| CB&Q XP-1B 42331, Cicero, Illinois, October 1979, photo by Chuck Zeiler. This is another example of a rebuilt CB&Q boxcar painted in anticipation of the BN merger. Space was left to add the word NORTHERN below BURLINGTON, but by the merger date, the font had changed to a thinner style, and NORTHERN was never added. I have no futher information on this car, but I will speculate the following: The CB&Q built 100 class XP-1B 50 foot boxcars at Havelock, Nebraska in 1949 (#'s 20200-20299). During 1968-1969, the CB&Q was rebuilding its boxcar fleet, and likely this was part of that program. This car number does not appear in the January 1969 Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER), but it does appear in the October 1971 ORER. It is stencilled: HIDE LOADING ONLY. |