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Old 06-02-2011, 01:10 PM   #1
trailer_trasher
 
1960 33' Custom
El Mirage , California
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Arrow 1960 33' custom, railroad bunkhouse ?

Hi Gang, New to the forums here,so first let me say Hello ! Now to the point..

I recently acquired a 1960 33' "custom" It was an exhaustive search trying to figure out what it is,as most sights do not acknowledge the existence of a 33 footer in that year. Finally I found a site that did.. It suggested that there may be as many as 8, But this suggests that at least 13 were made. (33s 0113).

At first I believed it was from Edwards Airforce base. Says ED-157 on the sides and I am near there,and it was even nearer, But again after an exhaustive search of 1000's of logo's I've come up with a match as best I can tell: Southern Pacific Lines. (railroad)

I initially bought it to scrap out as thats what I do. (I know,,, Don't worry,, I always investigate what they are first) She's a bit on the rough side,but givin what she is, she's well worth a restore..

I have someone on line for it,but If he does not come through, I will be offering it for sale since I'm in no position to fulfill its needs. In the meantime,I would love to acquire any Information on these that I can. Even photos of what the interior would have looked like, though mostly intact,missing correct light fixtures and misc. other stuff. Besides that, wanted to share,since it may help the next person identify.

I'm happy to post pics,if someone will tell me the best way to do that..

Thanks, Chris
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:12 PM   #2
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Trailer_tras,

How about a few pictures? You definately have a unique unit.

Bill

Quote:
Originally Posted by trailer_tras View Post
Hi Gang, New to the forums here,so first let me say Hello ! Now to the point..

I recently acquired a 1960 33' "custom" It was an exhaustive search trying to figure out what it is,as most sights do not acknowledge the existence of a 33 footer in that year. Finally I found a site that did.. It suggested that there may be as many as 8, But this suggests that at least 13 were made. (33s 0113).

At first I believed it was from Edwards Airforce base. Says ED-157 on the sides and I am near there,and it was even nearer, But again after an exhaustive search of 1000's of logo's I've come up with a match as best I can tell: Southern Pacific Lines. (railroad)

I initially bought it to scrap out as thats what I do. (I know,,, Don't worry,, I always investigate what they are first) She's a bit on the rough side,but givin what she is, she's well worth a restore..

I have someone on line for it,but If he does not come through, I will be offering it for sale since I'm in no position to fulfill its needs. In the meantime,I would love to acquire any Information on these that I can. Even photos of what the interior would have looked like, though mostly intact,missing correct light fixtures and misc. other stuff. Besides that, wanted to share,since it may help the next person identify.

I'm happy to post pics,if someone will tell me the best way to do that..

Thanks, Chris
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:21 PM   #3
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Wow!! Neat find. There was a thread or at least some postings with exterior photos of one or more of these a while back. I'll see if I can find them. Its at least a start.

Stay tuned...

Brad
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:22 PM   #4
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In the 1960's Airstream built several custom trailers primarily for Western Pacific Railroads. They were used as crew cabins for railroad workers.
Custom Airstreams

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Old 06-02-2011, 01:35 PM   #5
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OK, here's what I found. In the Airstream Sightings thread on post #86 starts a brief discussion on Western Pacific and their ties to Airstream trailers. Here's the picture that was posted. Maybe, just maybe, yours is the same trailer as the one shown here.

Pictures can be posted by clicking on the Go Advanced button on the bottom of your post. Then click on Manage Attachment button. Files should not be large or they won't post.

Brad
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Old 06-02-2011, 02:04 PM   #6
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1960 33' Custom
El Mirage , California
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Hi Brad, Thanks for the help.. That one you pictured I believe is the 45 footer I came across in my search. I also believe it was off to a museum for resto.. Thanks again, Chris
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Old 06-02-2011, 02:09 PM   #7
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1960 33' Custom
El Mirage , California
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Wow, There coming in fast,, Thanks Bill and Mistral.. Bill, I put some pics somewhere, But this site is as confusing as my search was : ) There in a folder titled 60's airstream trailers.

Mistral, I think I like that squarish one the (first pic) the best, Guess I'm kinda square myself..
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Old 06-02-2011, 02:20 PM   #8
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Old 06-02-2011, 03:02 PM   #9
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1963 24' Tradewind
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What a cool trailer! I'm guessing the layout was bathroom in rear, bunks to rear curbside, kitchen to rear streetside, cabinets in the mid curbside, and lounge in the front? It certainly would take some rebuilding... the lower streetside looks thrashed ... which is probably proof that it was a Santa Fe trailer... they loaded them onto carrier cars, which is probably how it got so banged up.

cool find! Wish I had the space and $$ to fix it..
Marc
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Old 06-02-2011, 03:22 PM   #10
trailer_trasher
 
1960 33' Custom
El Mirage , California
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Images: 10
Hi Marc, You got most of it exactly right, except that the closets are rear street side opposite the bunk and the kitchen is more forward. Above the wheels..

The street side itself is not to bad at all,except the skirting to the belly pans which is trashed,as are the pans themselves. It does have tie down hooks on the frame. Guessing to be tied down to a rail car..

Thanks,Chris
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Old 06-02-2011, 03:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trailer_tras View Post
Wow, There coming in fast,, Thanks Bill and Mistral.. Bill, I put some pics somewhere, But this site is as confusing as my search was : ) There in a folder titled 60's airstream trailers.

Mistral, I think I like that squarish one the (first pic) the best, Guess I'm kinda square myself..
Welcome,

Sounds like a unique find.

Here's a thread with useful information about the site.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f138...ics-44928.html

Feel free to ask questions of the group, or contact a staff member if needed.

Airstream Forums - Show Groups
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Old 06-03-2011, 02:06 PM   #12
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1960 33' Custom
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Thanks Kevin, That does indeed look helpful.. Chris
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Old 05-07-2019, 01:14 AM   #13
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1960 33' Custom
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We have one too...

Thanks for the info! We acquired one of these oddities from Forks, Wa. 35S-1005. It took me awhile to start finding any information because the title said 30’ Sovereign 1960.
The guy who did our frame welds kept saying it was longer. Luckily, he was also cool with towing it. It was pretty trashed out and gutted but we got it for next to nothing so a project it is!
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Old 05-07-2019, 06:54 AM   #14
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Welcome to the forum. What a great find you have there!

In addition to the "Custom Airstreams" hot link in the quote below from the 2011 Post #4 here, you might also find some useful info in these "Western Pacific Railroad" search results, using the blue box above on the desktop version of this site:

https://www.google.com/search?q=West...com&gws_rd=ssl

Good luck with this project . . . please keep us updated with progress reports and photos.

Peter

Quote:
Originally Posted by mistral blue View Post
In the 1960's Airstream built several custom trailers primarily for Western Pacific Railroads. They were used as crew cabins for railroad workers.
Custom Airstreams
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Old 05-07-2019, 07:49 AM   #15
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That looks like a great project. Any more pics? Mine's a 33' and I'm currently aiming for the longest Airstream rebuild title...... :-(
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Old 07-03-2020, 04:40 PM   #16
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My bride and I have just acquired ED177 with the one piece fiberglass caps.
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Old 07-03-2020, 08:29 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krek View Post
My bride and I have just acquired ED177 with the one piece fiberglass caps.
Looks like you found a 1961 to 1964 Mobile Industrial trailer made by Airstream. Only the long 1960 trailers looked like and were badged as Airstreams. But Mobile Industrial trailers wre absolutely built by Airstream and their badges listed the same address as the California Airstream plant.

The serial number decoder for these trailers is on page 8 of this new document that is posted in the Document Archive on the Airstream, Inc. website under the title Airstream VIN Numbers Pre-1980: https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...2020-06-16.pdf
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Old 07-05-2020, 06:59 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 66Overlander View Post
Looks like you found a 1961 to 1964 Mobile Industrial trailer made by Airstream.
Thanks for the link!

The seller listed it as a 1960 but title says 1962. Looking forward to bringing it home this week and getting busy on it.
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Old 07-07-2020, 07:29 PM   #19
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About all I can discern from the tag is that it’s a park model that was constructed in Santa Fe.
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Old 07-08-2020, 02:19 AM   #20
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Hi Krek,
The other oval tag is the Movile Industrial tag and lists the actual serial number. This photo is of the California Housing Code tag that was required by law on all Airstreams built in California. These trailers were not "park models" in that they were not meant to be used in trailer parks. They were meant as more (or semi-mobile) housing for railroad crews. Thus they would have been used either on rail cars or near railways. I guess not much is known about how they were used in reality. I suppose some could have been used in trailer parks, but I sort of doubt it.

I would like to learn more about their amenities? Do they have a "black tank" like normal Airstreams? Are the appliances (fridge, furnace, water heater) propane or electric only?
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