Found this surprise on the internet tonight:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=4679629

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=4679632

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=4679637

Photographer Randy Curlin found it about a year ago on the ground in the company of an old Santa Fe boxcar (#270040) in a place called Macdona, Texas. I can understand the Santa Fe car, but the wagontop sure throws me. Most likely an old Baltimore & Ohio car, although some other railroads also owned wagontops. Was one of the other owners the Santa Fe? From the photos, I couldn't find any paint left on the cars and apparently Mr. Curlin couldn't either. That Texas sun sure worked its magic! There doesn't appear to be any signs of wreck damage on either side or either end. So, another little mystery. Is the car ex-B&O or....? And how the heck did it end up in that field way down there in Texas?

Les

It's B&O, all right. And looks to be in rather nice shape, too.

Howard P.

Howard -

Yes. Almost looks like she could be preserved. Wonder whether her underframe is intact? Or if there might be someone interested in a piece of B&O history for their collection?

Les

Hi
I found this on the net for a quick post, Pat

The RRPA photo of the car's brake wheel end looks to show the very faded B&O number, provided someone could get a closer look at it.

I'm looking at those photos, and I am even beginning to wonder if the cars are "grounded!" They are sitting level and at about the right distance to be coupled.

Is it possible they are on track and trucks and the grass is just that high?

OK, if they are said to be grounded, they probably are, but the appearance is certainly there.

I also notice what looks like an active rail line in the background of one of the photos. I wonder which road that is.

Took a bit of searching, but they are along side Macdona Lacoste Rd/Nelson Rd between 6th St and Pue Rd. In the one picture you can see the crossing arms and cross bucks over the top of the wagon top. And in a few of the pictures you can clearly see the track behind them. The lens that was used distorted the distances and made them look closer than they are. And in none of the pictures can you see the road they are sitting right next to. Being 3/16/17 the sun was still fairly low in the sky and with the shadows, the cars were clearly south of the track. In the satellite photos I didn't realize there was a road between the cars and the track so at first wasn't looking far enough south to find them in the trees.

Interesting in the streetview from 4/2016 there is a UP plug boxcar right next to them, but in the current satellite views is gone. Possibly this is the link to the streetview, https://www.google.com/maps/@29.3274981,-98.6929538,3a,75y,210.92h,92.06t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTQFS8M_YT0vpyooZzBpKgA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

And here's a screen shot.

Moved around a little with Mtn3781's link, and the "Union Pacific" car is actually a steel meat reefer, and she had her ice hatches as well. The shield herald is that of American Refrigerator Transit--and zooming in and looking around, that name is visible, and there's a Missouri Pacific herald to the right of the door as well.

I think this was a postwar refrigerator car design. The key is that riveted strip down the side of the car.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.3274939 ... 312!8i6656

Model images.

Now that you mention it, it is an American Refrigerator Transit Co. car. Is that a Missouri Pacific Lines logo on it. Can't tell if there is a Wabash Flag.

Yep, it's the classic MP "buzz saw," and I was looking for another herald closer to the end myself. If there is one, it's faded and/or covered by graffiti and/or hidden by foliage, or all three!! Some later photos of same type of cars (also in model form) also show a round Norfolk & Western herald, very likely following that merger in 1964, though the locations are reversed and the replicated color is different.



Some of those cars were rebuilt as box cars by N&W, by the way. This would have been after the new regulations that also called for the removal of roof walks. Again, the key to their former identity is that strip of rivets running the length of the car about halfway up the side. I think that was a General American construction feature for some reason.

Now the question is, where did it go? If it had been there in 2017 Randy would have taken pictures of it. And the trailer next to it is gone too.

And where did the wagon top come from? Doesn't really look like a residential lot. Couple of more trailers on the property. Doesn't look like a business either though. Mystery.

Looks like Macdona is in the southwest San Antonio metro area, anyone care to take a closer look?

So is this a random fossil bed or someone's collection of old railroad cars? Very neat museum find.

Interested parties probably shouldn't procrastinate. Google Earth photos from January 2018 reveal that the refrigerator car and the truck trailer beyond it are already gone, having disappeared sometime after the April, 2016 date of the Google Streetview image. The wagontop and the Union Pacific boxcar were still there. Buildings on the property appear to be derelict. This might be a case of heirs gradually cleaning up property that they inherited from some crusty old relative.

/s/ Larry
Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.

Larry -

IF someone goes down there and verifies that the B&O and Santa Fe cars still have underframes, perhaps they then could ask anyone who might be on the property, about a possible acquisition. The cars certainly have no couplers or trucks, but these are replaceable. Anyone there in the San Antonio area up for a road trip?

Les