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| Al Armitage photo, Ron Morse Collection, ca. 1949-1950 |
One of the things I thought would be a fun part of this "series" on flat cars would be to highlight some of the more interesting and unusual cars that I have come across in the photos I have acquired over the years. The Spokane International car was one such example, as is the one shown herein. According to wikipedia, the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern was organized in 1895 to build a line from Waterloo to Cedar Falls, Iowa, completed in 1897. It expanded to Waverly and Cedar Rapids and operated a modest schedule of several interurban trains per day connecting these points. It also operated a freight belt line around Waterloo.
In January, 1953, according to the Official Railway Equipment Register, the WCF&N rostered a whopping 52 freight cars, of which almost half were the 25 flat cars in the 4000-4024 series. I have had this photo on my radar since I acquired the print, thinking it would be a great project to complement one of my two Sunshine Models Farmall tractor load kits. Of note are the towing loops at the bolsters. That's a project for another day, though.
P.S. I do not know when these cars were built or by what car builder. If anyone knows those details, please fell free to share via the comments section below. Thank you!
