Hi Rob,
The car is a truily great find! But I don't think it was ever
a "Reffer". The railway consistantly used single or double sheathed
cars for non-revenue service. And the reffers they did use became
stores and tool cars.
[There is also obvious modelling info to be had regarding the work
service years of the car. I failed to measure the location or size
of the window openings and door openings. Too much to do and not
enough time!.]
No I'd have to say it was either a foreman tool car, or possibly
a water box car. And from the location of the side doors it most
probibly is an early water box car. Now if it where a water car its
unlikily it had a steel water tank in side. The use of steel water
tanks inside box cars didn't start till about 1938-1940. So it would
have been made of wood cribbing with rods with nuts and bolts holding
it together. For the size of car I'd say 3500 gallons would be the
maxium size. And there would have been a pot belly stove at one end
of the car, and maybe even both ends but than again thats not to
likily. Even the old dominion box cars that got 6000 gallon steel
tank inclosed only had one heater, at the end of the car that had all
the connections.
God I could write and article on just water cars and there many
uses, are you lessoning "Jeff".
Regards,
Fred Shannon