Boxcars sometimes have two lives, revenue service and shelters of various shapes, sizes and functions. I found two old cars at the Sierra Railroad’s shops in Jamestown, CA serving their latter years as a hand car and tool shed.
The handcar shed was in major disrepair when these pictures were taken. It seems the floor was completely removed and the walls placed directly on the dirt. The “front” of the car was removed and replaced with a gate type door. The window frames were missing their glass and most of the screen material had deteriorated.
Although I am not positive the neighboring boxcar was used as a tool shed, however, the amount of clutter and proximity to the hand car shed led me to believe that it was at the very least a storage shed. The boxcar was placed directly on the ground but, from the coupler, it looked like the underbody was flipped. Some of the underbody hardware was visible but was unable to see just how much remained.
A lot of the hardware still remained on both of the cars. The tool shed’s windows were in the somewhat better condition than the other car but they were still in bad shape.
I hope from the photos it will get the creative modeling juices going. If anyone has models or more information on these cars, please share.
