Batten strips on ACF passenger cars

[princessclyne69]

There’s a big discussion on PCL currently about the MP diner-coaches, three diner-lounge cars where the former lounge section had been stripped and converted to 32 coach seats. In passing, there was mention of the batten strips on the ACF-built cars. These strips were aluminum, which were fitted into a riveted carrier that was a structural part of the car. At the ends of this carrier strip, there was a three-dimensional curved piece that was the end of the aluminum section, but firmly attached to the car.

Many early photos of Jenks blue cars show this strip still in place, painted blue. But photos from shortly before the end of passenger service show many of these strips missing. All those carrier strips are fully painted. So my question is, were these strips deliberately removed, and what was the purpose? Late in life, the galvanic corrosion between the steel framing and the aluminum sheeting would have started to set in, but this doesn’t seem likely in the case of the trip strip.

A visual cue, if you see the car from a distance, is that the white stripe would be moved above the strip when the aluminum piece was missing.

RG7

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