The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway ("Milwaukee Road") has
improved ore cars in
use on the Lake Superior section. The latest one to be used is made of
wood, carries 50 tons of ore. and weighs 29,300 pounds, a ratio of 77
per cent, of paying load. This is the highest ratio of paying load yet
obtained in cars used for carrying ore. The arrangement of the centre
opening of the hopper is entirely free for unloading. There is said to
be no noticeable deflection of the sills when the car is loaded with 56
tons of ore. There is but one hopper, with the doors swinging sidewise
and held by chains from a central shaft. The underframe is very
"stocky" and strongly braced. There are but four through longitudinal
sills, and four 1% in. truss rods. These rods support malleable iron
king post castings, which have wings bearing against the sloping sides
of the hoppers; this takes a
portion of the hopper load to the truss rods.
Two % X 3 in. hopper
straps, a number of transverse rods, and two 4x6 in. cross beams tie
the car across at the top of the box. A 25-pound I-beam at the center
and a pair of 7 X 12-in. cross beams at the sills furnish lateral
support at the bottom. The end supports of the box are upon 6x6 in.
cross timbers, placed inside of the end sills. Draft timbers 7 ft. long
are attached to 4% x 10 in. strut sills, which are reinforced by tie
rods, and the Dayton draft rigging is attached between the draft
timbers. The bolsters are of the ordinary plate form, 12 ins. wide. The
cars are equipped with Barber 50-ton trucks, inside hung brakes and
Monarch brake beams. They are expected to withstand the roughest kind
of service. The cubic capacity, level full, is 567.59 cubic feet.
The Chicago, Milwaukee,
St. Paul & Pacific was a railroad with a big personality. For a
time it offered the world?s fastest steam-powered passenger trains.
Extending from Indiana to Puget Sound, it crossed five mountain ranges
in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. It was also the first railroad to
prove the feasibility of long distance movement of heavy trains by
electricity. All-welded freight and passenger cars were pioneered in
its shops, and Milwaukee Road mechanical engineers planned the first
streamlined steam locomotives intended for sustained 100 mph speeds. In
Milwaukee Road Remembered eminent railway historian Jim Scribbins
provides a richly illustrated history of the unique challenges and
successes of this storied railroad.
