IC Gondola floor question

[nkalanaga]

IC 97152 was built by Bethleham Steel in 1960, and has a "STEEL FLOOR" stencil.  I've seen gons with wood floors, steel-plate floors, and nailable-steel floors.  The nailable floors usually have a specific symbol.  But I don't remember ever seeing a car that just said "steel floor". 

Does anyone here know what kind of floor this car had?  I would assume steel-plate, but assuming can get one in trouble.

[davefoxx]

I thought I found the answer when I found the IC Freight Car Diagram Class Index at the Illinois-Central.net website.

https://www.illinois-central.net/RollingStock/1968CarDiagrams.pdf

On page 131 is the drawing for the 97000-series gons, but, unlike many of the other drawings for gondolas, this page lacks information regarding the floor construction. 

If I had to guess, though, I’d go with a steel floor, because (1) according to the index, most, if not all, other gondolas built by Bethlehem Steel in the 1960s for the IC are designated to have steel floors in the drawings (see pages 133-35), and (2) the only gondolas noted with a wood or composite floors are covered gons (see pages 132, 138-41).



Hope this helps,
DFF

[wcfn100]

1965 ORER just says steel floor.

Jason

[nkalanaga]

OK, I'll go with a plain steel floor.  Many 65ft gons had them, so it wouldn't be surprising.

I'm trying to kitbash something similar from ConCor parts, which need a new floor, as the CC cars are too narrow.  Evergreen 0.030 spaced siding works beautifully, as far as measuring (3.90 inches long matches the BLMA/Bluford cars), but if it has plain steel flooring, I'll put the scribed side down.

Now all I need is to find an appropriate end.  I have a few options in scrap cars, but will have to see what fits best.

Thank you!