Bigt wrote:I've searched, but, have found no answer. In the days of the wood sided caboose, were
these cars insulated in any way? I guess my question holds for the early days of the steel
cars as well. Any info. appreciated. Thanks.
I would assume they wouldnt be very well insulated.
In British practice, their Brake Vans were notoriously drafty. Many with only a single thickness of wood sheathing on either the ends or sides. A good strong fire being a necessity to have any hope of keeping warm.
Now American practice for car building, at least for wood framing, was for a framework which could then be sheathed. Thus the sheathing was not part of the structure but an ornament onto it. Im currently away from my drawings, but I think it would be similar to a standard boxcar, with outer sheathing and an inner either at waist height or up to the top. That air gap would probably help a great deal in insulating but youd still get a draft. Not sure if they stuffed the air gap with something like straw. Id guess not, but Ive never really looked into it.
Going to composite or steel construction, youd probably expect less gaps and thus little to no unwanted draft.
But of course, being in a drafty box bumping and rolling along at speed would still be much more bearable than without.
