Between 1972 and 1973, Penn Central began purchasing the first of the 50' X72 boxcars from US Railroad Manufacturing (Evans) Blue Island, IL, plant. These cars would eventually find their way to Conrail in 1976, retaining their Penn Central numbering series while getting Conrail reporting marks. However, many X72's remained in their original Penn Central green paint scheme and Penn Central reporting marks throughout the 1990's. Of course, by that time the cars had become rusted and the paint faded.The X72 was a general-purpose boxcar that could be found in nearly every service, making it a common boxcar on Penn Central and Conrail. Some cars were equipped with DF Belt Loaders for assisting in loading and unloading of special equipment, while other cars were equipped with Dual Air Paks for shock control of goods and pallets. These specially equipped cars were in assigned service to specific industries for specific loading.
There was only one subclass of the X72, the X72A. But as author and modeler Jim Six points out in an old Railroad Model Craftsman article, there appeared to be no external distinction between the X72 and X72A. Both cars had welded panel construction, with 6-panel Superior doors. However, CR 269272 X72, which is on the X72 Photos page, had a 6-panel Superior door with raised X-panels.In 1980, Conrail began a massive boxcar rebuilding program, renumbering many of their boxcars into new series as they were rebuilt.
Finally, Conrail's 50'X68 class of boxcars were a nearly identical cousin to the X72, but the X68 had tapered end sections on the side sills, and the cars were made of riveted construction.
X72 Rosters
The detailed rosters below are based on a January 1977 and an October 1991 Official Railway Equipment Register and reflect those road names that were in service at that time. I have made every effort to check them for accuracy, though cars that were taken off roster might still appear in service several years later. Plus, many errors crept into Conrail's rolling stock fleet over the years. Please use these rosters only as a guide, combining them with photographic evidence.At the end of every line in the 1977 roster is the total number of cars in that series that were lettered and numbered for Conrail at that time. The reverse is true for the 1991 Penn Central roster. Unfortunately, we do not know which cars these were, nor do we know if they were total repaints or simply had CR stencil. Compare this roster to the 1991 roster following it and notice the number of boxcars that were repainted or at least renumbered for Conrail by then.
Conrail: January 1977 CR Series Class Equipment CR ======================================== 229000-229499 X72A 16 266820-266875 X72 DF-2 3 269150-269429 X72 Dual Air Pak 2 269430-269500 X72 DFB 1 Penn Central: January 1977 PC Series Class Equipment ===================================================================== 229000-229499 X72A 266820-266875 X72 DF-2 269150-269429 X72 Dual Air Pak 269430-269500 X72 DFB 269840-269999 X72 4 DFB Bulkheads, 100-ton center plate casting Conrail: January 1991 CR Series Class Equipment ====================================================================== 168950-168956 X72 4 DFB Bulkheads 168962-168964 X72 184500 X72 209550-209566 X72 229000-229499 X72A 266820-266875 X72 9 Belt DF-2 269150-269429 X72 Dual Air Pak (Note 1) 269430-269500 X72 DFB 269840-269999 X72 4 DFB Bulkheads, 100-ton center plate casting Penn Central: January 1991 PC Series Class Equipment PC ========================================= 266820-266875 X72 DF-2 4 269150-269429 X72 Dual Air Pak 17 269430-269500 X72 DFB 7 269840-269999 X72 2
Roster Notes:
In the 1991 Conrail roster, all except the following in this series are X72 boxcars: 269205, 269241, 269248, 269283, 269328, 269375, 269382, 269304, 269424.