1957 partially built Nomads being shipped from the Clevland Ohio plant straight up by train

I once saw a picture in black and white of 1957 Chevrolet Nomad bodies 3/4 of the way built and being shipped to one of the 12 Chevrolet assembly plants by train standing up on their rear bumpers with a 10 *degree angle . These cars the way I have heard it where already painted , and had their matching interior's installed . Then one of the 12 Chevrolet Assembly plants would finish installing the drive train , mount and paint blend in the nose ect. Has anyone else ever seen this picture ? Dose anyone know where I can get a copy of it ?

I don't know if I've seen a photo or not, but that's essentially the way it was done. No bumpers though, because they were shipped without a frame - and the bumper attaches to the frame.

I suspect this is it, Domenic...? Shows '57 wagons as they are prepared to leave the Cleveland OH Fisher body plant... ALL Nomads and many wagons were built in this Fisher plant, complete with interior, paint, etc but minus the chassis (frame and drive train, and front body panels which were completed at one of the 10 assembly plants.

Attachment 12332

and Here are some '56 models as they arrived at an Assembly plant (in 1956) which shows the bodies on the body bucks used for shipping.

Attachment 12333

PS. I think I recall seeing a photo of Fisher bodies (maybe Nomads?) on a train also, but don't have a copy of it... may have been in an old NNC magazine, but as Rick said .... they didn't have bumpers at that point.

I remember as a kid seeing frames stacked at an angle on railroad cars, headed to some assembly plant. We lived 3 doors from the railroad tracks, and that was an every day occurance.

Your right no frame no bumper's . I have had a friend or two claim that they remember seeing this sort of picture . They were standing up pitched forward about ten degrees . Maybe I'll call john Chamber's he may know . Thanks for the info .

The 1955-57 Nomads had very strange beginnings. Because the 1955-57 Nomad bodies were so different than Chevrolet's regular offerings , they used the Clevland Ohio plant to make all the " Nomad bodies ". They were painted with full interior's and then the partially completed wagon's went on a train standing almost straight up, tipped forward 10 degree's to the 12 Chevrolet assembly plants to be completed . This was so costly that these 1955-57 Nomads cost more to build, and to sell , than the Convertibles and the Corvette's.

Bama , you say the 10 assembly plants ? They were using St. Louis for all the Corvettes, and Clevland made all the
Nomad bodies is this why you say 10 and not the 12 plants that they had ? The picture I remember seeing had all the Nomad bodies upright and loaded on the train .

Domenic,

No, I stated '10' assembly plants from memory; maybe I should have verified... :)

I just went and checked the assembly plants for 1957, and found that they were: A - Atlanta,GAB - Baltimore,MDF - Flint, MI J - Janesville,WIK - KansasCity, MOL - LosAngeles, CAN - Norwood,OHO - Oakland,CAS - St. Louis,MOT - Tarrytown, NY. That's 10 isn't it? Am I missing one? What are the two I'm missing if there were 12 as you stated?

I did not know this, interesting.

nomad/Domenic: Cleveland was NOT an assembly plant (ie. There was no assembly plant in Cleveland), BUT there were TWO Fisher body plants in the Cleveland area; one of which was on Euclid Avenue which made the Nomad Bodys (and many other wagon bodies, eg Safari Pontiac, and some 'std' wagons as well). The Fisher body plants produced the body panels and bodies from the firewall back (no frame) but with interior, glass, trim, etc. FISHER did this for ALL the models, not just Nomads. In some cities, the Fisher plant was adjacent (sometimes sharing a wall with a huge opening for the bodys to go thru) to the GM Assembly Plant. In these cases, there was no shipment since the body just moved thru the wall to the assembly plant, still on the body buck.

But.. Nomads were NOT the only models shipped; they were unique in that ALL nomad bodys were shipped to a distant assembly plant, but there were other situations where certain car bodies were shipped to an assembly plant in a different city.