EAST & WEST RAILROAD

[mudchicken]

For the record:

East & West Railroad of Alabama (EWRA) became Seaboard Air Line in 1903 (Started as narrow gage and later converted to standard gage in 1890). It was the reason that SAL was able to get to Birmingham. EWRA's alignment left the future SAL Birmingham alignment and went south at Coal City/Wattsville/Broken Arrow to connect with SR at Pell City. Parts of it still exist as OmniTrax's Alabama & Tennessee RR (ATN) from Wellington AL to Coal City AL (and on to Birmingham) and from Cedartown, GA to Rockmart, GA (CSX, originally ng) and Rockmart, GA to CartersvilleGA (originally 5' broad gage, CSX Cartersville Sub)...weird little piece of railroad. Hope somebody didn't trash his antiques.

(the thing [M-10000] barnstormed the country before winding up at the Worlds Fair and later as the UP City of Salina)...SAL did not drop the EWRA moniker for years after the consolidation)

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard of this, but in my toy train collection, I have a tin Japanese train set from the 1960's with a caboose that's lettered "East West". Most likely this is simply a name that the company put on because it sounded good and has absolutely nothing to do with any prototype railroad.

[kevarc]

kino, please don't type in all caps. It is the equivalent of shouting.

[Anonymous]

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO REPLY TO MY QUESTION. HERE IS SOME ADDITIONL INFORMATION. THERE WAS A ROW OF DELIVERY VANS ALL LINED UP AT A LOADING DOCK AND EVERYONE OF THEM WAS LABELED EAST & WEST. ALL THE UNITS ON THE M10000 PASSAGER TRAIN WERE LABELED EAST & WEST. I TEND TO AGREE SOMEWHAT WITH CShaveRR THAT THE REAL NAMES MAY HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT, BUT IN THE 56 PLATES THAT I HAVE AWHOLE LOT OF AIR BRUSHING WENT ON. THANK YOU.

[CShaveRR]

John H. Armstrong, in his basics-of-railroading book The Railroad--What It Is, What It Does, uses a fictional "East-West Railroad" to demonstrate a lot of his points.

As for the older pictures, I know that AAR publicity used to eliminate references to existing railroads (presumably to avoid showing any favoritism). And, come to think of it, I remember seeing somewhere a picture that included at least one N&W hopper car altered to read "E&W". (N&W coal cars of that era had their reporting marks prominently painted on the side...no mistaking whose that was!)

[Anonymous]

There was a Houston East and West Texas Railroad. Then there was an East and West Alabama railroad.

http://www.texasescapes.com/DEPARTMENTS/Guest_Columnists/East_Texas_all_things_historical/HellEitherWayTaken1amd1201.htm

http://www.railga.com/eastwest86.html

[dehusman]

Probably the UP , sometime the line from Granger to Council Bluffs is known as the "East-West" main. Whatever, the lebel is proably a shorthand from the photographer and not the actual name of a railroad.

[PNWRMNM]

To my knowledge there never was an East & West railroad. I suspect the markings were used at the direction of the Govt for some now unknowable security reason. Remember in WWII over 90% of military freight moved rail and there was A LOT of it.

Mac

[Puckdropper]

http://www.texasescapes.com/DEPARTMENTS/Guest_Columnists/East_Texas_all_things_historical/HellEitherWayTaken1amd1201.htm

Does this sound like what you have?

[Modelcar]

....Railroads were put under some control of the Government to make sure the priority shipments were put through and the mechanicals of the industry would continue to receive top priority to keep them running and probably many other arrangements that I've forgotten but I've never heard of them being refered to as "East and West".....At that time.

[Anonymous]

I HAVE A COLLECTION OF RAILROAD PICTURES WHERE EVERYTHING IS LABELED EAST AND WEST RAILROAD. THEY APPEAR TO BE TAKEN JUST BEFORE WWII. ONE OF THE SHOTS IS OF THE M10000. I CAN FIND NOTHING REFERRING TO THE EAST & WEST RAILROAD. DURING WWII WERE ALL RAILROADS IDENTIFIED AS EAST & WEST RAILROAD?