[Mike Vana]

In the Jenks era (from 1961 on) standard was blue painted truck side frames

[Mike Vana]

I think Lowey just liked combining blue and gray. The 1939 gray was lighter but tended to fade and got replaced by a different formulation. Lowey designed the paint scheme for Air Force One which uses a lot of blues, whites, and complementary colors.

[Mike Vana]

Almost all of Gary Shaw’s collection was painted by Chuck Brown who was picky about colors until he got cataracts and eye issues and had to stop painting. These were all pre cataract

Jim

[Mike Vana]

Looks really good

[Mike Vana]

I wonder if we talk nicely to Frank Hodina we could get one made at Resin Car Works.

Jim Ogden

[Mike Vana]

This car actually showed up in Monroe, Louisiana around 1980 and I assumed it was a C&EI car that was wandering far south of its normal haunts. Then I saw the A&S logo.

Naturally it was at dusk in a rainstorm, and I had no camera and even think I was on a date and didn’t want to appear too geekish.

I’m sure someone had some explaining to do in Alexandria or N’walins or Houston. Another time we saw a Zito yellow C&NW caboose which probably made the crew demand extra pay for the indignity of using another railroad’s caboose.

On the other hand, modern MoPac caboose were common on the Southern in Birmingham and even Chattanooga in the late seventies

[Mike Vana]

Thomas, I’m interested and think you have my cell number and email.

Jim Ogden
Argyle, TX

[Mike Vana]

The F-units are a project Nate and several other of us have been working on with Genesis. Hopefully they will be a big seller.

Atlas retooled their Chinese made GP7 with smaller handrails and a provision for several sizes of fuel tank. It is my understanding the metal frame tooling was broken so they made a new one.

[Mike Vana]

From maybe 1957 on I’d use freight car red. I saw black ones in company service in the 1980s and found a photo in a book without an ampersand that appears black. But there was a movement to red paint on a lot of equipment at about the time blue and gray geeps were showing up.

In the mid fifties they assembled a bunch of 50’ cars with prefabricated sides in Marshall and these got red paint and diamonds. There was an ad in an old Railway Age showing this.

Jim

[Mike Vana]

That looks really good Rene!

I’ve always felt we need a “what’s up with that” car from time to time to appear. As late as the sixties, cars that should have been worn out by World War 2 were still in interchange and not just carrying green hides or worn out automobile batteries.

I have a friend who likes the occasional older style car to show up in an operating session only to set it out on a siding since it needs some sort of minor repair. Naturally the owning railroad haggles over paying for this in spite of service rules, and his default remark is “patch it up enough to interchange with the Rock Island since they already operate a museum”

Or, the shipper expects a clean car with loading devices (DF, Sparton Easy loader) and the next available car is an older single sheathed car and this gets delivered .

Good work!

Jim Ogden

[Mike Vana]

And ARMN is an ART reporting mark, not Pacific Fruit Express

[Mike Vana]

How cool is that!!!!

Jim Ogden

[Mike Vana]

Spittoons were required in Louisiana and other states through the late 60s to keep patrons from spitting on the floor or sidewalk. We still had large coffee cans in the courtroom at the Morehouse Parish Courthouse in 1977 since the originals were taken home by employees and repurposed as planters. (They found the law requiring them was still on the books)

If you see one for sale, but it put a large candle it it or a dried flower arrangement in it,

Jim Ogden

[Mike Vana]

I’ve had former MoPac employees swear up and down that when Amtrak was formed, most of the money appropriated went to shore up the Penn Central and that was the major intent all along.. Their motive power and rolling stock were in terrible shape but Amtrak kept pouring money into PC in an attempt to stave off the inevitable. The ex-PC e-units on the National Limited were always failing west of St. Louis.

[Mike Vana]

I heard they are selling fast. Better get one now

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