One of the aspects I find fascinating about railroading is that, sometimes, freight cars get lost or forgotten at some random location on the North American rail network. I found one such car in November 2007 in Bend, Oregon.

For years, this car had been sitting at the end of an old mill spur in Bend proper, near the old mill complex east of the Deschutes River. But due to fences and private property, I could never get close enough to determine what exactly it was.

Recently, the cement company that owned the property where the car stood decided they didn't want the track in place any longer. Before they ripped up the short section of track, the car was pulled back onto BNSF rail and spotted right under the Hwy 97 overpass on the wye tail track - in perfect position for photos.

Turns out it's a GN bulkhead car the railroad built from General Steel kits in the St. Cloud shops, this one in December of 1960. Aside from the one torched bulkhead (presumably for MOW purposes of some sort), the rest of the car is in good shape, including most of the original paint. It has a re-weigh date of 1979, and the most recent date listed on the COTS panel is 1987. I expected to find BN MOW markings somewhere on the car, but there were none.

I wonder what's in store for this car. I'd guess the railroad isn't quite sure what to do with it, but it'll probably meet the torch unless some museum facility makes an attempt to get their hands on it.

UPDATE - As of July 7, 2008, this car has been moved onto one of the locomotive servicing tracks at the BNSF's Bend, OR, yard facility. While not easily visible from public property, the car does appear safe from the scrapper's torch for the time being....

All images copyright 2007 by Rick Selby. Images may not be republished without permission.