What about the Head End traffic for Kable Printing in Mt. Morris? That has
to be much higher volume than the nursery!
Charlie Vlk
> -----Original Message-----
> From: PSHedgpeth@a... [mailto:PSHedgpeth@a...]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 7:11 PM
> To: BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] Head End Cars To A Branch
>
>
> The only instance I know of where head end cars were actually
> sent onto a
> branch line was at Shenandoah, IA on the Red Oak -Hamburg branch.
>
> In this case empty baggage cars were taken from Red Oak and
> Hamburg to
> Shenandoah for loading at the Earl May and Henry Field
> Nursery Companies.
> The commodity was nursery stock outbound.
>
> The loads were taken to Hamburg for southern destinations and
> to Red Oak for
> points east and north. The loaded cars were picked up on the
> rear end of
> passenger trains at Red Oak and Hamburg. The traffic was
> seasonal and began
> in late winter-early spring and lasted through the planting
> season. This
> business continued through the 1950's and probably into the 60's.
>
> I can remember seeing Number 26 at Langdon during the season
> with 3-5 baggage
> cars of nursery stock on the rear end. At Hamburg the branch
> local would set
> these cars over onto an auxiliary track west of the mainline.
> No. 26 would
> back in with the whole train and pick the cars up on the rear
> end. This
> commodity moved as Railway Express and had to be kept from
> freezing hence its
> movement on passenger trains where steam heat was provided.
> There may have
> been platform steam available at Hamburg and Red Oak, but I
> don't recall
> seeing any facilities.
>
> At Red Oak, I believe, there was a switch engine on duty who
> would place the
> cars on the rear of No. 14 or other eastbound
> trains...probably the same for
> westbound.
> Seems like one of Corbin's books has a photo of this operation.
>
> One of Corbin's books also has a classic shot of one of the
> 10 wheelers
> making a run for the hill up to the mainline at Red Oak with
> a significant
> train of nursery stock in tow. Seems like some book I saw
> captioned the
> photo as being on "The Savannah Branch" which is not correct.
> My feeble and
> aged mind says that this photo in one of the bulletins.
>
> Also I believe that there were instances where mty baggage
> cars were taken to
> a specific industries for Catalogue loading and like stuff.
>
> As for the usual branch line operation ie Creston and
> Villisca. No.s 3, 29,
> 15 etc would make stops at these stations with mail for the
> branches. Said
> mail and express was unloaded and trucked to either the Motor
> Car (in the
> case of the Creston Branch) this motor had an RPO compartment
> and mail was
> worked enroute. On branches such as the Villisca -Corning
> branch in later
> years the mail was handled in the combination car (3537) and
> was only
> handled as pouch mail not being opened or worked enroute.
> Railway Express
> was handled in the same manner.
>
> Now someone is going to come on here and tell of other
> instances were actual
> carloads of mail were taken "in toto" onto the
> branches...that may be and I
> am willing to be educated and edified as to where and when
> that was done.
>
> Pete Hedgpeth
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> ---------------------~-->
> Tiny Wireless Camera under $80!
> Order Now! FREE VCR Commander!
> Click Here - Only 1 Day Left!
> http://us.click.yahoo.com/WoOlbB/7.PDAA/ySSFAA/8ZCslB/TM
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -------~->
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
|