Passenger trains operational questions

[NW Mailing List]

The N&W express and mail business was relatively small compared to many roads. One of the things we lack, simply because there was not enough business is a passenger train consist book like the Pennsylvania had, it is wonderfully detailed about what cars ran on what days and why. The N&W Consist book was far simpler and dramatically less detailed.

Car movement was mostly predicated on need, which on the N&W was mostly seasonal. Refrigerated express cars from the ACL could have been Easter flowers or seasonal fruit. By coincidence, I was working on a project with the N&W Magazine yesterday and came across this item from page 349 of the July 1947 issue:

WATCH THIS SUMMER for refrigerator cars with a wide green stripe about window high and bearing the initials R. E. X. These are the new high-speed “ reefers,” built and used for the transportation of frozen foods, cut flowers, seafoods, berries and other perishables. The cars, owned by the Railway Express Agency, are equipped with roller bearings and are built of high tensils, light weight alloys. They weigh about 7,000 pounds less than the conventional refrigerator car.

Ken Miller

On Apr 12, 2017, at 7:03 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:

> This is great! Thank you all
> Brent 
> ________________________________
> Dr. J. Brent Greer
> From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> on behalf of NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2017 10:13:38 PM
> To: NW Mailing List
> Subject: Re: Passenger trains operational questions
>  
> Working RPO cars stayed on the home road to the best of my knowledge.  However, after 1957 the N&W RPO-baggage cars on trains 1 & 2 were no longer set out of the train at Hagerstown.  The postal contract was Hagerstown-Roanoke, but the car stayed in the train deadheading on to Harrisburg, PA.  The post office called this "closed pouch" when the mail clerks did not stay with the car.  PRR had a sealed express car which ran for years in Harrisburg-Roanoke service.  Always a PRR B-60, it ended after 1957.  There always was a motive power change in Hagerstown.
>  
> In the 1960's I was riding the SCL Silver Star northbound from Florida.  Leaving Jacksonville, there was a N&W baggage/express car in the consist.  I have seen a photo of a tuscan N&W baggage car in California after the time of the Wabash NKP merger.  The car probably came out of St. Louis on the former Wabash.
>  
> --Rick Morrison
>  
>  
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: NW Mailing List
> To: NWHS Mailing List
> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2017 9:49 AM
> Subject: Passenger trains operational questions
> 
> Did head end equipment like RPO cars or mail storage or baggage cars ever leave home rails?
> 
> What about on jointly operated trains like the Pelican or Birmingham Special?
> 
> Did REA express cars travel frequently in N&W trains?  What about REA express refrigerator cars?  Would there ever be situations where foreign road express equipment might appear in an N&W passenger train (like an ACL express reefer)?
> 
> Thanks,
> Brent 
> 
> ________________________________
> Dr. J. Brent Greer
> 
> 
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