NYC Sleeper on Post 1954 Powhatan Arrow in Steam Era

[NW Mailing List]

Not having the video to view, I won't dispute that the train with the 
heavyweight sleeper could be the Powhatan Arrow.  If the car was placed 
ahead of the observation car, it is possible it was in charter service for a 
special group.  In a late 1950's issue of the N&W employee magazine is a 
photo of the the Arrow with a deadheading heavyweight sleeper behind a J and 
ahead of the combine.  In videos I own, there are N&W trains with UP, NP, 
PRR and ATSF sleepers in the consists of the Cavalier and the Pocahontas. 
In the 1950's a lot of charter moves still took place with additional cars 
on regular trains, and on dedicated special trains.  After 1948 the 
railroads owned the bulk of the sleeping cars and leased them back to 
Pullman for operation.  That is why it was common for sleepers to be found 
off line.  We forget that there was a time when railroads and the Pullman 
Company has the resources to provide seats for as many passengers who needed 
transportation, unlike Amtrak today.

As for "off-line"  Pullmans running on N&W rails I have several books on 
Pullman with car photos by O. H. Borsum.  He photographed many of these cars 
in Roanoke.

N&W did have a backup tavern-lounge car when the round end P4 cars were not 
available.  Remember that N&W had three PM class tavern-lounge cars and it 
took two to cover the Pocahontas, leaving a spare.  On page 84 of Jim 
Nichol's N&W in Color Volume 1 is a photo of the Powhatan Arrow with a PM 
car substituting for a P4.

--Rick Morrison

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2014 3:20 PM
Subject: Re: NYC Sleeper on Post 1954 Powhatan Arrow in Steam Era


> Jeff
> Having not seen said footage and only rarely buy any of the DVDs, simply 
> because I don't have time to watch much, I cannot address the specific 
> scene in question.
>
> I have to raise a question. First are you absolutely sure it was the Arrow 
> and not something else?  The reason I ask is, I don't think I ever have 
> seen photos of the Arrow with more than a combine, or 1 mail storage car 
> during the steam era, and the photos I've seen of the storage mail were 
> tacked onto the rear. There was an RPO put on the Arrow west of Bluefield, 
> I forget the exact date, but beginning in early 1957 seems to ring a bell.
>
> I've seen a number of photos of NYC cars in Roanoke over the years, so a 
> NYC car does not really surprise me. Moving cars from point a to point b 
> often became a function of when it got repaired and sent on the way. The 
> round end cars were not always on the train. Upon occasion, they had to 
> miss trips due to service, or repair a major mechanical defect, there was 
> no backup cars for that. A sleeper that could have had a problem, might 
> well have been pulled out of another train, repaired and sent on.
>
> What is the location of the scene, which direction is it west or 
> eastbound.  You are right it is not common to see it in the Arrow, but 
> virtually anything is possible.
>
> Ken Miller
>
> On Oct 13, 2014, at 1:24 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
>> Watching Pentrex's new DVD release of the old Video Rails "N&W 611" 
>> video, one thing stuck out to me that I'm not sure I've seen before.
>>
>> There is a great pan shot of the Powhatan Arrow with what appears to be a 
>> NYC heavyweight sleeper tacked on second to last in the consist. The 
>> footage is post 1954 after the skirting had been removed from the cars 
>> and there was some head end baggage cars to give a rough era of 1954 or 
>> later. (?)
>>
>> But I'm not sure I have ever seen a through car sleeper on the Arrow.
>>
>> Jeff Lisowski
>>
>> -- 
>> "Sic Semper Tyrannis!"
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