While tripping merrily through the mail, Rick Jones was overheard
 RJ> Does anybody know in which year was the very last year that
 RJ> archbar trucks and/or truss rod cars were allowed in interchange
 RJ> service? Some information I read recently indicates it was somewhre in
 RJ> the late '20s, but I'd like to know if that was the absolute final
 RJ> time or the begining of the legal phase-out with the real deadline
Checking a couple model references and catalogs, it appears that Arch bars 
generally were not built after 1925, and were outlawed in interchange 
in 1938.
The last NEW truss-rod cars appear to have been built around 1928, and 
I've seen indications that some ran in interchange even AFTER WW II.
One refernce indicates the Southern RR sold a number of truss rod boxcars
to the Atlantic and Danville in ! 1949 !.
The FIRST steel underframe box car built in any quantity was the PRR "XL"
starting in 1901, and all steel boxcars appeared in the early 20's, so
you have quite a bit of overlap there.
The only other date you have to worry about is 1911, when the "safety
appliances" act was passed setting standards for things like brake gear,
handrails, roof walks etc.
Don
... My other car is a Pullman
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