The coaches that were electrified were a full nine feet wide and fifty-three plus feet long. There were others that lasted to the end of the steam era, similar in appearance to the East Broad Top cars, that were even bigger, nine feet wide and fifty-seven+ feet long. Evidently, pictures of these are very rare though there are glimpses of them in all of the recent BRB&L books.
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Hi Scott,
I did a little research last night.
The only 3' gauge cars, I could find that matched the BRB&L's 9' coach width was found on the ET&WNC's beautiful arch-window and diaphragm-equipped passenger fleet. These car bodies were about 40' long. I also found there was clearly no coach width standard for 3' gauge coaches, but most of the widths I found fall in the range from 7'6" to 8'4". Average car body lengths seemed to run in the 35' to 40' range. So from this perspective alone, it is clear the early BRB&L coaches were already larger than average.
The EBT's ex-BRB&L coaches were 44' 10" long (not including platforms) by 8'8" wide. As stated previously, the wheelbase on these cars is 66".
The ET&WNC's ex-BRB&L coaches were listed variously as 45' long (no width given) and 51' long by 8'8" wide. I believe the 51' length includes the end platforms (3' wide) and if I am correct, the 45' by 8'8" dimension is nearly spot-on for the EBT coaches.
Question - Do the 53' and 57' length dimensions you cite include the end platforms?
If not, the later BRB&L cars were massive indeed! This would explain why the 78" wheelbase on the later trucks is not readily apparent.
Best Regards,
Glenn