Western Railroad Discussion > SP Boxcar Yellow door?

Recently ExactRail Models released an HO model of an SP boxcar that has two doors per side. One of the doors is yellow. I was wondering if anyone would know why SP went to the trouble to paint one of the doors on each side yellow?
I am guessing it was a color code for a specific type of service???
Thanks for any help.
UP4306

I believe this signified some sort of lumber service. They also had single door cars with a diagonal yellow stripe for another specialized timber product service.

John

I thought a yellow door or stripe meant it was a paper grade box car as opposed to just a rough lumber box car. Paper grade box cars were suitable for traffic requiring a clean interior, e.g., paper, canned goods.

Milwaukee Road painted one door white for the same purpose.

Best regards,

Rob L.

I thought the yellow stripe was lumber pool and the solid yellow door was paper service. LA and later West Colton would run solid trains of these cars and flats classified as "MUG-" and whatever terminal it orginiated at like LA or WC.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1971921,1971921#msg-1971921

WAF Wrote:
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> I thought the yellow stripe was lumber pool and
> the solid yellow door was paper service. LA and
> later West Colton would run solid trains of these
> cars and flats classified as "MUG-" and whatever
> terminal it originated at like LA or WC.


The yellow doors were prime plywood cars as they were double doors and thus could be forklift loaded.
The term "MUG" trains originated before the 4 letter train designations and it was short for Empties for Eugene. The 200 car length Roseville "Rock pile" tacks were built especially for the MUG's so they would not have to be doubled over at RV.

I learned something. Never knew what MUG stood for.

Single door 40 foot cars with 10 foot openings were part of the lumber pool.

OK, the real story.

Both the yellow door on the fifty footers and the yellow stripe on the forty footers was a marketing ploy.

SP converted a number of single door fifty footers to double doors and a very large number of narrow door
forty foot cars to wide doors. The yellow door/stripe was there to tell the lumber/paper shippers that
the SP had done this to help them with their load-out operations. Fork lifts, you know.

I suppose that you had to be in either Oregon or Northern California in the late 1960's to know about
this little marketing campaign. Of course, you all know that I was.

For the paper shippers there was the Evergreen fleet.

mdo



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/09 14:13 by mdo.

mdo Wrote:
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> OK, the real story.
>
> Both the yellow door on the fifty footers and the
> yellow stripe on the forty footers was a marketing
> ploy.
>
> SP converted a number of single door fifty footers
> to double doors and a very large number of narrow
> door
> forty foot cars to wide doors. The yellow
> door/stripe was there to tell the lumber/paper
> shippers that
> the SP had done this to help them with their
> load-out operations. Fork lifts, you know.
>
> I suppose that you had to be in either Oregon or
> Northern California in the late 1960's to know
> about
> this little marketing campaign. Of course, you
> all know that I was.
>
> For the paper shippers there was the Evergreen
> fleet.
>
> mdo

MDO
Remember how some of the car distributors on the old Portland Div. would use the limited supply of double doors for some payola with select lumber shippers.

I'm sure the biggest got the best cars

Thought the bumped out roofs indicated forklift capability.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Thought the bumped out roofs indicated forklift
> capability.

More like the mental capability of the forklift operators.

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TCnR Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thought the bumped out roofs indicated forklift
> > capability.
>
> More like the mental capability of the forklift
> operators.

Yea, should be a big sign inside each car that says "do not raise lift inside car" Duh.

JLY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> The 200 car length Roseville
> "Rock pile" tacks were built especially for the
> MUG's so they would not have to be doubled over at
> RV.

Changing the subject for a moment, why weren't these MUGs crew-changed on the main and straight through? Did they add or reduce them at Roseville?

And the Rock Pile. Was that part of the original 1952 rebuild into "Jennings Yard", or were those tracks added later? And how did it get its name Rock Pile?

BCHellman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JLY Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > The 200 car length Roseville
> > "Rock pile" tacks were built especially for the
> > MUG's so they would not have to be doubled over
> at
> > RV.
>
> Changing the subject for a moment, why weren't
> these MUGs crew-changed on the main and straight
> through? Did they add or reduce them at
> Roseville?
>
> And the Rock Pile. Was that part of the original
> 1952 rebuild into "Jennings Yard", or were those
> tracks added later? And how did it get its name
> Rock Pile?


500 mile inspection
No were built in 1961 or 1962
Material used in construction

I, too, remember the "Eugene Empties" leaving Taylor Yard in LA back in the 1960s.

--Jim Baker
Agent: Whittier

Back in the mid 50's box cars had a yellow strip diagonally on the door. That was replaced by an all yellow door. At the time I was working the chain gang out of Tracy these yellow doors were "Return to Agent Eugene". They were for lumber only. Hope this helps.

40 footers had yellow stripes and 50s had one of its double doors solid yellow. Never saw a 50 with a yellow stripe

And yes, they had the notation in yellow return to SP agent, wherever. Some said paper service, some lumber service.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/09 18:37 by WAF.