Trains.com

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!

FTB Question

5157 views
38 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 10:20 PM

Well, being that it is always 2:00 in the afternoon in Centerville, I guess this mail train is running in the daylight.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    July 2001
  • From: Shelbyville, Kentucky
  • 1,967 posts
Posted by SSW9389 on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 4:51 AM

wjstix

 

 
SeeYou190
When converted back to freight units, was this just regearing? Did they retain the steam generators so they could be used in passenger (mail) service if needed?

 

I believe the Santa Fe FTs had their steam generators removed when they reverted back to freight service; ATSF had enough F-units by then to haul their passenger trains. However, some railroads did have FTs (or other diesels) that were primarily freight engines but with steam generators in case of an emergency need for passenger power. The Missabe had two SD-9s with steam generators for example.

According to E. D. Worley in Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail the last use of passenger FTs on the Santa Fe was in Ash Fork-Phoenix service in 1953. In a caption Worley wrote that some of the booster units retained their steam generators until 1953. See pages 449-450.

Additionaly six Santa Fe FT boosters gave up their steam generators for installlation in new GP7s 2650-2654 (1950) and 2848 (1953). See Priest's The Santa Fe Diesel volume 1 page 127.

EMD 1-1-1959 Product Data shows all the remaining Santa Fe FTs had 62:15 gearing. It does show FT booster #415A (ex-151C) with a 3000 pound per hour steam generator. 

Ed in Kentucky

COTTON BELT: Runs like a Blue Streak!
  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 21,669 posts
Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 12:41 PM

SeeYou190
Well, being that it is always 2:00 in the afternoon in Centerville, I guess this mail train is running in the daylight.

And there would likely be ridiculously little demand for fresh milk delivery at that hour!

Of course, if it's always 2:00, either they are going to be having the milkman visit or be eating breakfast at 2:00, or not need nourishment at all because nothing ages.  Maybe what you need is a Tunnel Under the World/Groundhog Day situation where it resets to be Tuesday, August 3rd when no one's still awake.  That gets rid of the obvious semantic contradiction that you have trains that move... Smile

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Thursday, September 22, 2022 9:12 AM

SeeYou190

Well, being that it is always 2:00 in the afternoon in Centerville, I guess this mail train is running in the daylight.

-Kevin

 
Well there were no rules saying mail trains could only run at night, it's just that mail trains (and milk trains) normally didn't carry passengers, so it made more sense where possible to run them at night and leave more timetable space for passenger trains during the day when people wanted to ride. But Great Northern's Fast Mail took something like 42 hours to go from Seattle to St.Paul, so obviously it did a lot of it's running during the day.
Stix
  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: Omaha, NE
  • 10,621 posts
Posted by dehusman on Thursday, September 22, 2022 9:49 AM

wjstix
Well there were no rules saying mail trains could only run at night,

Let's think about this for a minute.

It's a 3 or 4 DAY run between Chicago and LA.  Obviously mail trains will be running both day and night.  The only way a mail train could only run at night is if it was on a run that was 10 hours or less, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-500 miles.  

Unless of course they were running a "vampire" train that runs 10 hours at night then they hide it during the day, then run it 10 hours at night, hide it during the day, etc.  Big Smile

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, September 22, 2022 1:42 PM

Overmod
That gets rid of the obvious semantic contradiction that you have trains.

There is no contradiction.

wjstix
It's just that mail trains (and milk trains) normally didn't carry passengers.

There is just the one passenger capable car tacked onto the rear, just in the case a paying pasenger is available. This car is also an office.

dehusman
Unless of course they were running a "vampire" train.

I did not know Vampire Trains were an option... 

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: Omaha, NE
  • 10,621 posts
Posted by dehusman on Thursday, September 22, 2022 1:51 PM

SeeYou190
I did not know Vampire Trains were an option...

The hardest part is finding the replacement lettering to change the letter boards on the cars from "PENNSYLVANIA" to "TRANSYLVANIA".  Big Smile

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, September 22, 2022 2:30 PM

dehusman
Change the letter boards on the cars from "PENNSYLVANIA" to "TRANSYLVANIA". 

I think that I might find a way to add something like this to the fleet.

Big Smile

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Friday, September 23, 2022 10:02 AM

dehusman
 
wjstix
Well there were no rules saying mail trains could only run at night,

 

Let's think about this for a minute.

It's a 3 or 4 DAY run between Chicago and LA.  Obviously mail trains will be running both day and night. 

 

 
Yes, that's why I said they didn't just run at night. I cited the GN Fast Mail, which took a couple of days from Seattle to St. Paul (and was the highest priority train on the line, except perhaps for silk trains.)
Stix

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!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!