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benjamintickell53Participant
Absolutely, it is number 7 at Little Rock. Until the mail and express debacles shifted that business off of the railroad and onto the highways, number 7 was often the longest train to visit Little Rock during a 24-hour period in 1961-1967. Neither of the northbound mail and express trains (3 and
had the same length because some percentage of the head end cars returned north in deadhead freight service because both mail and express traffic volume was considerably heavier north/northeast to southwest. Head end cars from other railroads were common, NYC and PRR along with GM&O of course, but I have also seen C&O, NH, Erie, and a good assortment of Railway Express cars. The working baggage car, RPO, grill coach and coach were more or less mid-train, often with a string of head end cars destined for Texarkana proper behind the coach. Remember that No. 7 was one of the trains for which the rider baggage cars were used as detailed in the Spring 2012 Eagle.Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantMike Adams was one who indicated that at least some of the steel keys dated to World War II. That’s a nice example. The MoP designation is apparent on the key, but it was also most apparent in the early reporting marks on the side of boxcars.
Bill Pollardbenjamintickell53ParticipantThat is an unusual piece. As for the menu which you suggested, sign me up!
Billbenjamintickell53ParticipantThe remaining passenger cars in service as of March 1, 1971 (per the 1971 ORPTE) included the following:
Coaches: 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411. Also 465, 466, 467, 468, 474. This is one more coach than referenced in the J.G. German letter.
Grill coaches: 561, 562, 569, 570
Diner coaches: 580, 581, 582Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantHere are photos of a MoPac step box, presumably with original paint, and a yellow top. In view of the earlier discussion about colors of MP step boxes, I wonder if we should include this as a possibility? Somewhere there must be standard instructions on painting step boxes. We know that everything was all silver by the 1960s, but what about earlier?
Bill Pollard
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benjamintickell53ParticipantThanks for sharing the photos. I wonder if Amtrak was just short of power and briefly used the MP E-units, or if MP quickly tired of the mechanical problems with the PC locomotives and insisted on using their own power which had received better maintenance along the way.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantThe Jim Bennett article referenced is below. This was a very short, summarizing article. The Delta Eagle was Jim Bennett’s favorite MoPac passenger train (along with RI’s Choctaw Rocket and all StLSW passenger service). I seem to recall a more lengthy Jim Bennett article on the Delta Eagle, probably published in the Arkansas Railroader, but I don’t have that immediately at hand.
Jim had a friend in the printing business in Stuttgart, which allowed Jim to create a variety of printed forms, usually commemorative envelopes or pads of note paper with various railroad advertising artwork. He commemorated the Delta Eagle operation by creating the envelope shown, and having examples postmarked at various post offices along the Delta Eagle route. Similar artwork appeared on 5×7 note pads, which Jim gave to his many friends and railroad history colleagues.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=0:1z6qu9h5]Delta-Eagle-commemoration-1991-w.jpg[/attachment:1z6qu9h5]
[attachment=1:1z6qu9h5]Delta-Eagle-commemorative-postmark-w.jpg[/attachment:1z6qu9h5]
benjamintickell53ParticipantUpon further investigation, much of the MP passenger car usage by Amtrak is documented by Fred Frailey in Zephyrs, Chiefs and Other Orphans, pages 48-49.
According to Frailey, Amtrak was desperately trying to replace the failure-prone Penn Central cars with anything non-PC. On June 25, 1971, MP coaches 466-467 and MP diner coaches 580-582 were placed in service. Sample consists for the three sets of Washington-Kansas City equipment in July 1971 were as follows:
2 E units
Baggage: PC 9165, PC 9145, or PC 9196
10-6 sleeper: UP 1407, PC 4334, or PC 4334
64-seat coach: MP 466, PC 2950, or MP 467
diner-coach: MP 582, MP 580, or PC 4545
10-6 sleeper: UP 1421, UP 1408, or UP 1410 (on at Harrisburg, to/from NYC on #40-41)
44-seat coach: PC 3002, PC 3004, or PC 3000 (on at Harrisburg, to/from NYC on #40-41)
An additional coach, 10-6 sleeper and storage mail car operated Washington to Harrisburg on #30-31 and were then switched to #40-41 at Harrisburg to or from Chicago.The MP diner-coaches (and presumably the MP coaches) were phased out in mid-August 1971, replaced by SCL 36-seat diners 5953, 5957 and 5958.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantI received the information from someone who observed the MP cars on the east end of the run. We are not certain how many times the cars ran, but apparently long enough for all three of the diner coaches to be added to the equipment cycle, replacing some of the PC diners. I have not pulled out a 1971 timetable to see how many sets of equipment were required for the National at that time. The “normal” arrangement was for the westbound train arriving in KC in the evening to turn back as the eastbound train the following morning, so I think it may have required at least 4 sets.
When you saw the MP E-units were they operating on the MP, or on the PC?
Bill
benjamintickell53ParticipantThat is correct. The MP slumbercoach had been leased from Budd, and at the conclusion of the lease, the Jenks influenced passenger department turned the car back to Budd rather than purchase it. The Washington DC-San Antonio slumbercoach line was discontinued on May 16, 1964. The car went to Northern Pacific, then Amtrak, and now resides at the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco TX. A few years ago, the plan was to restore the car to its Amtrak identity, since that required the least modification of interior upholstery, etc.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantI will post the Delta Eagle article here, in case others might also find it of interest.
Bill
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benjamintickell53ParticipantThis early container effort would make a most interesting article. I’ve learned a lot just reading the responses on this thread. The loading crane sat unused (?) at NLR at the edge of the hump yard for years after this service had been replaced by more standard TOFC services. Given the popularity of stack trains today, it could be argued that this was a good idea ahead of its time.
The concept was featured prominently in advertising for a few years, as seen with these 1957 and 1958 pocket calendars (in both reproduction and original versions.)
Bill Pollard
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benjamintickell53ParticipantThe class of freight handled…
A-Carloads and less, forwarded and received
N-no freight handled
L-less than carload only
I-carloads inbound
O-carloads outbound
C-company material
P-passing trackKind of agency (also apparently appearing in that same column)
T-ticket
F-freight
Tel-Telegraph
Bag-Baggage
*-prepaid station, no freight agent
‘t’-coupon ticket station [symbol is actually dagger pointed down]The letter N, S, E or W after station name indicates that freight depot or platform is north, south, east or west of track. I suppose that is necessary in case a car needed to be unloaded from a certain side.
benjamintickell53ParticipantTelegraph Calls of the C&EI Railroad, courtesy of the Morse Telegraph Club.
[attachment=2:1pnr0h9l]C&EI RR Calls-1.JPG[/attachment:1pnr0h9l]
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benjamintickell53ParticipantWhite River Division telegraph calls and other data from the 1925 book noted above.
Bill Pollard[attachment=2:3ziu4f0d]WRcalls-2.jpg[/attachment:3ziu4f0d]
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AuthorPosts
had the same length because some percentage of the head end cars returned north in deadhead freight service because both mail and express traffic volume was considerably heavier north/northeast to southwest. Head end cars from other railroads were common, NYC and PRR along with GM&O of course, but I have also seen C&O, NH, Erie, and a good assortment of Railway Express cars. The working baggage car, RPO, grill coach and coach were more or less mid-train, often with a string of head end cars destined for Texarkana proper behind the coach. Remember that No. 7 was one of the trains for which the rider baggage cars were used as detailed in the Spring 2012 Eagle.
