Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Matt makes a good point about the heating issue. The lack of steam lines on the freight cars handled ahead of the rider coach on the Imperial trains required the SP to install oil-fired heaters in the latter cars. Express boxcars, express refrigerator cars and container flats regularly assigned to passenger trains were equipped with steam lines, air signal lines (for communication between the passenger cars and the locomotive), high-speed trucks (in most cases) and the like, so they could be handled ahead of or behind passenger cars. Most express reefers and some express boxcars were equipped with buffers to reduce slack action. Notwithstanding the heat pass-through and other equipment on dedicated express boxcars and reefers, there was another factor which might cause a railroad to operate passenger cars ahead of the "freight-type" cars in a train--ease of operation. If the passenger-carrying cars and the mail and express cars which might need to be "worked" at intermediate stations were placed near the locomotive, it would be easier for the train crew to pass signals to the engine crew, and more convenient for the loading and unloading of passengers, mail, baggage and express at station platforms. Milwaukee Road's Fast Mail train No 56 often ran with 2 or 3 coaches just behind the locomotive, followed by a "working" express car staffed by an express messenger, followed by the Railway Post Office cars, followed by mail storage cars, and then by a long string of baggage-express cars, express boxcars, express reefers, flexi-van flats and the like. The last (or close-to-last) car would be a rider car for the sole use of the flagman (the other train crew members --the conductor and brakeman--would work the coaches). The rider might be a standard coach, a baggage car with a flagman's compartment or a rebuilt baggage-dormitory, equipped with an oil stove.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

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!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community