What is the Triangle Symbol on Hoppers

[NW Mailing List]

Thank you Ken, Abram and Ed for the quick and enlightening response. I have learned something today.

 

Now the other part of the question, have these been included in a decal set? Since they obviously remained on some older cars into the 70s and 80s I would like to include it on a model. And I would think that those modeling an earlier timeframe would want some.

 

Ed, Of course I would be interested in how you got eight hotboxes on one car.

 

Don Trettel

 

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 2:09 PM
To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: What is the Triangle Symbol on Hoppers

 

These pads were not limited to hopper cars.  They applied them to box cars, gons, you name it.  I’ve seen these triangles on the ends of tenders that used the pads.  

 

The pads were an improvement on waste packing; waste could travel up the side of the journal and catch under the brass, causeing a lack of lubrication in that area and thus a hotbox.  The pads bridged the gap between “friction” journals and roller bearings, which started to come in about 1960.  N8w was hell on hotbox elimination; anything that stopped a train got into the Gross Ton Miles per Train Hour and was thus undesirable.

 

Working in Shaffers Crossing Car Department, there was a lot of pressure about hotboxes on eastbound coal trains; the speeds were higher and that increased the possibility of hotboxes.

 

BTW – I hold the record for the number of hotboxes on a four-axle freightt car, and it will never be broken.  Eight.  I still remember it and will tell anybody interested how it came about.

 

- Ed King

 

From: NW Mailing List 

Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 2:41 PM

To: N&W Mailing List 

Subject: Re: What is the Triangle Symbol on Hoppers

 

The lettering in the triangle said, BOXES PACKED WITH PADS. 

 

Stencilling was on the upper left corner of car sides, as I recall. 

 

That was applied when lubricating journal pads came around.  The lettering was used in the 1950s and 1960s.  Once all the friction bearing cas had journal pads, the triangles went away.  Of course, by the 1960s, roller bearings were coming on the property in increasing numbers. 

 

-- abram burnett 

Puh-sizhun Sked-youled Turnips 

  

  _____  

 

Don

 

Those are indication of a special type of journal box packing, which varied according to type.

 

This was done in the 1950s when reducing hotboxes was a priority.

 

I’ve got more on this, just not handy

 

Ken Miller







On Sep 25, 2020, at 2:14 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> > wrote:

 

I have seen this triangular symbol on the upper left of some older (pre-1970?) hoppers in photos, but I have never been able to read what it says. I know that some hoppers had the lessor name there. And according to Dow’s book some hoppers had a builders name there. Does anyone know what this triangular symbol is? And is it available as a decal (ho) or is the artwork available?

 

Don Trettel

 

Photo from rr-fallenflags.org/nw/nw38161ags.jpg <http://rr-fallenflags.org/nw/nw38161ags.jpg>   Gary Stuebben photo, Portsmouth Oh 02-01-1986

 

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