TS 525 The last car in the 501
series, at Wishram, WA, on the BN, August 29, 1978. Note the distinctive Alco fuel tank on the locomotive underframe visible under the car.
photo by Thom Anderson
TS 523 At Sloat, CA, in the Feather River Canyon July 11, 1982.
photo by Thom Anderson .
TS 520 At
Portola, CA, January 7, 1983. This boxcar is now in the collection of the Feather River Rail Society.
photo by Thom Anderson
These cars did not survive long after the UP merger. At the time, some of the WP 36026/TS 501 series had been renumbered into WP MOW service. The disposition of most is unknown but most are presumed scrapped. None are known to remain in UP revenue or MOW service. At least one, TS 521, received roller bearing trucks for MOW service and never received a regular WP number. It was transferred directly to MOW service as WPMW 37-10, the identity it wears today at the Portola Railroad Museum. According to a WP Mechanical Department Memo dated December 30, 1975, 510, 519 and 522 were all retired and their assigned numbers left vacant. TS 514 is shown as being renumbered in 1977, but photographic evidence shows it wearing fresh TS markings and number in 1979.
501-series Renumbering Data:
from WP CMO Memo dated December 30, 1975 and hand corrected with subsequent dates. TS 504 and
507 are known to have not been renumbered. courtesy of Garth Groff
TS 517 At Doyle, CA, August 29, 1979. This car actually rides on roiller bearing trucks, having been originally delivered on plain bearings. When this swap occurred us
unknown. This is the first photo I have encountered showing a TS 501 car on rollers. The photo at right shows a close-up of the severly decayed Cornucopia decal.
both photos by Dan Crews
501 series XM boxcars relettered by WP
Tidewater Southern Railway
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