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Book Review
Western Maryland Railway Revenue Equipment:
Boxcars and Refrigerator Cars
Authors: William J. Oertly and D. A. McFall
Publisher: Western Maryland Railway Historical
Society
I had been awaiting a comprehensive book on the
Western Maryland Railway freight equipment. This
overview is now a multi-volume project to cover the
WM freight car fleet. The recent release of this
book on the WM boxcars and refrigerator cars was a
most welcome sight in the mail box. Upon a quick
glance through, there are many images of the
featured freight cars plus car diagrams and
notations. As you read into the meat of the text,
you will find the authors have presented a near
comprehensive documentation of the WM boxcar and
refrigerator car fleet.
The book details cover WM boxcar and refrigerator
cars from 1905 to the end of the railway. 1905 is a
pivotal year as the
West Virginia Central &
Pittsburg and the Belington & Beaver Creek were
absorbed into the company. The authors wisely
included chapters featuring details on the entire WM
freight car fleet as well as painting and lettering
details. These background details assist in
illustrating the boxcar and refrigerator cars in
regards to the rest of the WM freight car fleet. I
found the many details and photographs of the
pre-steel sheathed boxcars fascinating, but there
were many other interesting discoveries. Here are
just a few of the many details gleaned from this
volume.
.. The first WM steel sheathed boxcars were double
door automobile cars installed in 1936.
.. WM rostered 300 USRA single-sheathed boxcars
until 1946.
.. WM rostered about 3000 double-sheathed boxcars of
36 and 40 foot lengths in 1932, with nearly 800
still rostered in 1945.
.. The first 50-foot boxcars were the B-12 class
installed in 1949. These cars had a low interior
height of 9' 10".
.. The first boxcars of welded construction were
installed in 1953 as the B-15 class.
There are many more nuggets throughout this volume.
As people turn to prototype details to enhance their
modeling efforts, a book such as this becomes a key
tool on, or near, the workbench. If you have any
interest in the Western Maryland Railway whatsoever,
you will find this book a welcome purchase. A very
large thank you is due to authors William J. Oertly
and D.A. McFall for sifting through a wealth of
details to present this work. I look forward to
future volumes, especially ones that will feature
the hopper car and gondola fleets.
This book is $30 and available through Western
Maryland Railway Historical
Society gift shop.
Eric Hansmann
Morgantown, W. Va.
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