Re: PC: N8 Cabooses...

[KEMACPRR@xxxxxxx]

As the former owner of an N-5C let me tell you what I found about roofs on
cabin cars. When the N-5 and N-5c class were built the entire car was painted
freight car color ,roof included. After some years in service and some wear
and tear the roof would start leaking as the riveted joints would open
slightly with the car body flexing and so forth. The PRR's fix was roofing
compound which was black in color this also combined with the fact that coal
cinders/smoke/soot would accumulate on the roof made the idea of painting the
roof black and sealing it with roofing compound the norm. Since the N-8's were
built after lessons learned from the earlier N-5/N-5c classes the black roof
with sealing compound seems to be the standard. I can't remember seeing a
picture of a N-8 with a car body colored roof with the exception of the yellow
cupola/gray cupola pool cars. My N-5c had at one time a yellow cupola but the
top of the cupola looked like it had always been black. 
   
                                                                              
Ken McCorry