Anybody have a good resource to B&LE NE-1 bay window caboose info or prints? Looking for lettering info and paint colors too. Any and all dimensions would be helpful as well. I’ve got to move one in the near future.

Mike,

I don't have anything on the red color. You might try light sanding with fine paper to get to a good sample layer in a protected spot, clean it, then seal it with something like linseed oil to bring the color out. Others have done this, I haven't, but I'm sure someone will chime in with better instructions. Also, if you get a good paint match, let me know the paint info and I'll add it to the list.

As for lettering, photos are your friend if all the original lettering is gone. If you can find a good, relatively straight-on high resolution photo, you can scale it. I'll check if I have the herald in vector format. I may be able to get a complete set of vectors for your entire car. I'll post back if I find anything.

Curious - what number is it?

[Edit] Hoosier Valley may have some info on the color.

I’ve seen internet reference to it being 202. But any similar pictured cars are 1900 series.
Amtk 14027 most recently.

Anybody have resources for Greenville car prints?

I've tried contacting Trinity (bought out Greenville) a couple times to find out if old records exist. No response. I was trying to track down info on P&WV red used on leased hoppers.

Concerning the car number, cabooses had four digit numbers. #202 would have been a wooden tank car from the late 1800s. If it was 2002 then it would be a centered bay window. Others in the high 1900s were offset bays and centered bays. They also leased some offset cupola cabooses from EJ&E late in the caboose era. We have one of those as does Hoosier Valley.

I'm still scrounging for the other info.

A bit more info: 20 NE1s were built in 1941 by Greenville - the offset bay cars - and were numbered in the mid 1900s. They were sold off in the 70s when the NE4s were delivered by International Car. Yours may have gone to Amtrak by way of P&W. Where is it currently located? That may help pin it down.

Mike,

Contact me offline via the email button or PM. I can get the artwork for you. It may take a while to get color info and we may not be successful but we're working on that, too.

Mike,
I haven't found anything specific on the paint color. Orange and black, yes. Red, no. If you aren't concerned about the exact historical accuracy, I'd suggest using what could be considered a "standard" color. Swift Red was used on a lot of commercial trucks and rail equipment from the 1930s through the 1950s. The PPG number was/is 70073. For reference, typically the DuPont code was 93-1863R. Martin Senor 109 was another. The PPG number is still valid though it will be a modern formulation. If you can have a sample mixed, give that a try and see how it looks. Red paint weathered quickly as compared to other colors. As the paint chalked and UV took its toll, it would look closer to pink by the time a repainted was due. Hence, fresh "caboose red" was actually a little darker than we think.

I was able to run across photographic evidence that Amtrak #14027 was indeed B&LE #1958.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPicture.aspx?id=89951

This first batch of NE1 bay window cabooses #1951 - #1970 were built by Greenville Steel Car in 1941. When B&LE started receiving new NE4 and 5 cars from ICC in 1971, a lot of NE1s were sold off. P&W bought two - #1958 and #1963. They were subsequently sold to Amtrak as #14027 and #14026 respectively.

The web reports in several places that that these were B&LE nos. 202 and 203. I'm no B&LE expert but I'm pretty sure no caboose ever wore these numbers.

Thanks Eric, I question whether the PW cars became the Amtrak cars because 14026 exists in Newport RI and my 14027 exists. As does PW 3002 which was 1963. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPict ... ?id=102657

Is there a B&LE group with disposition records? It would appear they sold these cars off in groups of 2 as I believe GMRC had 2 as well and one still exists. So maybe there’s a possibility the Amtk cars were 1 and 1 from PW and GMRC

As my wife likes to hear me say... You were right and I was wrong.

I went back through my searches and this time made notes (what a concept). I've found reference to 15 of the 20 NE1s. The latest photo dates I found are in parenthesis. Most of the original numbers are unknown to me:

AMT 14026: (1985) Unaccounted for.
AMT 14027: (1998). Sold in 2005, Hinsdale, NH (2018).
B&LE 1958: P&W 3003, DeAngelis RR Contractors, Worcester, MA, N&NB Newport, RI (2019).
B&LE 1959: Quebec Iron & Titanium. Unaccounted for.
B&LE 1963: P&W 3002, Southbridge, MA (2016).
B&LE 1966: URR scrapped 2014.
D&M 209 (1990): Unaccounted for.
D&M 210 (1990): Unaccounted for.
GMRC 50 (2011): Chester, VT (2011).
GMRC 51 (1982) Alstead, NH (1999).
N&SS 1 (1977) Assumed scrapped at Cleveland?
VTR 9 (1979): Unaccounted for.
VTR 10 (2010): Still in service?
WA/B&LE: Kaylor yard office, on ground. Scrapped 2001?
Youngstown & Northern (1971), URR 120 (2013).

So we're back to square one.

I wouldn't have a clue where 14027 was based out of other than the NEC somewhere. Might have been Boston. Good luck trying to get someone from Amtrak to talk to you. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. I made a valiant effort to get drawings and other info if they still exist for our locomotive which was rebuilt by Amtrak and couldn't get a decent response. It's time to try again.

There are B&LE fans on the B&LE Board: http://bessemerandlakeerie.proboards.com/. I used some of their info to chase down the above. I haven't heard of any documentation being archived anywhere. A lot of that info may still be in Greenville.

Some corrections/additions to the Bessemer Survivors.
Mine, AMTK 14027 appears to be Bessemer 1969 as this was on one of the headboard cushions backing. I’ve got additional research to do. Car was blasted twice so....

AMTK 14026 is the car at Newport RI.

The P&W 3003 listed at DeAngelis Construction is still there.
The P&W 3002 at the Senior Center is also still there

GMRC 50 has a new home in NH at a friends farm. It is originally 1960 per GMRC records.

GMRC 51 still exists in Alstead, waiting to confirm its #

VTR had the #8 and #9 and recent photos and earth imaging confirm that VTR #8 exists adjacent to mainline in Sunderland Vt.

This property listing has interior and exterior photos of VTR 8:

https://www.compass.com/listing/3849-sunderland-hl-road-arlington-vt-05250/991891850276883041/

Same link but, but available for future reference.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220901172803/https://www.compass.com/listing/3849-sunderland-hl-road-arlington-vt-05250/991891850276883041/

If someone is interested in preserving this car, reaching out directly to the new owners might be a good idea. If the new owners are interested in restoring the car, or removing it, knowing that there are specialized resources available is helpful.

This is an interesting car for interpreting the dramatic increase in freight traffic over the B&LE during WWII and the challenge of operating long, heavy trains of coal and ore.

This page has additional information on the disposition of B&LE NE-1 cars: https://bessemerandlakeerie.proboards.com/thread/93/ne1-caboose-dispositions

A fellow Bessemer caboose owner and I visited this car. I went to take measurements and document missing items on our cars. Imagine my surprise when the former owner pulls out a copy of the builders diagram. The new owners had a interest in keeping the car and diagram. We tried!