Model Railroading > When did railways stop using running boards...

I am modelling the BN in 1980. I am wondering how many of the boxcars by 1980 would still have running boards. How many old 40ft box cars would remain in service?

Any other modelling notes for this era would be appreaciated.

FRA mandated no more new cars built after 1966 sometime with roofwalks, additionally gave railroads a timeline to remove roofwalks on cars which already had em. These deadlines were routinely extended. Amazingly, I saw a CB&Q 60' auto parts car (built 63-64, IIRC) still with a roofwalk in 1993 near Spokane.

As far as the 40' boxcars, they were in service well into the mid-80s, at least the classic XM cars with 6- or 7- foot doors and friction bearing trucks. One of their last assignments was in grain service on light-railed branchlines to Eleanor and Mansfield, Washington. These branches were abandoned and wheat growers were inticed to move their wheat to larger loadouts on BN main lines.

dick

Even today there are still freight cars with roof walks. There is a BN MOW 40' former NP box car at Northtown Terminal with a roof walk. It hasn't moved at all for quite a while. Maybe close to a year. But it's still there. Up into the early 1990's I'd See CNW 50' box cars with roof walks.

If I am not mistaken, the deadline for roofwalk removal was by car type. Since the carriers each had their own priorities, the removal rate varied by railroad.
By 1980, probably 30 percent of the nation's cars retained roofwalks.
Also, sometime in the mid 90's, the ban was repealed, or a portion of the ban was lifted. Roofwalk removal all but ceased after that.

To comply wirh the new rule some railroads cut off the top 2/3's of the ladder. About as seen on a hi-cube. The same was done to cabooses.

I'm not disagreeing with the above posts - some did remain for
a long time, but in Central KS I remember most of the roofwalks disappearing rather suddenly.
Many cars first had their ladders shortened, and then they pulled
the roofwalks later.