The Evolution of the 1937 AAR design boxcar

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The Evolution of the 1937 AAR design boxcar
The first all-steel boxcar was proposed and approved by the American Railroad Association (ARA) in 1932, and had an inside height dimension of 9’-4”, mostly in accommodation to Eastern railroad tunnel restrictions. The Depression delayed the sale of these cars and by the time of the economy’s resurgence and only about 15,000 were ordered in 1936. By 1936, the A.R.A./A.A.R. evolution of the 40’-6” all-steel boxcar design moved to the 10’-0“ IH car, becoming the most common of all A.A.R. standard boxcars: the 50-ton 1937 A.A.R. with 10’-0” inside height (IH). The Car Construction Committee approved this revised design in June 1936 and cars of the type were built from 1936 to 1947. The common version of this car had 10-panel riveted sides with 6’ door openings, 4/5 Dreadnaught Ends, and a Murphy rectangular panel roof. The A.A.R. design was modular in concept. The side panels, ends, and roofs were interchangeable components parts that conformed to A.A.R. standard dimensions. Often car builders such as American Car & Foundry, Pullman-Standard and Pressed Steel Car Co., found it more economical to order roofs, ends and sides from fabricators such as Standard Railway Equipment Co of Chicago and install them in their shops.

Many variations existed in the selection of ends and roofs used on this family of cars. Early versions built until 1939 typically had square corners and later versions had round corners with W-section corner posts - a stronger design. In 1941, the A.A.R. approved an optional taller design with a 10’-6” inside height, commonly known as the Modified 1937 AAR boxcar. These quickly became the 40’ boxcars of choice by most railroads, particularly those located in the Midwest. However, other roads continued to purchase 40’ boxcars with a 10’-0” inside height during the immediate postwar period and the 1950’s such as the Southern Pacific. This was often due to tunnel or other clearance restrictions. By 1947, over 119,000 of the 1937 AAR 10’-0” IH boxcars were in use throughout the US and Canada, followed by an almost equal number of Modified 1937 AAR boxcars. As the depression waned, begining in 1937 and thru June of 1942, the Great Northern began replacing their aging 8’-7“ IH and USRA boxcars with 8,000 of the new tongue & groove sided, all-steel Pratt truss frame design boxcar. Wood side constrution the road considered cheaper and easier to repair. Another unsuual feature of the car was teh use of a 1922 ARA standard riveted center sill and underframe.Opting to forgo the higher volume of 3,898 cu ft of cargo space offered with the Modified 1937 AAR design, the C&O stayed with the 10’-0” inside height version with 3,713 cubic feet of loading space, mostly due to tunnel clearances. These cars were ordered and received as follows:

Series 50000-50199, 200 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5565 - July 1937. Klasing vertical brake staff PC-3501
Series 50200-50499, 300 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5565 - September 1937. Universal vertical brake staff PC-3502
Series 50500-50999, 500 cars, American Car & Foundry, Lot 1675 - September 1937. Universal vertical brake staff PC-3502
Series 51000-51499, 500 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5594 - July 1939. Universal end-mounted power hand brake n/a
Series 51500-51999, 500 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5594 - August 1939. Ajax end-mounted power hand brake PC-3503
Series 52000-52999, 1,000 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5629 - August 1940. Ajax end-mounted power hand brake PC-3503
Series 49000-49499, 500 cars, Pressed Steel Car Co, Lot 129, September 1940, Universal end-mounted power brake n/a
Series 49500-49999, 500 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5629 - September 1940. Ajax end mounted power hand brake PC-3503
Series 47000-47999, 1,000 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5650. April 1941. Universal or Ajax end-mounted hand brake PC-3503
Series 48000-48499, 500 cars, Pressed Steel Car Co, Lot 139, delivered March 1941, Universal or Ajax end-mounted hand brake PC-3503
Series 48500-48999, 500 cars, American Car & Foundry, Lot 2145 - Feb 1941. Ajax end-mounted power hand brake PC-3503
Series 46000-46499, 500 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5697, April 1942. Universal end mounted hand brake n/a
Series 46500-46999, 500 cars, Pullman-Standard, Lot 5697, April 1942. Apex end mounted brake - 7-Panel Superior doors PC-3504
Series 45000-45499, 500 cars, General American Transportation Corp, Lot 2876, May 1942. Ajax end-mounted hand brake PC-3503
Series 45500-45999, 500 cars, Pressed Steel Car Co, Lot 168, June 1942, Ajax end-mounted hand brake PC-3503

Paint & Lettering:
1937-1939: Mineral Brown (TCP-19) sides, ends and trucks. Roof and underframe coated with black car cement; running boards black paint
1940-1942: Mineral Red (3 parts TCP-82 to1 part TCP-19) sides and trucks. Roof, ends, underframe coated with black car cement; running boards black paint
(An excellent source of material on these cars can be found in the Hawkins/Wider RP CYC series, Vol 23, pgs 1-41)
Lettering set created and designed at Protocraft Decals.

Protocraft’s all-brass model of Great Northern’s 1937-1942 Tongue & Groove wood double-sheathed boxcars encompasses 4 versions of this distinctive boxcar. Never before done in O Scale, these exquisite and highly detailed models are built by Boo Rim Precision of Korea, adhering accurately to the actual GN Engineering Department drawings provided to Pullman-Standard in March 29,1937, the and dozens of 8 x 10 glossy photos from the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis (AC&F) and many in-service photograpths. Models are equiped with Bettendorf 50- trucks, the model rolls on hard steel sintered rib-back wheels with ball-bearings and have working journal covers. Accurate decal sets for the 3 time period’s lettering schemes used on these cars are available from Protocraft Decals based the Great Northern’s Mechanical Dept lettering arrangement drawings and numerous photographs.

Although the 850 car project undertaken by Protocraft for the 10’-0” IH 1937 AAR boxcars has essentially sold out, a few models remain and are now being placed back in stock.

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