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Classic Train Questions Part Deux (50 Years or Older)

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 8:49 AM

Minnesota one and N. Dekota the other?

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 6:54 AM

Border is with Canada.  USA tracks are in two states.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 5:18 AM

Is the border with Canada and the USA tracks in Miinnasota?

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, December 7, 2015 8:19 PM

Giant hints... The detouring railroad and its host road are mentioned in a recent post on the other thread - and the reason for the detour appeared recently in "Classic Trains."

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, December 3, 2015 5:17 PM

All of the track involved is still there, and the host road still owns it.  When the detouring railroad was sold in the 1990s, the detour rights were given up.

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Posted by Electroliner 1935 on Thursday, December 3, 2015 4:17 PM

Deggesty
As I recall, some other roads had baggage lounge cars--and there was no traffic through them on the part of people who just wander around on board a train.

B&O's Cincinnatian and other trains had a baggage snack bar lounge at the front of the coache section to serve those who didn't want to use the diner.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, December 3, 2015 3:25 PM

Is this detour route in use today?

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, December 3, 2015 11:15 AM

C&NW's bridge across the Des Moines River washed out in a flood in 1881.  Kate Shelley was the daughter of the local section foreman. She crawled over the partially washed out bridge to flag down the Chicago Express.  C&NW later gave her a job as the local agent.  After she died in the teens the new steel bridge, still in use by UP, was named in her honor.

 

On to the next question.  Two railroads shared a bridge near an international border.  After one of the railroads was abandoned, the other created a detour route that crossed the border twice so it wouldn't be stuck maintaining the bridge on its own.  Both railroads, and the detour route.

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, December 3, 2015 8:51 AM

rc has the next question.   He answered correctly with Kate Shelly. Sure, I also know the story about the disaster avoided, but rc, go ahead and recount the rescue.  And ask the next question.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 10:35 AM

And C&NW's train was a "400" - the last steam-heated one.

Back to you, Dave.

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 9:49 AM

rcdrye

Probably the closest to NH's Parlor-bags were MILW's baggage-"Tip-Top-Tap" cars.

 

This railroad had one of its signature trains and a bridge named after the same woman. 

 

As I recall, some other roads had baggage lounge cars--and there was no traffic through them on the part of people who just wander around on board a train.

The C&NW named a bridge and a train for Kate Shelley, who stopped a train from going into the river that was re-bridged with the bridge that was then named for her.

Johnny

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 9:35 AM

Probably the closest to NH's Parlor-bags were MILW's baggage-"Tip-Top-Tap" cars.

 

This railroad had one of its signature trains and a bridge named after the same woman. 

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 8:53 AM

Correct.   In this suburban service they were replaced by reseated heavyweight parlor cars after the post-war American-Flyer[based-design Pullman Standard stainless steel clad lightweight parlors and parlor-bag combines arrived.  Did any other railroad have a fleet of parlor-bags?

 

Your question rc.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 6:43 AM

Fifty of New York Westchester and Boston's ninety five coaches were demotored and rebuilt by the New Haven for Boston commuter service.  At least some of the cars were actually owned by NYNH&H and stencilled as such even while they were on the NYW&B.  NH also got NYW&B's lone freight motor and some work equipment.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 11:11 AM

AB----Post WWII?

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Posted by FlyingCrow on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 6:31 AM

Yes they did.

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, November 30, 2015 1:10 PM

Thanks, and njow (someone) name the electric railway.

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, November 30, 2015 12:06 PM

Dave, you are right that the original equipment of the Southerner had combines.

The divided coaches I rode in were all heavyweight. I don't think that the Southern had any lightweight divided coaches.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, November 30, 2015 11:35 AM

Dave, you are right that the original equipment of the Southerner had combines.

The divided coaches I rode in were all heavyweight. I don't think that the Southern had any lightweight divied coaches.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, November 30, 2015 10:30 AM

PRR had both PB-70 (baggage-coach) and PBM-70 (RPO-baggage-coach) versions of the P-70 design.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, November 30, 2015 9:42 AM

I believe the lightweight divided coaches for the Southern came with a post-WWII order.  The original coach-only streamliner Southerner used the combine for colored passengers, if my memory is correct.  Not absolutely sure about the Tennesean . But I do remember the divided heavywieght coaches.

Name the electric railway whose MU electric cars provided steam-hauled suburban service on a different but related trailroad after loosing their motors and other electrical equpmenet, replacing the other railroad's last remaining wood suburban passenger equipment.  This following abandonment of the elecdtric line in question, of course.

For the record:  To me, early streamliners refer to those put intio service before the lightwight diesel-hauled Super Chief.  With the exception of the B&O's, I believe all used articulated cars.   The 1938 20th Century and Broadway are not early, in my opinion.

But others might consider anything before WWII as early.   Understand.

The PRR defintely had many shorty owl-faced combines, both mu and non-powered for suburban and branchline service, but I cannot remember any lightweights or even a standard (long) length P-70 derivitive.  I suspect there were some, however.

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, November 29, 2015 6:40 PM

The Southern also had divided coaches as well as combines. One end had two full-sized restrooms and the other end had two half-sized rooms that were across the aisle from each other; there was a swinging door between the two ends of the car.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Sunday, November 29, 2015 4:12 PM

Dave and All:

Dave has the answer. I thought the PRR had some combines, but can't locate that information. However, the ACL, FEC, and SAL did have baggage-coaches.

Next question to you.

Ed Burns

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 29, 2015 3:53 PM

If this is a general question, some through trains carried a Southern, or ACL or SAL or even an FEC Jim Crow coach through to New York, but there was also, probably more typical, that a person of color would get a seat reservation in the combine.   I think this was the usual practice for the Southerner, if my memor is correct.  Almost all the through coach trains were all-reserved.  At times the Havana Special was not, became the Gulf-Coast Special.  The combines on the streamlners had the same seat spacing and reclining seats as the full coaches. Not sure about the washrooms however.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Sunday, November 29, 2015 2:35 PM

Johnny and All:

Continuing with the below Washington, DC theme, the PRR would not order "Jim Crow" coaches. What type of equipment was used south of Washington, DC to satisfy the "seperate but equal" requirement of the time.

Ed Burns

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, November 29, 2015 12:25 AM

np, look forward to your question, right on.   I rode the Southerner several times, between New York City and Charlottesville, mostly with my parents.  When I traveled alone, even at age 10,  using a regular PRR to Washington and then transferring to a Southern or C&O was more typical. 
So I did know about the train.  But Dig, you said "early", and the Southerner did not start operating until about 1940 or 1941. For me, that is not an early streamliner.  Not compalining, just pointing out something.  Maybe at 83-1/2 I'm older than most and havd a different point of view of what is early.  Glad to know about the car names.

Sometimes going north on the Southerner, it would arrive in Charlettesville with a spiffy green and gold Pacific ahead of the single E-6 A-unit that was its usual power.

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, November 28, 2015 7:59 PM

Ed, I have set you a private message.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, November 28, 2015 4:28 PM

Ed, you have the right train!--and used the same source that I remembered, except for the particular state names, which I did not remember. 

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Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, November 28, 2015 4:00 PM

Mr. Deggesty:

I read that you are in an assisted living facility. Please call if you want and we can relive the passenger trains.  No--I am not crazy for giving out my cell phone number!

 

Ed Burns

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Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, November 28, 2015 3:10 PM

Mr.  Deggesty:

I found that the "Southerner"  did have a number of passenger cars that had identical names, but different numbers. Examples were the "South Carolina", "Virginia", and "Lousiana". They were placed in New York and New Orleans service on March 31, 1941. The reference is from Wayner's "Car Names, Numbers, and Conisists".  

Ed Burns

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