Trains.com

60' Harriman type passenger cars

4325 views
9 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: K.C.,MO.
  • 1,063 posts
60' Harriman type passenger cars
Posted by rrandb on Saturday, October 28, 2006 6:23 PM
What is the time line for the begining and end of these type cars? Who manufactured them and what railroads operated this equipment?
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 29, 2006 9:17 AM
I would suggest a search in Google. I've had pretty good luck there. If at first you don't find what you're looking for, modify your search with slightly different wording. Good Luck.
  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: North Idaho
  • 1,311 posts
Posted by jimrice4449 on Monday, October 30, 2006 3:09 AM
SP was the big user of the 60' although the other Harriman lines (UP, Alton, IC, Rock Island) probably used them.  The were first built pre-WWI and ran at least into the 1050's.  The baggage cars were regular fixtures on SP's Coast Mail which generally had a 60'coach as the rider car.   The 60' coaches also saw duty on San Fran commute service and as cabooses on the Overnight Merchandise.
  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Thursday, November 2, 2006 12:12 PM
BTW I think the RPO and Baggage cars were the only ones that were 60' long, in case you're asking regarding the MDC HO models which are all 60' long. The other cars (coach, diner, etc.) would be 70-80' in real life.
Stix
  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: North Idaho
  • 1,311 posts
Posted by jimrice4449 on Thursday, November 2, 2006 10:43 PM
Nope, there were indeed 60' (or there-abouts) coaches and combines and,would you believe, a 40' RPO.   There were also 70' coach and baggage and bagg/RPO but they differed from the 60 footers in having 6 wheel trucks (and, of course, an extra 10 feet)
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: K.C.,MO.
  • 1,063 posts
Posted by rrandb on Saturday, November 4, 2006 8:33 AM
 jimrice4449 wrote:
Nope, there were indeed 60' (or there-abouts) coaches and combines and,would you believe, a 40' RPO.   There were also 70' coach and baggage and bagg/RPO but they differed from the 60 footers in having 6 wheel trucks (and, of course, an extra 10 feet)
      Thanks to everyone for their generous replies. My question is based upon a set of Roundhouse Harriman style passenger cars I received. There is a baggage car/REA, an RPO, a baggage/combine, a dinner and a coach which have four wheel trucks and what appear to be rounded roofs. They have dual vestibules on the coach and single vestibule on the coach combine with no vestibules on the RPO, Baggage/REA and the dinner. Thou they are lettered for the PRR(not protypical) are these based on real cars.
  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: North Idaho
  • 1,311 posts
Posted by jimrice4449 on Saturday, November 4, 2006 9:11 PM

All of the MDC cars are based on prototypes that the SP ran into the 1950s (and maybe beyond.) with one (possible) exception.   I don't know of SP having any 60' Harriman diners.   If you're really a nit picker, the coach is (if memory serves) one window short of the actual SP cars.A 60' baggag/coach was a regular fixture on the Sacramento Daylight between Sacto and Lathrop (actually it was just a connection for the San Joaquin Daylight which dropped cars for Sacto).  For a while the Sacto Daylight ran w/ a 4-4-2 and the Harriman combine, both in Daylight paint, plus whatever streamlined cars the San Joaquin Daylight dropped.   The 60' RPO also ran on UP and a few of the 60'SP cars were painted in Daylight a were occasionally run on the San Joaquin Daylight and were regulars on the Noon Daylight on the Coast.   There's a good chance that 60' baggage cars ran on the Rock Island and IC but I have no firm data on that.

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: West Coast
  • 4,122 posts
Posted by espeefoamer on Thursday, November 9, 2006 5:01 PM
Harriman coaches lasted in SP commute service until the Caltrain equipment took over in the mid 80s.
Ride Amtrak. Cats Rule, Dogs Drool.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 9, 2006 6:35 PM

Lots of them sitting around the country going to rust. Too bad, really.

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Old ATSF transcon
  • 49 posts
Posted by davews on Friday, November 17, 2006 3:36 PM
U.P. ran them on the Kansas Division between KC and Denver until the 1960's.  My favorite photo was taken in 1954 at the Manhattan depot showing a string of them behind Pacific #3221. 

SUBSCRIBER & MEMBER LOGIN

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

FREE NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter