[louanne.lewandowski]

Here’s a very nice shot that appeared this week on eBay of an ART wood reefer in August 1960. The photographer was apparently in Wyoming and Colorado during this month, judging by the C&S and D&RGW photos that are other listings, with the same date.

Interesting that it’s clean and appears to be in very good condition.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-Slide-Freight-ART-American-Refrigerator-Transit-Co-Reefer-51140-1960-/352085364915?hash=item51f9ec50b3:g:t38AAOSwvflZPe85

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

Thank you for posting this, it fills in quite a lot of uncertainty I had about MoPac served coal mines.

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

Thank you for this link, Charlie.

Growing up in Colorado in the early 1960s, the annual Grand Valley peach season was something to look forward to. For about a month we ate a lot of peaches that were ripe and delicious. Peaches today might be available year-around, but are depressingly wooden and tasteless every time I erroneously give in to the urge to buy some.

Rio Grande locations that are obvious in this film include Grand Junction, Palisade, DeBeque, West Canyon (west of Glenwood Springs, on the original alignment on the north side of the Colorado River), Glenwood Canyon (vicinity of Allen), Dotsero, and North Yard (Denver). The train scenes are not in strict geographic order from west to east, but bounce around somewhat. I can’t identify any of the steam engines, but FTs are clearly seen.

There’s what appears to me (not an old-car expert) to be a 1951 Ford truck in one scene carrying a re-ice machine, and it looks new, so that would likely be the year this film is taken.

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

According to D&RGW traffic people I’ve talked with, D&RGW was the lumber broker’s preferred routing through the Ogden gateway prior to 1980, more so than UP, because D&RGW gave them more routing options en route — lumber could be diverted to either Denver or Pueblo, and to five railroad connections at Denver or three at Pueblo. As long as the lumber didn’t go backward (west), the rate was identical. (WP had much smaller lumber volumes than SP; it’s lumber originations similarly tended to prefer D&RGW interchange.)

Eastward carload (i.e., non-unit train) traffic on the Royal Gorge Route through Pueblo was consistently dominated by lumber and plywood (car types XM, XML, RBL, FMS, FM) until the line’s closure, followed by canned goods (RBL), bulk tomato products (RBL), and rice (LO). MP received most of the D&RGW carloads at Pueblo.

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

These train lists are MUCH appreciated. Please post as many as you can; every one is of interest. Trains to and from Pueblo are of particular interest to me.

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

I purchased one of these from Nick Molo at the NMRA Portland train show, and it’s just spectacular. Now I just need to find the budget for the remaining road numbers …

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

Fantastic work, Charlie. You’ve given us inspiration, prototype information, AND technique for a great car.

Mark Hemphill

[louanne.lewandowski]

Three of the MP 89000-89049 series are in the 1965 ORER. In 1965, I am assuming still mineral red (faded); would the lettering look anything like photo above?

[louanne.lewandowski]

Thanks for creating this. The Yahoo forums are fairly user-unfriendly, too, so not unhappy to see those off. Good to have it all in once place.

Mark

[louanne.lewandowski]

A lovely photo! Thanks Charlie.

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