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Does one exist?
For more info on the classification cards and "webitizing" them, see this web pageFrom 1952 class book.
or NMRO (Scott Whitney) CDs/DVDsClick 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)
Additional info from Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27
Spec Value Builder ACF Lot # 64 [B&M]
[per Ed Hawkins, ACF (series 2) lot number 2963]Car Numbers #5500-5519 Quantity 20 Builder Lot 2963 Build Date 1946-10 AAR class LO Lt Weight 52,876 (average) Description Two bay covered hopper Cubic Cap'y 1,790 Cu. Ft. [see discussion below] Ends Steel plate Hopper Gates Enterprise Body Bolster Built-up steel with plain side bearings Trucks C Stl side frames double truss Journals 6" x 11" (140,000 nominal capacity) Journal Box Lids Symington-Gould Side Bearings Stucki [on truck?] Wheels 33" one wear Springs Symington coil elliptic Hand Brake Ajax Hand Brake Step "KASS" (Morton) Brake Beam Davis "Unit" Brake Beam Safety Support not used Air Brake New York AB with 10" x 12" cylinder Center Plate AAR contour, 13¾" dia. Center Sills 13" - 35# C B channel [copper bearing?] Coupler National type "E" Coupler Shank 6¼" x 8" swivel shank Uncoupler Rig. Imperial Draft Gear Miner A-22-XB Bottom Rod AC&F Bottom Rod Support Buffalo Brake shoes ABS&F Co. Brake shoe keys Buffalo "Master" Brake Levers Schaefer Brake Beam Hanger not used Brake Lever Badge Plate Nat. B.M. Corp. Brake Pipe "T" Anchor Ill. Ry Eq. Co. Retaining Valve Anchor (none) Defect Card Holder "MC.L.Fogg" Brake pins & cotters "Cooke" Other info from Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27 Hatch cover/locking bars Type 1 (see RPCyc for definition):
Hinged near running board, one long 18" handhold opposite hinges on outboard edge of coverHand brakes Ajax Power Running boards Apex Tri-lok Brake Steps Morton Trucks Double-truss, coil-elliptic spring, spring plankless w/ 33" one wear steel wheels Sides Open (Triangular cutouts between hoppers) Roof Flat, riveted roof lacking seam caps "B" end posts Narrow space between posts at end sill [bottom], left support agles towards right support below brake step Toe holds 8
ORER Size Data Description 1/1948 10/1953 AAR Mechanical Designation LO LO Inside
DimensionsLength 26'-4" 29'-3" Width 9'-8" 9'-5" Height Outside
DimensionsLength 32'-4" 35'-3" Width At Eaves or top of sides or platform 10'-4" 10'-2" Extreme Width 10'-4" 10'-2" Height
from
RailTo Extreme Width 11'-10" 12'-3" To Eaves or top of sides or platform 11'-10" 12'-3" To Top of Running Board 12'-11" 12'-10" To Extreme Height 12'-11" 13' Door - Side
openingWidth Height Capacity Cu Ft. Level Full 1790 1958 Pounds 140000 140000
ORER History ORER Date
(Year-Mo.)Car
Numbers# of
CarsDescription 1947 - 04 5500-5019 [sic] 20 Covered Hopper 1947 - 07 5500-5519 " " 1947 - 10 (same) 1948 - 01 (same) 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 (same) 1950 - 10 (same) 1951 - 01 (same) 1951 - 04 (same) 1951 - 07 (same) 1951 - 10 (same) 1952 - 01 (same) 1952 - 04 (same) 1952 - 07 (same) 1952 - 10 (same) 1953 - 01 (same) 1953 - 04 (same) 6 cars sold to Revere Sugar 1953 - 07 " 14 " 1953 - 10 (same) 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) 7 cars sold to Revere Sugar 1959 - 01 5502-5519 7 " 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) 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 (same) 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 " 6 " 1972 - 10 (same) 1973 - 01 (same) 1973 - 04 (same) 1973 - 07 (same) 1973 - 11 (same) 1974 - 01 (same) 1974 - 04 (same) 1974 - 07 (same) 1974 - 10 " 5 " 1975 - 01 (same) 1975 - 04 (same) 1975 - 07 (same) 1975 - 10 (same) 1976 - 01 (same) 1976 - 04 (same) 1976 - 07 (same) 1976 - 10 (same) 1977 - 01 (same) 1977 - 04 (same) 1977 - 07 (same) 1977 - 10 (same) 1978 - 01 (same) 1978 - 04 (same) 1978 - 07 (same) 1978 - 10 (same) 1979 - 01 " 4 " 1979 - 04 (same) 1979 - 07 (same) 1979 - 10 (same) 1980 - 01 (same) 1980 - 04 (same) 1980 - 07 " 3 " 1980 - 10 (same) 1981 - 01 (same) 1981 - 04 Not listed
- 9 rib (10 panel) 2 bay covered hopper
- Per Don Clerke
Built by ACF
8 square roof hatches, high open [cutout] side between the hoppers
Some cars reconditioned in late 1978- Per Tim Gilbert
On account of the cement plant in Thomaston, the Maine Central's earliest covered hopper was a 1934 conversion of a hopper built in 1917. By 1940, they went out and bought ten new ones from ACF and repeated the order for ten more in 1942. Towards the end of 1946, the B&M and MEC had a joint order for 35 covered hoppers from ACF - 15 for the MEC and 20 for the B&M.Where the MEC had cement, the B&M served a number of sugar refineries around Boston so part, if not all, of the #5500-5519 series were reserved for sugar loading. While covered hoppers were more efficient carriers of bulk commodities than boxcars, they were not as efficient in utilization. They could rarely be "re-loaded" because of contamination (e.g. sugar vs. cement). It is possible that the purchase of covered hoppers was at the request of the shippers/consignees and not a railroad initiative.
There is bound to be confusion over the different dimensions reported in the ORERs and Class Card Diagram. [see table below] When the #5500s were first listed in the ORERs (they were not listed in the January 1949 [sic - I think he means 1946] volume), the dimensions were the same as those dimensions listed for the for the pre-war MEC covered hoppers [1940 order] purchased from ACF (1790 Cu ft.). These "pre-war" dimensions continued to be reported through the January [actually, July] 1953 edition. The dimensions shown in the January, 1955 [actually, October, 1953] ORER reflected those of the post-war ACF two bay covered hopper with 1958 feet cubic capacity. The Class Card Diagram showed linear dimensions (particularly the "Inside Length") reflecting the 1958 feet capacity, yet both the class card data and the stencil on the #5500s listed a cubic capacity of 1790 feet. There is no clear explanation for these discrepancies. Since the B&M #5500-5519 series were "plain vanilla" post-war ACF covered hopper production, it may be reasonable to assume that the January, 1955 [actually, October, 1953] ORER's dimensions are correct, but the stencil was never changed to reflect the revised 1958 feet cubic capacity because all the cars could not be restencilled at one time.
Six cars were sold to Revere Sugar in 1953 and numbered in the RSBX #122-127 series. Another seven cars were sold to Revere in 1958 and numbered into the RSBX #133-193 series. The final survivors of the #5500 series were retired from the B&M in 1980 [per the ORER, 1981]
Dimension Original
ORER dataRevised
ORER dataB&M
Class CardInside Length 26'-4" 29'-3" 29'-3" Inside Width 9'-8" 9'-5" 9'-5½" Outside Length 32'-4" 35'-3" 35'-2¾" Width at Eaves 10'-4" 10'-2" 10'-1½" Height from rail
to Eaves11'-10" 12'-3" 11'-9" Height from rail
to Running boards12'-11" 12'-10" 12'-9½" Height from rail
Extreme12'-11" 13' 12'-9½" Cubic Capacity 1790 1958 1790
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)
NOTE: once cars get renumbered into "company service" (zero + number, or W/M/S numbers), the following actions are my "best guess" as to what happened to the car (due to gaps in records, and the re-use of numbers)ALL Disposition data from document sited in 2nd table (below)
Car Book Data Disposition Records Data Car Number(s) Vol Part Page Date Action Location Notes Build
Date[ID]Dispo.
DateNotes 5500 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same] [buyer illegible] 5501 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same] [buyer illegible] 5502 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5503 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5504 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5505 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3L 1953-02-18 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5506 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5507 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 8 10L 1568-09-10 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2793) [same as car book data] 5508 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3R 1953-02-18 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5509 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same as car book data] 5510 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3R 1953-02-18 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5511 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same as car book data] 5512 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3R 1953-02-18 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5513 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3R 1953-01-22 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5514 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same as car book data] 5515 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5516 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 5517 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 4 9 1L 1958-06-23 Sold to Revere Sugar (SO 2690) [same as car book data] 5518 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02 3 9 3R 1953-02-18 Sold to Revere Sugar [same as car book data] 5519 3 2 3R 1946-11 Bought New 1947-02
Source(s) Box Folder Folder name Link Title Approx.
Start dateApprox.
End date1 5 Coal Cars 5500-5529 Covered_Hoppers - "A" 1947-02 1959-01
- As delivered
- all-grey body, black "Minuteman" herald
Underframe = ?From Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27:
Sides, Ends, Roof, and "open" areas under roof: DuPont Tufcoat Alkali Resisting Gray (similar to "Battleship gray")
Underframe, trucks, underside of floor, hoppers and doors: Black
Black lettering on gray areas, white lettering on black.
Herald sized to "just" fit between ribs on sideFrom David Hutchinson post on the Boston & Maine Railroad Modeler's Group Facebook group:
>Note the herald was "cut" to fit between the ribs, NOT just "reduced in size" (note the "wings" near the top are cropped off on the real car)
Page Car # Photo Date
yr-mo-dayVisible? Markings Paint
SchemeHerald Notes 
Don Clerke inserts into B&MRRHS Bulletin i 10 photo 25 5519? X BM R R N N 2V I N N grey none Fallen Flags and Other Railroad Photos (as of 15-Apr-2020)
Scroll down to the "B" section, click on the "Boston & Maine (B&M)" link
Then scroll down to find the photo. The "Page" column has the "Link" text listedLO 5515 5515 1965-05 Y X BM R R AB N N N N N original MM All data (except herald) repainted
(reporting marks, car #, dimensions, etc.)NMRA Bulletin, Dec, 1998 (in Kato ad) p15 5508 BM R R AB N N N N N original MM Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27 p 36 5508 1946-10 (?) X BM R R AB N N N N N original MM Builder's photo? Railroading on the Boston and Maine 1955 edition (RDCs on cover)
Originally published by the B&M, reprinted by the B&MRRHS in 2015p16 5501 X BM R R AB N N N N N original MM Railroading on the Boston and Maine 1953 edition (3821 on cover)
Originally published by the B&M, reprinted by the B&MRRHS in 2016 - same picture as 1955 editionp13 5501 X BM R R AB N N N N N original MM Boston & Maine Railroad Modeler's Group on Facebook
Direct link
You may need to join the group to see the photo?5515 1946-1950?("New" wt. data) X A BM R R AB N N N N N original MM Rail Model Journal, Oct, 1991 p10 5508 1946-10? X B BM R R AB N N N N N original MM (builder's photo)
Date Quantity New Numbers Description 1953 6 RSBX 122-127 Sold to Revere Sugar (per car books above) ca. 1953-4? 5? RSRX 128-132? Sold to Revere Sugar (per Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27) ?? (I'm assuming this is wrong?) 1958 7 RSBX 133-139 Sold to Revere Sugar (per car books above)
Atlas also released undec "O" models (both "open" and "closed" side) 2004-2017
Scale Manufacturer Stock number Car number Paint scheme Notes HO Kato 38-0201 ? ? Featured in ad in Dec, 1998 NMRA Bulletin
"Open side, 3 car kit"
Ad has prototype photo of 5508, model photo of ?HO Intermountain 48623-07 5502 Grey, MM Listed on web site, Dec, 2020
Looking at posted image of model of 5509, a few issues can be noted:
- Minuteman herald wrong (should be clipped, not reduced in size to fit between ribs)
- Web page "BUILT NEW 1940" wrong (but car lettering is correct)
- Class designation "LO" in lower-right corner of side *may* be wrong (in Facebook photo it has Serif (roman) font,
Intermountain car has sans-serif (Gothic) font, (but I don't know if photo was a repaint or not)
Note sure about any other issues (e.g. latching mechanism), but probably is the "best" HO modelHO Intermountain 48623-08 5505 Grey, MM HO Intermountain 48623-09 5509 Grey, MM HO Intermountain 48623-10 5513 Grey, MM HO Intermountain 48623-11 5516 Grey, MM HO Intermountain 48623-12 5518 Grey, MM HO Intermountain Walthers part 85-48623 5508 Grey, MM Listed on Walthers as "out of stock", Dec, 2020 O Atlas Models 8372 (3 rail) 5510 Grey, MM Unknown accuracy. Released Aug, 2006, listed as "sold out" on their web site as of Dec, 2020 O Atlas Models 9372 (2 rail) 5510 Grey, MM Unknown accuracy. Released Aug, 2006, listed as "sold out" on their web site as of Dec, 2020 HO Eastern Car Works ? ? "Flat" kit available mid-1990s. Unknown accuracy, newer models probably better. HO Bowser 40929 5507 Grey, MM RTR. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 40930 5513 Grey, MM RTR. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 40931 5517 Grey, MM RTR. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 55691 [none] Grey, MM Kit. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 56557 5503 Grey, MM Kit. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 56558 5509 Grey, MM Kit. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 HO Bowser 56559 5518 Grey, MM Kit. Unknown accuracy. Available 2006 time frame, "out of stock" as of Dec, 2020 Notes:
- Kato is less of a good match, apparently it is a GATC prototype
- Note the B&M car has the "large" triangular openings in the car sides (as opposed to "small" ones which were about 1/2 the size, or "solid" cars that lacked the triangular openings altogether)
File History for THIS page Date Who Description 31-Dec-2019 KG Akerboom Initial release 17-Mar-2020 KG Akerboom Standardized Don Clerke "source" link 02-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Added references 04-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Re-did references/photos section 16-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Added more web sites: B&MRRHS Flickr, Fallen Flags, NMRA Archives, Earl Tuson. Also Scott Whitney (NMRO) CDs 23-Apr-2020 KG Akerboom Updated per B&MRRHS Modeler's Notes #39 05-May-2020 KG Akerboom Moved ORER notes into separate section 10-May-2020 KG Akerboom Added 1952 class cards 12-May-2020 KG Akerboom Updated class card table 16-Jun-2020 KG Akerboom Added lot number from Ed Hawkins info 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 12-Nov-2020 KG Akerboom Added Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #27 info 17-Nov-2020 KG Akerboom Standardized formatting of Classification Card(s) section 12-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added model info 16-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added Atlas O scale models 30-Dec-2020 KG Akerboom Added ECW and Bowser models, MR "Paint Shop" reference 04-Jan-2021 KG Akerboom Added Railroading on the Boston and Maine photo 04-Jul-2021 KG Akerboom Reorganized Car Book and/or Car Disposition Data (Car # to 1st column, 2nd/other changes to new rows) 06-Sep-2021 KG Akerboom Added car disposition record data 20-Sep-2021 KG Akerboom Added 5515 photo from Facebook 16-Oct-2021 KG Akerboom Added remaining 7/1928 - 10/1947 ORERs 27-Nov-2021 KG Akerboom Added 1991 RMJ info 27-Oct-2022 KG Akerboom Updated 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) 05-Mar-2023 KG Akerboom Added older references 23-Feb-2024 KG Akerboom Added article from Jan-1947 [Employee's] magazine 06-Aug-2024 KG Akerboom Updated article from Jan-1947 [Employee's] magazine 14-Aug-2024 KG Akerboom Updated comments on Intermountain model, misc other typos 02-Oct-2024 KG Akerboom Added notes to modeling section
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