Quite pleased with the performance of the Airslide cars, the Burlington continued to place regular orders for lots of 50 or 60 more of the 2,600 cubic foot cars through the early 1960's. Following to 60 Class LO-2B car of 1960 ( road #'s CB&Q 87500 - 87549 and C&S 800 - 809 ) came 50 LO-2C's in 1961 ( Q 87550 - 87599 ) and 50 LO-2D's in 1962 ( Q 87600 - 87639 and C&S 810 - 819 ). A couple of tiny spotting features differentiate these cars. First, the vibrator brackets of the 1961 cars and all subsequent Airslides are mounted on oval pads somewhat larger than the rectangular pads used on all previous production. Then, on the 1962 cars, the number of rivets employed on the vertical channel braces at the ends of each car side is reduced considerably from previous standard practice; where earlier cars have 26 rivets per channel brace, the 1962 LO-2D's have but 12, and the bottom connection to the side is welded rather than riveted.
One last batch of 2,600 cubic-foot Airslide cars was purchased by the Burlington in 1965, and by that time, General American had made some noticeable changes in the design. The 50 Class LO-2E cars, Q 87700 - 87749, featured triangular gusset plates with a stamped stiffening rib at the upper end of each side in place of diagonal angle-iron braces previously used at the ends of the cars. And the vertical braces were gone, replaced by hat-section posts. Additionally, due to the use of the triangular gussets, some changes were required in the upper side ladder arrangement.
Burlington's final development in the transportation of livestock came in November 1965 with the completion at Havelock of Q (not CB&Q) 100, a double-deck livestock container patterned after the SM-19C stock cars and designed to be carried on one of the railroad's numerous 53 foot six inch flatcars. The reasoning: Livestock was handled mostly in the fall and winter months, so the container could be mounted on the flat during just those months, then removed and stored during the spring and summer when the flat was needed to haul agricultural implements. As built, the innovative container featured a diagonal panel roof and 3/4 improved Dreadnaught ends. The diagonal braces nearest the five foot door sloped away from the top of the door, and where that diagonal met a vertical post and another diagonal brace, a lifting eye was welded into place to facilitate placement and removal of the container by an overhead crane.The container was bolted to the flat through four stake pockets on each end, and the deck of the flatcar served as the floor of the container's lower deck. Total weight of the container was 22,800 pounds, with the flat weighing and additional 52,800 pounds.
The container's height immediately proved too great for some of the loading/unloading facilities where it was employed, so it was returned to Havelock in early 1966, and one foot and seven inches was removed from the container at the bottom of the upper deck. This eliminated the top rib from the bottom portion of each end, giving the ends a 3/3 configuration, and created an offset gap in the diagonal side braces just below the floor level of the upper deck. It also reduced the container's weight by 4,900 pounds. Grab irons and short ladders were added to both ends, and the modified container was then mounted on FM-14A flat 92598, where it spent the rest of its days until being scrapped in the mid-1970's.
In 1956 the Q introduced a new series of 60' 70-ton capacity flatcars designed to carry farm machinery. Built at Havelock ( CB&Q shops in Nebraska ) and classified FM-3, additional batches were delivered throughout the 1960's, resulting in 650 of these machinery flats on the roster by 1967, numbered 94250 - 94649. All had hydraulic cushioning, all-welded construction, and tie-down devices specifically designed for farm implements. Note 42 in the October 1971 ORER reads:
Cars in series 94000 to 94049 ( except cars 94000, 94005, 94013, 94018 94021, 94032, 94039, and 94047 ) are equipped with tie-downs for Caterpillar service; cars in series 94250 to 94649 are equipped with tie-downs for handling automobile components.
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