Leo - I hope you do the article on switching Aurora - I have slides of some
of the last newsprint cars to get spotted @ the Beacon whse and a 20's or
earlier b/w print (Aurora estate sale) of a PRR flat of lumber at that
lumber yard across the alley & just N of the Beacon (was a unique load due
to qty of boards on it - had a big sign on the car). Had a Pennsy fan offer
me an arm & a leg for it but since it was spotted at a Q industry I said no!
Those 'in the street' switches
are a seldom modeled detail on any layout - I know there were a pain
for crews in the winter when covered with ice.
As for W. R. Grace in W. Chicago, I once asked Chuck Hodson, the ret'd. agt
from Batavia, what were some of the stranger loads he billed over the yrs as
a Q agt - he mentioned the peat moss as an uncommon commodity. Also goose
feathers coming or going to be made into pillows. His comment was that was
a load the Q made a bundle on due to minimal weight. Also the proverbial
argument if a full car load of helium billed to Ferma Lab weighed less than
an MTY! His least fond memory was as a rookie clerk further west - an open
gon of blood from a packing plant; he had the misfortune of walking by one,
checking car #'s when train started up suddenly & some splashed over the
sides! Suppose that could be modeled with same matls's we do ponds &
streams with - just add dark red coloring. He said only the oldest steel
gons were used yet they had to be repaired enought not to have holes - all
in all a poor situation for a RR - imagine the only reason it was done was
shortage of tank cars for 'tankage' loading.
Going back a few weeks there were comments on Western Weighing & Insp.
Bureau - I saw their scale car one time - not sure if was strictly used to
ck industy scales or to doublecheck RR scales - was identical to the Q's -
black with white initials WWIB as well as spelled out.
Gerald Edgar
_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
|