Re: 2nd question

Bill...Question: After all that work, is the car structurally sound now? I would point out that the car is short, therefore slightly stronger than a 3o-foot car. Second, all of the box cars have spliced sills, and it was a very common repair after wrecks. My point is you have basically finished the hard work on the car. By all means, go ahead and make it operational, and get a few years of use then re-assess the structural integrity of the car. Remember that the speeds are low on the C&TS and though serious damage can happen at low speeds, it is well-constructed and would not collapse, except for the end platforms(that is the reason railroads do not like passengers riding on them).