Baggage carts

[prairieboy2765]

I was told that train stations had walers (boards that ran horizontally) to protect the stucco from impacts from the baggage carts wheels and frames. Sometimes there were two walers, and sometimes only one waler. At what height were these placed apart from each other? Was there a standard baggage cart dimension/size?

[tstage]

Prairie,

Actually this query would be better asked/answered on the Prototype information for the modeler forum.

Tom

[BaltACD]

Always loved stations that had a operators bay window on the building, then they refinished the building in aluminum siding.  Especially when the bay window area was the RPO's aiming point when discharging mail sacks 'on the fly'.  Talk about dings and dents!

[MidlandMike]

Baggage cart deck would be at same height level as a baggage car door.

[Deggesty]

MidlandMike

Baggage cart deck would be at same height level as a baggage car door.

 

And the deck made a wonderful seat when you had been walking around a station watching trains and you wanted to give your legs a rest by letting them hang down.

 

Will we ever get Spel Czech back?

[dakotafred]

On the UP, we called them hand trucks, and I always thought ours superior to those I saw on other lines around the country.

Ours had uprights at either end, which certainly made it easier to build a load that held together. We built those loads "high like a mountain and wide like a tree," and they usually didn't fail on their journeys across rough plank crossings.

We handled mostly baggage and canvas sacks of U.S. mail. I could understand the Railway Express version at our same depot, which lacked the upright at one end, because sometimes they would get a long roll of carpet, or something else outsized, in their mix.

But I always wondered about the numerous other railroads that seemed to disadvantage their mail and baggage handlers with an upright at only one end. 

[schlimm]

dakotafred

On the UP, we called them hand trucks, and I always thought ours superior to those I saw on other lines around the country. Ours had uprights at either end, which certainly made it easier to build a load that held together. We built those loads "high like a mountain and wide like a tree," and they usually didn't fail on their journeys across rough plank crossings.

 

Still use ones like that for VIA rail:

[dakotafred]

That's the very one, Schlimm; thanks! I wish I could build a load on it that touched the sky right now.

[dakotafred]

MidlandMike

Baggage cart deck would be at same height level as a baggage car door.

 

Must correct, Mike; that wouldn't have let one build much of a load. The deck was a good step down from the door. It was the "high truck'' (our name on the UP), for transfer of a remains, that was level with the floor of the car.

[schlimm]

Here's an old CNW cart outside depot in Watertown, WI.