| B&MRRHS Home | B&M Freight Cars Home |
Does one exist?
For more info on the classification cards and "webitizing" them, see this web pageFrom 1942 class book.
Click on image to see original scan at full resolution (or right-click → "Save Picture As" to download black and white image, to view it at full resolution)
From 1952 class book.
Click on image to see original scan at full resolution (or right-click → "Save Picture As" to download black and white image, to view it at full resolution)
Note the 1952 class book also a page for the GEX 2000-2007 cars built in Waterville in 1944. That is now scanned, and available in the "On-Line Archives" page of the B&MRRHS web site
Spec Value Builder Concord Car Shops (B&M RR) Lot # 57 Car Numbers 5000-5007 Quantity 8 Build Date 1941 (1941-10 per disposition records) AAR class FW Gen'l Arrgt 5414-A-72 Lt Weight 53,800-57,000 [1952: (Including girders)] [rest of below from Tim Gilbert]
53,800 (approx) (excluding semi-portable loading harness)
57,000 (approx) (including loading harness)
Base of harness - Columns, girders, or I-beams - attached to deck extending over the bolsters.
(also see tables below from ORER data)Dimensions of well 14' long, 7' wide Clearance from rail To bottom of load: 5½"
To top of load (Max height to top of load) 15'-5½"Girders and Beams
(Not interchangeable)5000-5002: Four 15" I-beams
5003-5004: Two 23" columns
5005-5006: Two 30" columns
5007: Two 20" girders (PRR)Trucks Andrews (CS side frames) Journals 5½" x 10" (100,000 lbs nominal capacity) Journal Box Column bolt type Journal Box Lid National 353 pattern Journal Bearings and wedges AAR Side Bearings Stucki Springs AAR class D with Miner C-2-XB snubbers Hand Brake Ajax Air Brake AB with two 7" x 12" cylinders Body Bolster Built-up steel with forged side bearing and AAR std. contour center plate Center Sills None Coupler AAR type "E" 6¼" x 8" Rotary Bot. Operated Uncoupling Gear AAR Rot S. Ry. Eq. Co. Coupler Yoke AAR (C S.) Vertical Brake Beam AAR #3 Brake Beam Safety Support Buffalo Bottom Rod Schaeffer type Y sect. M-73 type "V"[?Y?] Bottom Rod Safety Support Buffalo Brake Shoes AAR #1A Brake Shoes Key AAR Std. [Brake] Levers B&M & Schaeffer Brake Beam Hanger Sch[aefer] "U" type Wheels 33" dia pass. turned from 36" D
or 33" C. IronDraft Gear Miner A-22-XB Brake Lever Badge Plate (none) Brake Pipe "T" Anchor "Wright"
ORER Size Data Description 10/1941 AAR Mechanical Designation FW Inside
DimensionsLength 32' Width 10' Height Outside
DimensionsLength 32'-1" Width At Eaves or top of sides or platform 10' Extreme Width 10' Height
from
RailTo Extreme Width 3'-11" To Eaves or top of sides or platform 3'-11" To Top of Running Board To Extreme Height 7'-9" Door - Side
openingWidth Height Capacity Cu Ft. Level Full Pounds 100000
ORER History ORER Date
(Year-Mo.)Car
Numbers# of
CarsDescription 1941 - 10 5000-5007 8 Flat, Well, Steel (Note H) 1942 - 01 (same) 1942 - 04 (same) 1942 - 07 (same) 1942 - 10 (same) 1943 - 01 (same) 1943 - 04 (same) 1943 - 07 (same) 1943 - 10 (same) 1944 - 01 (same) 1944 - 04 (same) 1944 - 07 (same) 1944 - 10 (same) 1945 - 01 (same) 1945 - 04 (same) 1945 - 07 (same) 1945 - 10 (same) 1946 - 01 (same) 1946 - 04 (same) 1946 - 07 (same) 1946 - 10 (same) 1947 - 01 (same) 1947 - 04 (same) 1947 - 07 (same) (now Note G) 1947 - 10 (same) 1948 - 01 (same) (now Note C) 1948 - 04 (same) 1948 - 07 (same) 1948 - 10 (same) 1949 - 01 (same) 1949 - 04 (same) 1949 - 07 (same) 1949 - 10 (same) 1950 - 01 (same) 1950 - 04 (same) 1950 - 07 " 7 " 1950 - 10 (same) 1951 - 01 (same) 1951 - 04 5000-5006 6 " 1951 - 07 (same) 1951 - 10 (same) (now Note A) 1952 - 01 (same) 1952 - 04 (same) 1952 - 07 (same) 1952 - 10 (same) 1953 - 01 (same) (note A text changed, see below) 1953 - 04 (same) 1953 - 07 (same) 1953 - 10 (same) (note A text changed again, see below) 1954 - 01 (same) 1954 - 04 (same) 1954 - 07 (same) 1954 - 10 (same) 1955 - 01 (same) 1955 - 04 (same) 1955 - 07 (same) 1955 - 10 (same) 1956 - 01 (same) 1956 - 04 (same) 1956 - 07 (same) 1956 - 10 (same) 1957 - 01 (same) 1957 - 04 (same) 1957 - 07 (same) 1957 - 10 (same) 1958 - 01 (same) 1958 - 04 (same) 1958 - 07 (same) 1958 - 10 (same) 1959 - 01 (same) 1959 - 04 (same) 1959 - 07 (same) 1959 - 10 (same) 1960 - 01 (same) 1960 - 04 (same) 1960 - 07 (same) 1960 - 10 (same) 1961 - 01 (same) 1961 - 04 (same) 1961 - 07 (same) 1961 - 10 (same) 1962 - 01 (same) 1962 - 04 (same) 1962 - 07 (same) 1962 - 10 (same) 1963 - 01 (same) 1963 - 04 (same) 1963 - 07 (same) 1963 - 10 (same) 1964 - 01 (same) 1964 - 04 (same) 1964 - 07 (same) 1964 - 10 (same) 1965 - 01 (same) 1965 - 04 (same) 1965 - 07 (same) 1965 - 10 (same) 1966 - 01 (same) (note A text changed again, see below) 1966 - 04 (same) 1966 - 07 (same) 1966 - 10 (same) 1967 - 01 (same) 1967 - 04 (same) 1967 - 07 (same) 1967 - 10 (same) 1968 - 01 (same) 1968 - 04 (same) 1968 - 07 5001-5006 5 " 1968 - 10 (same) 1969 - 01 (same) 1969 - 04 (same) 1969 - 07 (same) 1969 - 10 (same) 1970 - 01 (same) 1970 - 04 (same) 1970 - 07 (same) 1970 - 10 (same) 1971 - 01 (same) 1971 - 04 (same) 1971 - 07 (same) 1971 - 10 (same) 1972 - 01 (same) 1972 - 04 (same) 1972 - 07 (same) 1972 - 10 (same) 1973 - 01 (same) 1973 - 04 Not listed
Note H (10/1941 - 1/1947)
Note car numbers vary over time to correspond to main listing
Note C (1/1948 - 7/1951)
Note A (10/1951 - 10-1952)Dimensions of well hole (not load carrying) in cars in series 5000 to 5007 inclusive are as follows:
length 14 ft. 2 in., width 7 ft., height from rail to bottom of well 9¼ in.Note A (1/1953 - 7/1953)
Dimensions of well hole (not load carrying) in cars in series 5000 to 5006 inclusive are as follows:
length 14 ft. 2 in., width 7 ft., height from rail to bottom of well 9¼ in.
These cars are equipped with a permanent superstructure for transporting large type machinery such as generators, etc.Note A (10/1953 - 10/1965)
Dimensions of well hole (not load carrying) in cars in series 5000 to 5006 inclusive are as follows:
length 14 ft. 2 in., width 7 ft., height from rail to bottom of well 9¼ in.
These cars are equipped with a permanent superstructure for transporting large type machinery such as generators, etc.
These cars are equipped with steel flooring and have 2 four-wheel trucks. Spacing between truck centers 21 ft 8½ in; between axles 5 ft. 6 in.Note A (1/1966 - 1/1973)
Dimensions of well hole (not load carrying) in cars in series 5000 to 5006 inclusive are as follows:
length 14 ft. 2 in., width 7 ft., height from rail to bottom of well 9¼ in.
These cars are equipped with a permanent superstructure for transporting large type machinery such as generators, etc.
These cars are equipped with steel flooring and have 2 four-wheel trucks. Spacing between truck centers 21 ft 8½ in; between axles 5 ft. 6 in.
Height above top of rail to center of gravity – inches. Light-weights [pounds] of these cars as follows:
Car # 1/1966 7/1968 5000 54,900 5001 55,200 55,200 5002 56,900 56,900 5003 60,300 60,300 5005 59,300 59,300 5006 60,200 60,200 "Heavy Capacity and Special Type Flat Cars" notes - 1/1971
Car numbers Data 5001 5002 5003 5005 5006 AAR Mech. Designation FW FW FW FW FW Type of loading floor Steel Steel Steel Steel Steel Dimensions
(Note A)Outside length of car 32'-1" 32'-1" 32'-1" 32'-1" 32'-1" Load Carrying
PlatformLength 14'-2" 14'-2" 14'-2" 14'-2" 14'-2" Width 7' 7' 7' 7' 7' Height from top of rail Open Pit Open Pit Open Pit Open Pit Open Pit Height from top of rail to center of gravity Number of trucks, number of wheels per truck 2 - 4 wheel 2 - 4 wheel 2 - 4 wheel 2 - 4 wheel 2 - 4 wheel Spacing between truck centers 21'-8½" 21'-8½" 21'-8½" 21'-8½" 21'-8½" Spacing between axles 5'-6" 5'-6" 5'-6" 5'-6" 5'-6" Light weight (pounds) 55200 56900 60300 59300 60200 Capacity (pounds) 100000 100000 100000 100000 100000 Total cars 1 1 1 1 1 Notes 43 43 43 43 43 Note 43: Cars in B&M series 5001-5006 are equipped with permanent superstructure for transporting large type machinery such as generators, etc. These cars have ¼ in. steel dust plate (not load carrying) beneath well hole, 3 in. above top of rail, to prevent ballast and other debris from flying into well hole.
- Per Tim Gilbert
By 1941 with World War II a fact even before Pearl Harbor, special service flats were required to carry the high, wide, and heavy (and slow) loads. Two designs were chosen - [depressed center flat info omitted], and the second one was an especially developed one with a well hole (the B&M #5000-5007 series) to transport marine propulsion gears up to 15 feet in diameter from GE's Lynn plant. Both were assembled by the Concord car shops - [more depressed center flat info omitted] and the eight well hole cars fabricated from sundry steel pieces. In 1944, Maine Central's Waterville shops used the well hole design to fabricate eight more cars for GE which were numbered GECX #2000-2007.These 1941 designs used steel massively. The light weights of the 2 designs were 70,600 pounds for the four depressed center flats and 53,300 pounds for the eight well hole flats in comparison to the mere 37,300 pounds for the #33500 general flat car series built in 1923. Much of the additional steel was necessary to support weight solely between the bolsters. Without this extra steel, the car could break its back with a full load. For loaded cars where the load-bearing surface did not straddle the bolsters, loading regulations permitted only a percentage of the full load limit which could be loaded.
Because of their uniqueness, the #5000-5007 series were the only B&M cars cited on the Carbuilders Cyclopedia's bibliography of selected articles from Railway Age or Railway Mechanical Engineer (page 210 of the August 8, 1942 issue of Railway Age). The bottom of the well was open but, with a load, a flexible cover was installed to protect the load from debris kicked up from the roadbed. Columns, girders, or I-beams straddling the bolsters on the deck supported the fill [sic - full?] weight of the gear which could be up to 15 feet in diameter. This supported a harness which encased the center of the gear 7'-11½" from the top of the rail (4'-0½" from the top of the deck). The width of the harness could be adjusted in 2¼" steps from a minimum of 42¾" to a maximum of 78¾". The load restraint system with a load is shown in the diagram [class card diagram?]
The gears were delivered to shipyards from GE's Lynn plant. Since the extreme height from the top of the rail was in excess of 15'-1", the loaded cars were restricted in their routing and, probably, speed. They could not go through the Hoosac Tunnel, for instance. The Bath ME Iron Works and Bethlehem [Steel] Quincy Yard were prime customers. Any shipment to Newport News Shipbuilding Co. would probably have been made with the gears loaded as deck cargo for empty colliers returning to Hampton Roads. In 1942, the U-Boats may have put a crimp into this [ocean] movement from the port of Boston.
The six survivors of the #5000-5007 series were sold to GE in 1997. Some still survived in 1998 sitting on obscure tracks in West Lynn.
- Ken Akerboom note:
When I went to the NMRA National convention in Boston in 1986, I took the RRE fan trip to Chatham NY on the ex-B&A (and on to the NEB&W layout at RPI) As we went thru Pittsfield, I recall sees "a whole slew" of depressed center and/or well hole flats at the GE plant there. I have NO idea if any of these were ex-B&M cars, or not.
- These are also listed in the "Heavy Capacity and Special Type Flat Cars" section (typically at the end of the ORER), with (more or less) the same info. See 1971 example below.
- Per Don Clerke
Sold to General Electric.- Build date:
Note the car disposition records indicate a build date of 1941-10, yet the cars started being listed in the ORER 1941-01.
I don't know if the cars started being listed when they were "ordered", or if the diposition record date is "late" (or a dyslexic typo?), or what is going on.For what it's worth, the drawing in the 2/1983 article in Model Railroader magazine shows a build date of 1941-02
Volume number refers original book number
Part number refers to PDF file part as posted on B&MRRHS site
Page numbers refer to pages in PDF file(s) (L/R = Left or Right side of that PDF page)
Car Number(s) Vol Part Page Date Action Location New # Notes 5004 3 6 8R 1950-03-28 Sold to GE 5007 3 7 3L 1950-11-06 Sold to GE
5000-5007: Build Date = 1941-10 [no other data listed]
Source(s) Box Folder Folder name Link Title Approx.
Start dateApprox.
End date1 3 Freight Car List Old 5000 series flats 1941-10 before 1950-07?
- As delivered
- all black, white lettering, no herald
Page Car # Photo Date
yr-mo-dayVisible? Markings Paint
SchemeHerald Notes 
Don Clerke inserts into B&MRRHS Bulletin i 10 photo 21 ? X p black none no ACI, no COTS, "yellow dot"?. Shows superstructure. (another one in the background?) [The] Model Railroader magazine - issue included in "page" column (see above for article titles, etc.) 1/1944 p11 5000 X B BM R R N N N N N N black none B&M RR photo. Gear mostly visible (just teeth covered) 2/1983 p102 ? (2 cars) X black ? In copies I have, the car numbers are indistinct.
note 2 regular flats w/ wide loads also in train.Rail Car Photos (as of 21-Dec-2020)
May require a login, May require a browser newer than Internet Explorer.
Several ways to get there, I "Search Photos" → "By Reporting Mark"
Scroll down and click the "Search" button to the right of the "GEX" reporting marks
Then scroll down to find the photo.
These are photos after being sold to GEGE 5002 1978-05-10 Y X A GEX G G N N N? N N N GE blue n/a Looks like they left some of the B&M painted "weight" data. Large red/white/blue hood w/ GE logo. GE 5005 1978-04-12 Y X A GEX G G N N N? Y N N GE blue n/a Looks like they left some of the B&M painted "weight" data. Large red/white/blue hood w/ GE logo. Railway Age August 8, 1942 issue, p210 [with gear] 5000 black none I have not seen the photo
Date Quantity Description 1977 5 or 6 (all remaining) Sold to GE. Supposedly some still survived into 1998 in West Lynn, MA
Per lack of listing 4/1973, might have been sold earlier?
(or perhaps they were stored out-of-service at GE's plant from 1973-1977?)
Scale Manufacturer Stock number Car number Paint scheme Notes HO Funaro and Camerlengo 6590 (decals) Resin kit More modeling information can be found on James B. Van Bokkelen's web site:
B&M Roster Info
Details on this car series
File History for THIS page Date Who Description 26-Dec-2019 KG Akerboom Initial release 17-Mar-2020 KG Akerboom Standardized Don Clerke "source" link 28-Mar-2020 KG Akerboom Added data from 19 more ORERs 01-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Added Model Railroader references 04-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Re-did references/photos section 01-May-2020 KG Akerboom Added data from 4 more ORER (1941, 1943, 1945, 1947) 05-May-2020 KG Akerboom Moved ORER notes into separate section 09-May-2020 KG Akerboom Added 1942 class cards 10-May-2020 KG Akerboom Added 1952 class cards 12-May-2020 KG Akerboom Updated class card table 21-Jul-2020 KG Akerboom "Photos" table - changed "vertical" text to PNG of "sideways" text; added "Markings" columns 07- thru
16-Aug-2020KG Akerboom Added ORER data (History only, not dims or notes yet) for 63 more registers, courtesy of James Kinkaid 18-Oct-2020 KG Akerboom Added Car Book Data 17-Nov-2020 KG Akerboom Standardized formatting of Classification Card(s) section 20-Nov-2020 KG Akerboom Updated 1942 Classification Card(s) 19-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added JBVB web site links 21-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added railcarphotos.com pictures of cars when owned by GE 30-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added Modelers Notes info 04-Jul-2021 KG Akerboom Reorganized Car Book and/or Car Disposition Data (Car # to 1st column, 2nd/other changes to new rows) 26-Jul-2021 KG Akerboom Added car disposition record data 15-Oct-2021 KG Akerboom Added remaining 7/1928 - 10/1947 ORERs 02-Jan-2022 KG Akerboom Corrected "Note H" first appeared in 10/1941 ORER 27-Sep-2022 KG Akerboom Verified per [almost] complete ORER data 04-Jan-2023 KG Akerboom Fixed headers and footers...hopefully 25-Feb-2023 KG Akerboom Fixed link to scanned data (car books)
| Web page created and maintained by Ken Akerboom ©2023 B&MRRHS - All Rights Reserved B&MRRHS Home | B&M Freight Cars Home |
