Identify these odd PRR freight cars?

They look like bunk cars.  These were converted from old boxcars into sleeping quarters for maintenance of way crews.

Boxcars converted to work train cars. Tool cars, supply cars, bunk cars and like. You can see the special service car information on the left of the car.

Thanks; I'm sure you're both right.  Now I'm left with wondering what they were doing at the silk mill.

Thank you, gentlemen.

I was raised in sight of the 4 track mainline.  There was a super elevated curve just to the west of Manor,PA with a straight away that went all the way to Trafford,PA and Pitcairn.  Anyway, there was a very long siding that ran for quite a distance.  Very often I remember work trains shunted to this siding.  You could walk right up to them and even climb up the ladders .  The cars were all painted yellow,even the hybred boxcars.

Before my time,this siding served a big coal mine (Westmoreland Coal Co.) and  a "car shop" which were already in ruins when I was a kid in the 50's.

Norm

I grew up in Lewistown, PA and PRR based an MOW/Wreck train out of the Lewistown Junction yard.  All of the equipment in that train was painted yellow; same as Norm mentions for the one out near him.

i don't know when PRR started painting MOW equipment yellow but, it was that way in the late 40's/early 50's.  The photo appears to date from the 1920's and PRR may well have used Tuscan for MOW equipment at that time.  I have to agree these do look like MOW bunk cars despite the (to me) odd color.

Huntingdon was my Dad's hometown and I was never aware of a silk mill there.  After seeing the photo in the OP; I Googled the name and it turns out this plant is what I knew as Owens Corning in the 50's and 60's.  The plant still appears to be active under another name and produces fiberglass products.

Anyhow; a neat old photo!  Thank you for posting!

Curt

juniata guy posted:

Huntingdon was my Dad's hometown and I was never aware of a silk mill there.  After seeing the photo in the OP; I Googled the name and it turns out this plant is what I knew as Owens Corning in the 50's and 60's.  The plant still appears to be active under another name and produces fiberglass products.

Correct.  Owens-Corning took over the building in 1946, and through the Fifties and Sixties, it was Huntingdon's primary employer.  I lived in Huntingdon when I was a kid, and fiberglass marbles were (still are) as common as june bugs in that area.

PRR used an "MOW Grey" paint before the yellow.    The cars, including trucks were all  medium grey with black lettering for MOW.   No yellow hand rails or grabs.    I think the grey phased out in the later 40s.     I like the grey look.

I vaguely remember that MOW was just standard frt car red very early in the 20th century and before.

Another option, my be some kind of rider car for the silk.    I read an article on silk trains and as I remember, the silk cocoons were shipped live from Japan to the west coast and then sent across the country in fast trains.    The article never mentioned boxcars, just express cars.    I am not sure if they had attendants to monitor the stuff or not.

That post card was probably a black and white photo that was hand tinted to get the color. The artist did not necessarily know the proper colors of the freight cars. It appears the freight cars and the brick work are all the same color.  I have seen photos of silk trains on the Southern Pacific and the cars appear to be standard boxcars with passenger car trucks. 

PRR XL-class wood box cars.   Converted to MOW equipment with the arrival of X23/X25/X29 steel cars.

 (before someone jumps for glee, yes the X23 is a single sheathed composite wood/steel car). 

The SP train with boxcars with passenger trucks would qualify them for high speed service.    I understand the silk trains ran on fast passenger schedules.   

The idea of the hand-tinted postcar might explain the colors.    In a black and white photo, the grey and freight car color may have looked the same depending on the light.

Tinting of post cards was common before color photography and printing became affordable.  I know color  motion picture film came in to use during WW II but not sure aboiut still. Plus real color printing. Any idea when this photo was taken ?  Would all the white lettering on the cars preclude the use of tinting ??