Dave...Ken and List
I'm 92% sure that the picture you have is that one featured for June 1992 on
the BRHS calendar.
I pulled calendar out while at home a while ago along with my Burlington In
Transition.
As a side comment which I just can't do without. The caption on this photo
is inaccurate. It puports to be train No. 101 on the Red Oak-Hamburg branch
and to have been taken "around 1950. Caption states that said train is well
behind its 8:58 arrival at Essex.
Well, here's what I think...(as if anyone cared, but I'm going to say it
anyway). This is not train No. 101. First of all the train is northbound.
No. 101 is a southbound.
2. I believe that the captioner took his time information from a timetable
from a later date to get his 8:38 time at Essex. I have an October 26,1958
Operating TT which does indeed show No. 101 at Essex at 8:38am....however.
My Official Guide of November 1945 shows the Red Oak-Hamburg branch had mixed
trains making two round trips each day. No. 101 left Red Oak at 6:45am
arriving at Hamburg at 8:05am, turning back as No. 104 leaving at 10:15am,
arriving Essex at 11:50am and Red Oak at 12:20pm. This, I believe is the
train in the photo. The sun would appear to be overhead, as there are no
shadows appearing at all. This would be the case in a near mid day scene.
There was a second train, No. 103 which left Red Oak at 1:30pm..Hamburg at
3:15pm Leaving Hamburg 6:05pm and Red Oak 7:50pm.
Here's the deal. Until about 1950-1952 (don't know the exact date) these
trains carried US Mail. The morning train would have had the mail from the
overnight mail trains from Chicago for the branch towns. He would have
handled this traffic and any passengers making connections at Hamburg with
No. 20 and receiving the mail from the overnight KC-Omaha trains 22 and 23.
If you look at the schedule time, you can see that these trains would have
been "fast"..relatively speaking, insuring that the mail made connections.
The afternoon train No. 103 would have been at Hamburg for connections with
No. 21 and 26 and would bring the North mail from No. 27 back up the line.
Ken, Train No. 101 you would remember from your days in Shenandoah as "The
Wooden Axle" which Frank Field reported by every morning during his program
on KMA. Due at Shenandoah 7:25am. Frank was on 7:15-30. You would recall
that Frank and sometimes the Blackwood Brothers, who came on right after
Frank would open the studio door so that the listeners could have the benefit
of hearing the "Wooden Axle", then powered by steam go by.
Now as to the combination car. From the calendar photo it's impossible to
make out the complete number of the combine, but it looks like it there is a
2 and a 7 in the number. The car is of the PB&M (Passenger, Baggage and
Mail) configuration.
Windows indicate seats for passengers, the wide door (open in the photo)
indicates the baggage room, and the small door just to the left of the power
pole is for the mail compartment. The small, narrow door just behind the
side window in the front is for the former cab and engine room. BIT, page
115 penultimate paragraph indicates that original MC's 841-850 "were arranged
to handle baggage, mail and passengers. A 9 was prefixed to all their
numbers during the early thirties.
Checking the DISPOSITION page No. 121 for cars in this series converted to
trailer status with a 27 or 17 or something like that shows Car 9847 was
converted to PB&M trailer No. 2627 (12-42). So this could be the car....
I understand that someone is working on a Motor Car article for a Bulletin.
I'm eagerly awaiting it's appearance. Perhaps whoever that person is could
give you some additional help...If your photo shows the number clearly enough
to read, let me know and I can give you, from BIT the car's ancestry.
I noticed something else in looking closely at the picture. The roof on the
end of the trailer next to the center cab appears to extend out like the
porch of an observation car...I had never noticed that before.....Comments
anyone.
Also couple of other interesting thing about the picture. At first look it
appears that the train is stopped at the station. However a couple of things
tell us that he has just begun to move. The engineer has his head and
shoulders extended out the window raised on his right elbow, and is peering
intently ahead, watching the crossing. You can see his left arm through the
front and side windows extended to the throttle as he "pulls her out". Right
at the corner of the depot just to the left of the RR crossing sign, you can
see the mail messenger with his two wheeled cart heading east where he will
go across the state highway and to the post office on the other side. The
rear brakeman, or conductor is standing at the rear vestibule and probably
has one foot on the step and will let the momentum swing him on.
I intended to take this photo with me on a recent trip to Des Moines and come
back via Essex and check the scene out, but I didn't get it done. Maybe next
time.
Well Ken, that's far more than you wanted to know, but I have lots of fun
digging into trivia like this.
Pete Hedgpeth
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