Thanks. Beyond general curiousity, I am planning a small switching layout circa 1980s. I have been giving a little thought to backdating to the 1920s with maybe a 2-8-0 and/or 4-6-0 and 36' or 40' boxcars. Tight turns and I suspect a 80' passenger car would not fit well. Thanks again.
Bruno
Pullman began building 80' wood "Palace Cars" in the early 1890s; these included sleepers, dining cars, parlor cars and observation cars. Similar to the old HO "Pullman Palace Cars" kits once offered by MDC/Roundhouse.
Generally speaking other cars (coaches, baggage, RPOs, combines) would be shorter, like 70' coaches and 60-67' for baggage or RPOs. This continued to be true for heavyweight cars; lightweight streamliner cars introduced in the mid-late 1930s were often all 80' long.
Not sure about the exact date, but 1910 is about the time the US Postal Service required that all Railway Post Office cars be all steel. Before that for a time they required that wood cars have a steel underframe. This meant that a train could often have a steel RPO with all other cars being wood.
Since the RPOs had to be steel because steel was safer in a wreck, passengers started to complain that they wanted the added safety afforded to RPO clerks, so railroads began buying heavyweight all-steel passenger cars (and rebuilding some woodsided cars that had steel underframes to being all-steel).
As Dave points out, some wood cars continued for some time after 1930 on commuter trains, as emergency fill-ins, and as "Jim Crow" cars in the South. But when the Depression hit, and rail traffic declined, railroads primarily used their most recently purchased equipment, so you'd usually see only heavyweight cars on a train during the 1930s.
Heavier all steel cars required heavier engines. In 1910 a 4-4-2 or 4-6-0 could generally pull a train of wood cars, but a train of heavyweight steel cars the same length would be too heavy. Railroads shifted mainline passenger trains to using 4-6-2s, 4-8-2s, and then 4-6-4s and 4-8-4s.
For example, Great Northern's wooden-car Oriental Limited used 4-6-0s and later 4-6-2s to pull the train in the 1910's-20s. But the all-heavyweight Empire Builder used 4-8-2 and 4-8-4 engines from it's start in 1929 until it dieselized in 1945 (and acquired lightweight streamlined cars in 1947).
There were wood cars that lated well after WWII! The B&M had open=platform wood cars into the diesel era until McGinnis had them all replaced by (more) Budd RDCs. I rode a wood car on the RF&P Washington - Richmond in 1942. And there were many 70+ foot long wood cars.
Before I give you specific answers, Is your passenger going 1st class (parlor) or coach?
Man, you have an imagination! 1910. Wow! Halley’s comet came that year and the heavenly spectacle was spectacular! It came in 1986 too but was a total dud! Some here at the forums may know the answers to your questions, but it is questionable. As for car lengths, many, many cars back then were wood, so likely not very long!
Hi,
Let's pretend for the moment that it is 1910. You are taking a passenger train from Rock Island, Geneva, Beloit, or Peoria, to Chicago. You could be on one of several different railroads. How long would the passenger cars be and typically how many cars? What locomotive would likely pull said train? Same question but it is now 1930. I'm sure I could dig around and find the answer but I am wondering if any midwestern aficiondos might know the answer. Thanks so much.
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