PULLMAN-STANDARD
8240 July 1955 PS-1 XM Boxcar 4844 cubic ft 50 tons 52 000 lbs
50 ft 5-9/16 in 9 ft 2-1/16 in 10 ft 5-1/2 in 51 ft 10 in 10 ft 5-1/16 in 14 ft 11-15/16 in
8 ft 0 in wide X 9 ft 10-5/16 in high Superior 6-panel sliding doors
Scullin A-3 ride control trucks
builder..
builder lot number.. built.. type.. volume.. capacity.. operational weight.. interior length..
interior width.. interior height.. length over strikers.. overall width.. overall height.. clear door opening.. door type.. trucks..
Tidewater's 501-series boxcars comprised 25 cars delivered in July of 1955. They were the first real fleet of interchange freight cars owned by the railroad. Prior to their arrival, the only freight equipment found in TS records was a single flat car dating from the road's early days. The 501-series appear to have been a follow-on to a Western Pacific order delivered in June 1955. The WP cars were numbered 36001-36025 and seem to have been identical to the TS cars with the exception that the WP cars are listed as having insulated ends while the TS cars were specificed in the order documents to be uninsulated. (WP/TS equipment diagrams show them as being so equipped and the presense of insulated ends was confirmed by an inspection of two of the three known surviving cars.)
All 50 cars were XM-class PS-1s built by Pullman-Standard. They featured 8' Superior 6-panel doors, welded sides and Scullin A-3 Ride Control
friction bearing trucks. They would be the only TS boxcars without roller bearings. They were also the only uninsulated (except for the ends) boxcars owned by the railroad and typically hauled general merchandise, as opposed to the canned
goods service that would dominate the use of the Tidewater's other boxcars. They had a capacity of 50 tons and did not appear to have been equipped with the special loaders of later TS cars. The reasons for their purchase are not totally
known but some guesses can be made. Based on information obtained concerning the purchase of the The most interesting aspect to these cars was the unique identify they were delivered in. A special logo was applied depicting a cornucopia, or "horn of plenty", with the slogan "Serving California's
Heartland". This was one of the most colorful logos ever used in railroading and can be seen prominently throughout this website. The lettering scheme was also different from other WP family cars, although the typeface for the roadname
and all data were a WP standard style. The 501 class appears to have been the only time that the TS or SN asserted such an individual identity on freight equipment during the diesel era. All other TS and SN freight equipment so far
documented used modified WP liveries. The reason for this unique scheme is unknown. One item of interest about this logo has come to light, however. The brilliant cornucopia and the slogan became well-remembered symbols of the
Tidewater. Thus it is ironic that in April 1958, less than 3 years after their delivery, a recommendation was made by H. C. Munson, TS Superintendent, that the large (nearly 5 foot square) cornucopia decals not be renewed when the cars came
up for repainting. We stated in a letter to WP President F. B. Whitman that the decals were "too complicated a picture with too many colors. It also costs about $80 per car to replace it." Finally, the life of the decals was
placed at only three to five years. President Whitman concurred and a decree was issued that the cornucopia was not to be renewed on the cars. Most of the cars appear to never have been repainted, however, until receiving patch
jobs after Evidence suggests that the 501-series were the last items of rolling stock in service
bearing Tidewater marks. All other freight cars were repainted and renumbered (and in some cases rebuilt) into WP series in the 1970's. The last locomotives left in December 1976 and the cabooses were gone by 1978. In 1975, the WP made
plans to renumber all the 501 cars into its 36026 series, behind its own single door PS-1s, however this was not done quickly nor did it reach all the cars. TS 510, 519 and 522 are documented to have been retired before renumbering and TS 521
was renumbered directly into WP MOW service as WPMW 37-10. TS 504 and 507 soldiered on until some time in the mid-1980's having never been renumbered or relettered. Similar WP cars were also reported in service until the early-1980's,
several having been rebuilt for special truck part hauling service for Ford Motor Company. All were probably retired shortly after the merger and the dispositions for most are unknown. Today, TS 520 sits at the Portola Railroad Museum partly
restored with a painted cornucopia. The PRM is also home to WPMW 37-10, the former TS 521. One other car, TS 512, sits in an industrial park in Beckworth, near Portola, still bearing the scarred remains of the logo.
501-525 series XM Boxcars
Tidewater Southern Railway
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