THE PULLMAN
PROJECT
What is a Car Construction Record?
Copyright 2001 – 2010 Thomas C. Madden
Pullman
maintained one Car Construction Record (CCR) for each car it operated. This
included all Pullman-built heavyweight and lightweight sleepers, parlor cars, club/lounge
cars and Tourist sleepers, and lightweight sleepers built by Budd and ACF but
operated by Pullman.
Entries on a CCR tracked a car’s administrative and physical
history from delivery through Pullman’s
disposition of the car. Heavyweight and lightweight cars owned by railroads but
leased to Pullman
for operation were tracked until withdrawn from lease. Changes in equipment,
configuration, interior appointments and painting were documented, enabling
anyone to tell the current status of a car at a glance.
The CCR shown below is typical. STAR
LAKE was a Plan 3585B 10-1-2 sleeper
assigned to, and in 1948 purchased by, the Santa Fe. In 1935 the vestibule at the
section end of the car was removed to enlarge the men’s smoking room and
lavatory, reconfiguring the car to Plan 3585E. The front of the CCR shows the
car’s administrative history, mechanical equipment, and interior and
exterior appointments and appearance. The back of the CCR shows the car’s
shopping and repair history, dimensions and weight.
Records in the CCR database cover a car’s administrative,
equipment and exterior appearance histories. Shopping and repair information is
useful for confirming dates of changes. For a detailed look at each of these
sections of the CCR, click on these links:
Information on interior appointments, furnishing and decorating is
on the CCR but not in the database. These can be studied by viewing full-size
images of the front and back of this CCR. Click on the images or on the links
below them for full-size JPEG versions.
Database Home
Tom Madden
pullmanboss (at) yahoo (dot) com
