1- Track bumpers/derails: all that I took slides of inc. a couple Lines West
on C&S were Q's MoW (Safety) orange which gained popularity with many RR's
post-WWII. As Hol noted conversion from boxcar red occurred a couple yrs
sooner on LE than LW and sooner on heavily traveled lines than on seldom used
sidings. It may be time for another MoW clinic @ Annual meet. (other misc
trackside items also got the orange which like the MoW rolling stock would fade
to various shades although paint on steel faded less then paint on wood, then &
now). RR's, with the Q being one of the more aggressive, had long pioneered in
industrial safety and post-War industry across the board caught up with same
after the Great Depression & WWII. The Q's safety dept took a lot of
initiatives as did some other RR's. The obvious one was making bunk cars
especially more identifiable as possibly being occupied by Employees; hard to
do when most RR's for yrs painted work equipment box car red. Q, CGW & others
went to Safety orange, Wabash to yellow, UP to silver, etc - anything to make
them standout to crews pushing cars into a siding. Sidings used then & now by
MoW crews usually were also used for freight so all the more important to
differentiate them. I believe the BRHS issued copy (still for sale?) of the
Q's trackside standards show the paint colors used as well.
2- LaCrosse - Q began routing passenger trains from downtown depot to new
Granddad's Bluff depot eff. Jan 28, 1940 per TT and an old T.O. I have.
Heileman's, now City Beer, remains a major customer served from the south end
as well as lumber, scrap & a team track. Come to 4000 Foundation Train Show
July 19 to check it out as BNSF tentatively will be displaying a loco (as will
CP nee ex-Milw). Purely trivial per a Lodge brother who is chief accountant
for American Brewing Assoc. - of the top 10 selling beers in America, although
all are brewed in America, ONLY 2 are American-owned and City Beer is one of
the two! Good business for Q/BN.
3- re: dates freight cars were painted. I took close-ups of such markings on
many Q frt cars rebuilt from late 50's onward. Most often HV (Havelock), the
date painted & DuPont something or other as to exact color.
4- I've forgotten - who is Dave's 'assistant' for this list? Please contact
me off-line for a question. Tks!
5- Purely misc. Red Oak, best known to Q fans as home of Bernie Corbin & a
nice restored depot (Chbr of Commerce hdq!), is home to the newly minted GOP
candidate for U.S. Senate. National media already descending on Red Oak as
some ex-Q RR'ers were recently quoted as to their thoughts on the candidate.
Watch your national news in months to come as it's one of the half dozen
highly contested national Senatorial elections. (you know what then Gov.
Carter's presidential bid did for a depot in Georgia!)
Gerald
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