway network.

The map below is the part of Union Pacific Map of the United States printed in 1971, with the PRR route traced in red line by the author.

: PRR route

　
以下に、該当車両の概要、およびPennsylvania Railroadの簡単な歴史を記す。

PRR X55a Class 32000 - 32699 series boxcars:
AARによる分類：XL
内寸：長手50フィート６インチ、 短手9フィート２インチ, 天井高10フィート６インチ
外寸：長手54フィート４インチ、 最高高さ15フィート１インチ、扉開口幅15フィート
容積：4860 立方フィート／90,000 パウンド
411両在籍（April 1974 ORER）

Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR)は1846年に設立された。ペンシルベニア州フィラデルフィアを基点にアメリカ東海岸および中西部を結んでいた鉄道である。全盛期には輸送量・収入で世界最大を誇る「The Standard Railroad of the World」と称されていた。1968年にNew York Centralを買収、Penn Centralとなるも束の間、わずか二年で破綻し1976年設立のConrailの一部となる。こんにち主な路線はNorfolk Southern Railwayの一部になっている。

地図は、筆者の手元にあった1971年発行のUnion Pacificによる全米路線図上に、該当路線を赤色で書き込んだものである。