With the new release of the NYC Flexi- Vans and flatcars. I got two U.S. Mail trailers for the NYC passenger train.
What type of passenger train ran with these? Secondary passenger trains with heavyweights or new stainless steel coaches?
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Hello,
Flexi-Van came along at a time of some rather big changes at the New York Central under Alfred Perlman who's agenda was to streamline and modernize the railroad.
Flexi_Mail_7-18-58 by Edmund, on Flickr
Some of the service was used for U.S. Mail and other for express and high priority shipments. There were some inherent problems that cropped up such as keeping the supply of tandem axle bogies needed for offloading, much like the trailer racks for containers today.
Right about the time the Flexi-Vans came along, the first revenue run being April 16, 1958, NYC's passenger trains were also going through an economizing. The Century was combined with the Commodore Vanderbilt and coaches were carried and the Century was no longer All Pullman.
I don't recall ever seeing Flexi-Vans on the Century right up to its demise in June of 1967. as you surmise they were carried on a few lesser trains. Didn't matter which were stainless steel (Budd) or stainless sheathed or smoothside (Pullman). Much of the headend equipment was heavyweight and would never be "upgraded" to lightweight anyway, along with many express box cars and former troop sleepers rebuilt into express service.
There were also dedicated mail trains that had a good percentage of Flexi-Van cars among the usual storage mail cars, box express cars and in the case of the NYC, a "rider car" or older heavyweight coach used in place of a caboose.
NYC, Chicago, Illinois, 1968 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Flexi-Van was primarily a freight service and as such, NYC also ran their Super-Van trains on (relatively) speedy "expedited" service. Not all Flexi-Van cars were equipped with steam and signal lines, this was railroad-specific. I'd have to look for my roster, as I recall some of the Mark II and III cars were and later IV and V were not. There were various improvements to the turntable system as the designs changed. The Walthers cars are a later Mark III car, as I recall.
IMG_5949 by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
I'd concur with Ed's post. Piggybacks with US Mail trailers didn't just take the place of an RPO in a top passenger train. Although some railroads in the 1960s did haul one or two piggyback cars on a passenger train (usually at the end, spoiling the view if the train still had an observation car), New York Central ran a fair number of "M&E" trains dedicated just to Mail and Express, and express freight trains. That would be a more likely place to find a US Mail piggyback.
(OK technically an M&E train was considered a passenger train, but normally wouldn't carry passengers, just reefers, storage mail, express, RPOs and such.)
gmpullman The Walthers cars are a later Mark III car, as I recall.
The Walthers cars are a later Mark III car, as I recall.
Walthers has done the Mark III and Mark IV.
Ed
I can only speak from observation of the New England States, trains 27 and 28. It definitely did not carry Flexi-Vans, at least until 1966. After that year, I can't say but, it makes since not to do so. On the Boston & albany, any head end traffic was handled in dedicated mail and express trains. New York Central employees timetable number 8, effective October 30, 1960, lists the following M&E trains between Boston's South Station and Albany:123 Buffalo Mail and Express departing Boston at 2:00 AM, EDT, daily except Sunday, 413 Albany Mail and Express out at 8:00 PM daily except Sunday, and 415 another Albany Mail and Express, out at 9:45 PM daily except Sunday.
Eastbound there were also three M&E trains, 402 Albany to Boston, arriving at 12:30 AM, daily, 406 from Albany, arriving Boston at 5:45 AM daily except Sunday and Monday, and 148 from Buffalo, due in at 12:30 PM daily. None of the commuter trains handled M&E to my knowledge, but the locals to Springfield and Albany, which ran as Budd RDC "Beeliners" are shown in the ETT as not handling baggage, because they were mostly RDC-1s, the all coach version.
My familiarity is with the 413. It usually ran with a trio of E-units and 8-10 cars plus the rider car and, usually had a couple of Flexi-Van cars in the consist, out of Boston. Generous dwell times at Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield are indicative of picking up or possibly setting out cars since except for Pittsfield, the other two are major junctions with the New Haven and Boston and Maine. By the time 413 got to Albany, it would resemble a freight train, thus the three units. There would be little difference with their opposites, only in reverse. And, as stated by wjstx, these were all first class trains in the timetable, as were those carrying the passengers.
Notice there was no Sunday M&E runs out of Boston. The Post Office and the Railway Express Agency were closed.