Steam & Excursion > Flatcar Restoration Completed, on the Sierra Railway in Jamestown

Many tourist and scenic railroads are taking advantage of the current Corona Virus shutdown to take care of projects that may have been otherwise set aside for slower times.  This is no exception on the Sierra Railway (at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park) in Jamestown, CA.

Recently, staff and a few selected volunteers completed the cosmetic restoration of one of the railroad's historic freight cars.  Dating back to the early 1930s, Sierra flatcar #323 was originally used by the railroad as a wood block car, providing firewood for the camps and outfit cars along the railroad.  At some point, the railroad removed the block rack, and began utilizing the car as an ordinary flat car.  Eventually, the car would be used in numerous films and television productions, along with various other examples of the Sierra's antiquated equipment.  As filming of Western-style programs lost popularity, so did the use of the Sierra's cars.  And while the occasional special event brought some use for the flatcar, it has basically sat unused for the last two decades.

Late last year, interest was expressed in rebuilding or repainting some of the lesser-used equipment at the State Park, to make them more attractive for use.  After discussion with curatorial and restoration staff, it was determined that the Sierra Railroad #323 flatcar would be the first to undergo work.  Here, we see the progression of this project.  (All photos courtesy of Michael Ninneman, unless otherwise credited.)

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Photo 1 - Sierra Railroad flatcar #323, as she looked in Summer 2019.  The cheap paint has faded to a strange orange-brown, and the car lacks any lettering.  (SierraSidewinder photo.)
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Photo 2 - The car was used as a "handle" to unload historic Coach #3, back in early February 2020.  Its use brought it quite a bit of attention, and likely helped provide the impetus for the restoration project.
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Photo 3 - Restoration has begun.  Studying historic paint practices and colors, the new red paint that the car is getting has been hand mixed, and is as historically correct as can be reasonably determined. (SierraSidewinder photo.)
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More to come...



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/20 08:07 by SierraSidewinder.

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Photo 4 - The body of the car is done, leaving the underframe and lettering, along with details like the grab irons and stirrups.  (SierraSidewinder photo.)
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Photo 5 - The car is done!  May 31, 2020. 
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Photo 6 - Profile shot showing historically-accurate lettering.  Most of the time spent on this project was actually doing research, to replicate not only the correct size and style of lettering, but the correct locations, as well.  The result is spacing and locations accurate to within 1/4 inch, and has been hand-traced from original Sierra Railroad letters or stencils.
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Couple more coming...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/20 21:50 by SierraSidewinder.

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Photo 7 - Close up view of the newly-restored, hand-traced lettering.
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Photo 8 - A quick look at the B End of the car, showing some of the data stencilling at the opposite end.
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Photo 9 - Historic photo of the car from the 1950s or '60s, showing the car parked at the Sierra's Eastern-most terminal at Tuolumne.  (Photographer unknown.)
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Thanks for looking!  And as always, questions or comments are always welcome!
SierraSidewinder



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/20 21:46 by SierraSidewinder.

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Was this the car that had the logs on it in, "Back to the Future III"?

Nice Job!

Thanks,
Rob

GoldenState Wrote:
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> Was this the car that had the logs on it in, "Back
> to the Future III"?
>
> Nice Job!
>
> Thanks,
> Rob

While this flatcar was used in quite a few movies filmed on the Sierra, this was not the one in BTTF III.  (That one (SRR 325) is currently stored out-of-service, elsewhere on the property.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/20 22:14 by SierraSidewinder.

Very nice. Hopefully the Lerro charter will go forward in October so it can be seen in person and included in the event. As long as the state park is open, we should be good as long as most participants aren't afraid to travel and only two are from outside the country. 

Congratulations, looks great. What's next on your project list?

The flatcar looks really nice.  It's good to see a vintage freight car restored, as of course they tend to be neglected on railroads that no longer carry freight.

Probably the trucks and brakes aren't in immediate need of restoration or conservation work, other than keeping oil in the journal boxes and occasionally greasing the truck frame/bolster wear points.

I notice the red used on the flat car seems to match the red used on the corrigated iron buildings.
Are they the same?

Elesco Wrote:
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>
> Probably the trucks and brakes aren't in immediate
> need of restoration or conservation work, other
> than keeping oil in the journal boxes and
> occasionally greasing the truck frame/bolster wear
> points.


Although they weren't painted, both trucks were serviced and lubed. The major components of the air brake system were also disassembled, cleaned, serviced and tested. As far as things go, this car is ready to go, at a moment's notice.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/20 16:21 by SierraSidewinder.

PHall Wrote:
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> I notice the red used on the flat car seems to
> match the red used on the corrigated iron
> buildings.
> Are they the same?


They are close, but are just slightly different. The buildings are more red, while the flatcar is more orange.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/20 16:23 by SierraSidewinder.