When various car builders such as ACF & Pullman-Standard designed their own proprietary ends, they were all typically called “Carbuilder Ends” without having any other description to differentiate one from another or variations from the same builder.
The earliest Pullman “Carbuilder” ends were used on welded, lightweight Pullman-Standard box cars built in 1938 and 1940. Pat Wider discussed these cars in RP CYC Volumes 31-32 (the combined book). The 1938 cars built for B&LE, CGW, and UP came with square-corner Pullman Corrugated Ends comprised of 3 welded sections. The 4-5 corrugations on the top & bottom end sheets tapered to rounded points near the square corners. The top end sheets with 4 corrugations were cut horizontally above the upper corrugation & welded to a flat sheet attached above it and having an arched contour to match the Pullman radial roof used on these cars.
The 1940 welded, lightweight cars had ends that were “similar" but actually vastly different when taking a closer look. These ends were comprised of two end sheets with the upper end sheet having an arched contour to match the roof. The top & bottom end sheets had an early rendition of a round-corner end with the pointed ends of the 4-5 corrugations that wrapped around the corners. Being that all of these lightweight box cars were built by P-S at Michigan City, I do not have any drawing numbers. The only references I have are the P-S lot numbers, which are 5584 for the 1938 cars and 5604A, B, & C for the 1940 cars.
P-S developed two later versions of their design of the Pullman Corrugated End for use on riveted 1937 AAR box cars in 1941 and 1944-1945. These ends had round corners and with their top & bottom sheets joined with a riveted horizontal joint. The bill of materials denotes them not only as “Carbuilder” but also as Corrugated Round Corner.
The earliest version used on cars built in 1941 included B&O 465000-465899 (M-55A) and 465900-465999 (M-55B) both from lot 5693 with Duryea underframes, TC 7900-7999 from lot 5655, and WLE 24200-24501 from lot 5649. The 1941 version had 4-5 (top-bottom) straight corrugations that wrapped around the round corners of the ends prior to tapering to a rounded point. The ends of the B&O cars were different due to the M-55A/B cars having a depressed roof section nearest the ends to permit the corner of latitudinal running board to be positioned lower for B&O tunnel clearance restrictions. The Pullman drawings for the B&O cars are 58004 (details showing the two end sheets) and 58009 (end construction). The TC cars used Pullman drawings 512-H -93 for the end sheets and 512-H-94 end arrangement. I don’t have a bill of materials for the WLE cars built at Pullman’s Michigan City plant, however, I’m reasonably sure they were the same as the TC cars.
Three final cars built in 1944-1945 with Pullman Corrugated Ends were CGW 91000-91099 from lot 5771, CGW 92000-92149 from lot 5805 and C&EI 1-5 BX express box cars from lot 5808. The corrugations were changed such that the rounded point of the corrugations stopped short of the round corners. For all 3 lots the top & bottom sheets used P-S drawing 519-D-77. The CGW cars also used end arrangement drawing 503-E-62. I don’t find an end arrangement drawing for the C&EI cars. Perhaps the general arrangement drawing 512-F-100 sufficed.
You might check with Ted Anderson to see if the Illinois Ry. Museum has any or all of the drawing numbers mentioned and/or drawings of the ends used on the 1938 and 1940 lightweight box cars.
Hoping this satisfactorily answers your question.
Ed
