MOW equipment and train consists

[lupo]

Next to a HO locomtive servicing facility I am planning to build, I have a small collection of MOW equipment:

Walthers Worktrain #1 ( tank car, boxcar, kitchen car, enginering car and 2 bunk cars) all greenish color
IHC Old time work train ( gondola, rail & tie car wooden tank car, derrick car, bunk car, box-tool car, gondola, blacksmith car, flat car) all boxcar red
2 Atherarn 200 tons (wreck?) cranes, 1 red one green
1 Walthers Alco powered crane, a Walthers Alco rotary snow plow, Dynamometer car a rivarossi simple snowplow, and some misc MOW boxcars and gondola's
In what kind of combinations of cars and equipment could you encounter these MOW trains along the 1950-60 US railroads?
The IHC set is obvious to me I could imagine that one can do work alomg the tracks with that, but the Walthers set: what could you do along the tracks without any heavy machinery?
What other equipment is around that you consider "MUSTHAVES" in aMOW Transition era worktrains,
any suggestions - manufactorers - welcome!

[dehusman]

The 200 ton crane would have an old passenger car with it a a rider/service/tool car (a combine or diner or a diner and a baggage car). It would have a "boom" car, a flat car or modified car to carry rigging for the crane. There would be 2-5 cars of ballast and 2 -5 flat cars or gondolas loaded with track panels (prototype sectional track).

Dave H.

[Dough]

I replied up the other forum as well...

I wi***hat I could help more, but I'm big into MoW as well, but for the modern era. One thing that I will tell you is that with MoW their is probably a prototype for everything. I'll try to throw out some ideas though...

Personally, I would think that if you have two 200 ton cranes then this implies a really big work project. Maybe some bridge work, replacing every other tie and some rail work. If you are planning on just storing them then I wouldn't worry about the roster too much. You could park them next to the loco facility and have them ready to go when needed.

If you want them on the road then I would find an old siding that is hardly ever used and shove them all up that. Maybe the worktrain, some old box cars for tool cars and gondolas. This could be the crew for replacing ties. If you are modeling a big work project then maybe set up the second work train in the yard next to the loco facility. (Again try to put it on the most out of the way track.) You could use this as a base for one or both of the cranes and maybe some more gondolas. These guys could be for the bridge and tie replacement. Park the snow plow and Dynamometer car in the yard as well.

The only thing that I would consider a "must have" in my collection is a crane mounted on a flat car. Or maybe a burro crane. This can then be used to pick up old pieces of rail and drop them in a gondola. One of you big cranes could be used for this as well, but it may be overkill. Although if its all they have available then I'm sure that they would make do. Remember, that in MoW all sorts of crazy things happen. I used to have a RMC two part issue that described this, and I think that it may have been aimed more at your era. I'll try to dig it up.

Sorry that I could't help more. I just thought that I'd try to throw out some ideas. I'm glad to see that some others model MoW as well!

[lupo]

Thanks for the reply !
I got the MoW and engine facility Idea as an excuse to put my complete roster on the lay-out and because I don't have enough space to run acceptable leght consists of freight or passenger trains,
There for I only have a few boxcars.
I do have the flat cars with where the crane-arm rests on with small caboose-style shed and a long Bagage car with MoW lettering but that is silver. do you know in what period they used that ? or are the colours not representative for any period?

[dehusman]

The 200 ton cranes might have been used for replacing an entire span of a through or plate girder bridge, but they are really designed to pick up cars and locomotives, either at a car shop or at a derailment. They would not be used at a tie or rail replacement project or to pick up small scrap along the right of way. It would be extremely rare to have 2 wrecker cranes at one location.

Dave H.

[lupo]

so I could use the smaller alco crane for tie and track replacement,
and yet another question popped up :
what kind of locomotives were used to pull these MOW trains ? any available or older models close to retirement?

[orsonroy]

MOW cars were generally assigned to a specific operating department or work train consist for specific purposes.

Large cranes were generally assigned to division points, along with support cars (boom, tender, bunk, tool), staged to be ready for any wreck cleanup calls.

Plows were also staged at division points, but generally didn't have any other cars specifically assigned to their "train". Rotaries were usually kept in a roundhouse stall, out of the weather.

Dynamometer cars weren't MOW cars, and were assigned to the motive power departments of roads. Most roads only had one, and it was kept in passenger car-like shape. They rarely moved online unless actually being used to test motive power, and were usually kept at the road's main shops.

Most MOW trains were unglamorous to the extreme. You'd regularly see a Bunk, kitchen car, and tool box parked somewhere for a section crew to work on any given stretch of track (we are talking the 1950s here), but you'd rarely see a big crane. Small burro cranes were more commonly used for MOW use, but in the 1950s, muscle power was still cheaper.

[coalminer3]

Here's some examples of items I recall on C&O work trains.

Vanderbilt tenders (water cars)

Former troop sleepers rebuilt into a variety of configurations such as cook cars and bunk cars.

HW passenger cars (diner)

Burro cranes (big cranes were not out on the road unless absolutely necessary).

Work safe

[dehusman]

A work train locomotive would be anything handy, but since they were fairly small, they got less powerful locomotives, often older locomotives. The locomotives moved the train to where it was going and then left it there. Snow plows and rotaries would get several large engines when they were working in deep snow.

Dave H.