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benjamintickell53Participant
The “silver things” in the first photo look like water stations to me – used to be fairly common at stations where passenger trains were watered.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantThere is a second version of one-quart size milk bottles. The second version one has MISSOURI PACIFIC DINING CAR SERVICE in a circular pattern, a smaller buzzsaw outline, and BENBUSH in both horizontal and vertical format forming a “plus” sign in the center. The back has WASH AND RETURN and in smaller font, 1-11-14 which might be a date or simply a manufacturing number.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantThe colors on this example are about the best that I’ve ever seen. If you ever have a need to disassemble it, a high res scan would be nice before the inevitable aging/fading. Repro copies might be an item for the company store. In addition to the pictures, which came in both MP and IM frames, the same image also appeared on postcards.
Bill Pollardbenjamintickell53ParticipantIs planning far enough along to identify what activities are going to be scheduled for Thursday afternoon? For those of us who are flying in Thursday, or even arriving on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle Thursday, it may be difficult to get to the afternoon sessions. Knowing what is scheduled before 5pm Thursday would help us determine whether we should take off three days from work instead of two, in order to arrive on Wednesday.
I would second what has already been said about Austin. The city has a lot of activity and fun destinations to keep other family members entertained outside of the convention. The weekend we are in town is the first of two weekends for the very popular Austin City Limits Music Festival, so many hotels are going to fill up — book early!
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantFlashing red, to help distinguish from regular block signals. When green, flashing green also.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53Participant10301 and 10302 were lounge cars, probably originally for the Sunshine Special. I cannot find any reference that they were ever used regularly in parlor service, and the late John Mills article (Arkansas Railroader) on MP Parlor Car service since the 1930s did not include these cars. 10301 lasted slightly longer than 10302, but they were both off the roster by 1955, possibly due to having steam-ejector air conditioning. In the 1952 ORPTE, they were both listed as 36-seat lounge cars. One source says that these cars were built by Pullman in 1930, if so, could they have been rebuilt to some other use in the early 50s, or were they scrapped?
In this business, never say never, but I am not aware of any heavyweight lounge cars that were ever regularly assigned to the Colorado Eagle. If they were ever used in this service, it would be most interesting to know the details.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantThe question of the trucks is intriguing, and the idea that trucks came from older express boxcars is particularly so. I wonder if we could develop enough of a photo database of different numbers of these cars to either confirm or refute the truck origins? The diagrams for these cars specify that 135-159 had trucks matching General Steel Casting Drawing 30370, while cars 160-184 had trucks matching GSC Drawing 32595.
Per Ed Hawkins in Railway Prototype Cyclopedia #6, boxcars 86150-86174 and 88300-88324 were modified by Sedalia in 1942 for box-express service, getting Allied full cushion trucks. The cars were rebuilt and renumbered circa 12-1958, becoming 4300-4324 and 4325-4349, both series getting GSC trucks in the process. So far, I have not found a diagram for the 4300 series box-express cars, which might help answer this question if truck details are specified.
Regarding the number of these cars converted to something other than tool cars, here is another one, in the later UP version of M/W colors. Its not legible in this view, but on the other end of the car it appears to be stenciled “Dining Car.”
And, for those who have forgotten, these cars did actually exist in colors other than faded blue, tuscan, rust, silver or green… as the photo of car 159 southbound on the GM&O at Joliet in 1967 confirms.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=1:13v2j3v0]MPX-14259w.jpg[/attachment:13v2j3v0]
[attachment=0:13v2j3v0]159.jpg[/attachment:13v2j3v0]
benjamintickell53ParticipantOn the underbody photos I posted, I lightened the image considerably to reveal the maximum amount of detail. On the question of how the underbody was painted, I first thought Jenks blue, but when looking at image #3, you can see a portion of the car side as well as part of the underframe. The underframe portion looks darker, thus I am assuming that it may have been painted black. The one exception may be the brake valve, which seems to be a lighter color.
In the last photo, showing the entire car, note how the steam line is mounted low and away from the carbody on the center 2/3 of the car. This would seem to have put it at risk for debris and potential damage at higher speeds. What was the reason for mounting in this obviously lower position versus more flush with the carbody? As I recall, these cars had no heat themselves, and only a few 110v light bulbs inside for illumination.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=0:lzr69f9c]135-184.pdf[/attachment:lzr69f9c]
[attachment=1:lzr69f9c]135-184a.pdf[/attachment:lzr69f9c]
benjamintickell53ParticipantThese are “builder” photos of car 152, taken in September 1962 at DeSoto shops. You can almost smell the new paint.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=0:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0003w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]
[attachment=1:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0006w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]
[attachment=2:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0004w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]
[attachment=3:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0002w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]
[attachment=4:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0001w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]
[attachment=5:2f6lollj]152-Sep-1962-DeSoto_0005w.jpg[/attachment:2f6lollj]benjamintickell53ParticipantThis is a nice looking model. I would be interested in feedback from others who have built it, as to the difficulty. The model photos on the company store page show a number on each end of the car. In actuality, the passenger service number would only be on the lower right corner as you view the car, while the freight number was stenciled in various areas of the left panel as you view the car.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantFrom a mouse-eaten copy of a 1936 Railroad Stories “pulp” magazine, Bozo Texino provides an estimate (perhaps embellished slightly??) of the number of autographs that he had provided to receptive boxcars. He also notes the use of waterproof chalk for longevity.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=0:3rzrrjq6]1936-Railroad-Stories_0002w.jpg[/attachment:3rzrrjq6]
benjamintickell53ParticipantThe jpg is great, thanks!
Billbenjamintickell53ParticipantI am having trouble getting the TIF link to load… it does not appear to be active. Is anyone else having that trouble?
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantNot to hijack the T&P decal thread, but looking at all the other freight cars in that 1961 photo from Fort Worth…. that was back when freight cars were interesting! B&O wagontop box, T&P stock car, ATSF billboard boxcar — classy schemes and not a hint of graffiti. That is another of those “generic” shots taken back in the day that are priceless now due to what was inadvertently captured in the background.
Bill Pollard
benjamintickell53ParticipantDid you by chance “save” the image in the ebay auction? Once the auction is over, the listing will eventually expire, and the digital image along with it. To avoid that, it would be possible to save the image, and then post it here as an attachment to your regular post, so that it would remain available for research purposes.
Bill Pollard
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