THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
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NOTICE: IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER  
If our normal "THIRD THURSDAY" NRHS meeting is canceled due to inclement weather, it will be postponed and held on the FOURTH THURSDAY. If it must again be canceled, it will NOT be rescheduled.  We will simply wait for the next month's normal "third Thursday" meeting.  If the weather looks bad or is predicted to be bad, you may telephone the Claymont Community Center to see if it will be open that evening for our meeting.

MEETING NOTES - Part I -
At the November 19, 1998 Chapter meeting, the minutes were approved as corrected and the Treasurer's report as read.  National Director Ed Thornton reported that RailCamp '99 will be July 25-31,1999.  Dick Hall reported that Andy Andrews (not Andy Edwards as had been incorrectly reported in the last Transfer Table), who had passed away recently, is now buried along the old B&O Railroad on Silverside Hill.  Bill Russell shared a photo of his that had run in the Hockessin Community News.  The Reading Company Technical & Historical Society's The Bee Line magazine has a cover photo on their latest issue #1/1997 (yes, 1997!) a photo by Dick Hall.  Ken Berg reported on a recent Reading & Northern excursion.  Dan Frederick shared information on a recent Washington DC Chapter excursion and a "station hunting" expedition which included Carlisle and Gettsyburg, PA.  Jack Rathburn told of the First State Model Railroad and Camden Wyoming Station.  Marshall Guthrie told of the Village of Cokesbury arranging a trip to see the Amtrak office facility in Wilmington.  John Iwasyk gave an update on the visitor's center at the Wilmington & Western Railroad.   John also reported that Tom Marshall had found original Railway Express Agency signs for the Yorklyn Station.  We also heard about Bill Russell's photograph of W&W new #58 (ex-Army 0-6-0) being fired up for the first time on the previous Sunday.   Dave Watterson filled us in about CSX's single track situation in Philadelphia.  

Our guest speaker for the evening was Ron A. Bowes, Director - Risk Management for Conrail.  Although we did not see the video on the new Conrail locomotives, he did allow the Chapter to make a copy for strictly non-commercial use by the Chapter members.  He indicated that Conrail had to modify the doors on every engine house in the system to accommodate the new SD80MAC's.  The majority of his remarks related to the CSX/NS split up of Conrail.  He filled us in about the problems of who is liable for what when one road has trackage rights over another railroad's tracks.  The current laws lead to some very bizarre situations.  We also heard that all of his personal experiences with RS-3's were bad ones.  He explained the meaning of some key items on the Shared Assets map which he had posted for our meeting.  We heard about the railroad's serious commitment to safety and the fact that the use of "boat handle switches have eliminated switch-related back injuries on Conrail. Having committed $1 million per district strictly for safety, the injury rate has dropped from 2,000 in 1988 to 1,300 in 1993 to only 300 in 1996.  We discovered that the west shore of the Hudson River is known as "The Sewer Line" by crews because they have to "too much train and not enough track".  We also found out that the Philadelphia Belt Line is actually owned by the City of Philadelphia.  Our sincere thanks to Ron for his candid comments and his patience answering all of our members questions until we finally had to adjourn.

REMINDER: 1999 Dues Are Due!
Ralph says the notices will be in the mail soon. [17 National + 10 Chapter = $27] See Ralph or send to our Treasurer at:
Ralph E.  Stevens, Jr.
10 Colony Blvd. (#506)
Wilmington, DE  19802

MEETING NOTES - Part II -
The Annual Chapter Holiday Dinner was held on December 13, 1998 at the Coach House Restaurant in place of the normal monthly meeting.  President Phil Snyder limited the business portion of the meeting to a few announcements. Treasurer Ralph Stevens had to relocate due to a recent fire at Colony North Apartments.  He reported that dues notices will be slightly delayed as a result, but will be forthcoming soon.  Chapter officers for 1999 will be the same as the year before.  Dinner followed a prayer led by Ernie Barry.  After dinner, we were treated to another wonderful door prize event orchestrated by our National Director, Ed "Santa" Thornton.  Nearly everyone in attendance got to pick a prize from among the books, T-shirts, hats, cups, coolers, and the "don't forget the poinsettias". The evening's entertainment was provided by Steve Barry; a 2-part slide program.  First, we saw the Grand Canyon Railroad, BNSF to California along Route 66, and the Rio Grande above Durango.  The second part was a photography seminar highlighting such useful tips as the "Law of Thirds", metering off your hand in snowy weather, and the Kodachome 64 default night shot of f/5.6 for 10 seconds (bracket as 5, 10, and 20 secs.)

From The Editor
In order to preserve our history and provide sources for additional information, I would like to publish a list of Chapter Members who currently or formerly worked for any trolley or railroad line (or operated a railroad for another type of company). So, please drop me a line If you ever worked  on or for a railroad or trolley line, please drop a post card, letter, or E-mail to your Editor and include the name of the line and any other information you care to share:   SD40GMA@aol.com
Greg Ajamian
P.O. Box 1136
Hockessin, DE 19707-5136

A LOOK BACK:   January 1975
by Historian Ron Cleaves

The Chapter meeting was held January 16, 1975 at the Delaware Power & Light Sportsman's Club in Christiana, DE.  In attendance were 14 members and guests. The Chapter Officers for 1975 were President - Richard Hall, Vice President - Robert Cooper, Secretary - Walt Robbins, Treasurer - Robert Reilly, National Director - Tom Smith. Highlight of the evening's program was guest speaker Charles J. Lutz, Supervisor of Passenger Equipment for the Penn Central Railroad.  He presented a talk on passenger trains of the PC, both commuter and long distance, and how the passenger cars are maintained and acquired from other roads to replace or modernize aging equipment. In local rail news that month, a brand new GP-40-2 was seen at the Reading Railroad's Beech Street engine house keeping company with GP-30's and 35's which were then operating on the Wilmington and Northern branch, replacing the aging RS-3's which were a mainstay of power on this branch for many years.

NEWS BITS

•  November 7 & 8, 1998 were "Speeder" Days on the Wilmington & Western.  On Sunday afternoon, Chapter Member Ed Thornton's M-19 was in the line up.  The entourage included two hand-powered cars, two pedal-powered (complete with bicycle shifting mechanisms), one steam-powered, and several regular gas-engined units (including a beautifully restored Reading car).  Cars were put on at the NVF plant in Yorklyn, DE, went up to the end of track in Hockessin, then met each of the W&W excursion trains from Greenbank at the Mount Cuba picnic grove where they gave rides to the train passengers.  After the last train of the day, three of the cars continued south past Greenbank, through the yards, down to the interchange at Wilsmere.      [from   Chapter Member TomPosatko]

•  Two of the five surviving ex-Pennsy Pioneer III MU's, retired several years ago by SEPTA, have gone to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg. Cars #246 and #247 were delivered to the Strasburg Rail Road by SEPTA SW1200 #50 on October 29, 1998.  The three other cars await disposition at Wayne Junction.    [from Philadelphia Chapter's Cinders]

•  Reading #2100 has been moved from Buffalo to St. Thomas, Canada with its rods removed, dead in tow.  Plans to haul revenue freight from Niagara Falls to St. Thomas had to be scratched when all of #2100's gauges were stolen from her cab while in Buffalo, prior to clearing Customs to enter Canada      [fromHawk Mountain Chapter's The Hostler]

•  Reading & Northern has been running sand shipments from Ransom, PA to the Hometown Branch out of Jim Thorpe since late October, forcing the Lehighton-Pittston train to need five units.  Two SD-45-2's #3600+3601, plus the repaired SD-38-2 #2000, and a GP-10 on loan from Al Ludeke, and a R&H U23B. [from Hawk Mountain Chapter's The Hostler]

•  Cass Railroad receives a new locomotive, built in 1923 by Lima Locomotive Works for the Hutchinson Lumber Company at Oroville, CA. as their #3.  The company became the Feather River Pine Mills in 1927 and was acquired by the Georgia Pacific Company in 1939.  Under GP ownership, the engine was operatedas Feather River Railway #3 and last ran on the line in March 1965.  GP donated the engine to the museum association in  May 1967.  While owned by the museum association, the engine operated a number of times, including service on the museum's San Diego & Arizona Railway.  It was last under steam in 1991. As a 100-ton engine, #3 is larger than the other Shay locomotives now at Cass, other than Western Maryland #6 and fills a gap in the Cass roster between the 70-ton and 150-ton units.      [from  The Pocahontas Times, October 22,1998 via Phil Bush via Chesapeake Division, Railroad Enthusiasts' High Green]

•  The State of Maryland has spent millions of dollars over the last 21 years subsidizing freight service by the Maryland & Delaware Railroad, which operates on the eastern shore of Maryland, interchanging traffic with Conrail/Norfolk Southern in eastern Delaware.  The subsidies support 22,000 jobs tied directly to the poultry industry.         [from The Sun via PotomacChapter's Potomac Rail News]

•  On September 29, Washington DC's Union Station celebrated its 90th anniversary.  New York City's 85-year-old Grand Central Terminal has been reborn after more than 10 years of planning, four years of construction, and an expenditure of $196 million.  Grand Central's make-over included adding a marble stairway on the east side, matching the one on the west side, fulfilling the intent of original architect Whitney Warren, who eliminated it when the original construction ran out of money.      [from Philadelphia Inquirer via Potomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]

•  Western Maryland Railway Historical Society has signed a contract to buy the Union Bridge station.  The 96-year-old train station was used by current owner, Maryland Midland Railway, as its headquarters until 3 years ago.   The goal is to restore the station to its passenger days configuration with separate waiting rooms for men and women with a fireplace in each.       [fromThe Sun via Potomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]

•  Florida Fun Train has ceased operation indefinitely due to an inability by owner and operator First American Railways, Inc. to finance its monthly operating cash flow deficit.  It operated between Ft. Lauderdale & Orlando and Tampa & Orlando.      [from TRAINS NewsWire via Potomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]

•  Baltimore Transit Company's crane #3715 is now at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum after being away for more then 40 years.  It is the ONLY known 1950's piece of Baltimore Transit's work equipment on rail ever saved.       [fromPotomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]

•  Washington DC Chapter will offer a private car trip to the 1999 NRHS Convention in Sacramento, CA.  The trip will run from June 15 through July 1. One way fare is $2,329 westbound and $1,979 eastbound; round trip is $4,299 with discount of $350 if reserved by March 1.  For info contact the Chapter at 301-292-9592.    [from Baltimore Chapter's Interchange]

•  Support continues for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.  Currently, 20 trains per hour use the existing North River Tunnel.   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently approved a $3.5 million study for a new railroad tunnel.  This followed a previous study this past February to examine alternative routes which concluded the route should be parallel to the current tunnel to Penn Station.  The new tunnel would accommodate 42 trains per hour and take at least 15 years to complete.  A connection would be constructed from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal via the 63rd St. tunnel and a connection with the Long Island Rail Road    [from Jersey Central Chapter's Jersey Central News]

•  New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee has approved a request for $5 million from the US Congress for the design of a new tunnel beneath the Hudson River connecting the Northeast Corridor Line with New York's Grand Central Terminal.  A recent study concluded that the current tunnel will be unable to handle the increased ridership level of 2001.      [from Jersey CentralChapter's Jersey Central News]

•  Union Pacific 4-8-4 # 844 and 4-6-6-4 #3985 will be sent to Sacramento, CA or RailFair '99.  They should leave Cheyenne, WY in early May for the May 10th rededication of former SP freight terminal in Roseville, CA.  At least one NRHS Convention excursion is planned to Keddie, CA.  Other notable invitedsteam locomotives include:  SP 4-8-4 #4449 "Daylight", SP 4-6-2 #2742, and AT&SF 4-8-4 #3751.         [from Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Chapter's Laurel Lines]

•  The splitting up of Conrail's motive power is reported to be as follows:
Class from CR to CSX to NS
B23-7 117 49 68
B23-7R 11 4 7
B36-7 55 23 32
B40-8 30 12 18
C30-7A 50 21 29
C32-8 10 4 6
C36-7 25 11 14
C39-8 22 9 13
C40-8 25 11 14
C40-8W 236 98 138
E-8A 3 2 1
GP15-1 100 42 58
GP38 135 57 78
GP38-2 235 98 137

Class from CR to CSX to NS
GP40-2 126 53 73
MT4 4 2 2
MT6 29 13 16
SD38 35 14 21
SD40-2 205 86 119
SD45-2 11 4 7
SD50 135 57 78
SD60 28 12 16
SD60I 80 34 46
SD60M 75 31 44
SD80MAC 30 13 17
SW1001 21 9 12
SW1500 76 32 44
------- ---- ---- ----
TOTALS 1909 801 1108      [from Conrail via Central Pennsylvania Chapter's Susquehannock]

•  Black River & Western Railroad has purchased two NW-2 locomotives; a former Southern Railway unit and the ex-Ma & Pa #85       [from RAILPACE Hot News via Jersey Central Chapter's Jersey Central News]

•  Morristown & Erie has purchased three C424 locomotives; former Montreal Locomotive Works CP #4216, 4231, and 4240.        [from Jersey Central Chapter's Jersey Central News]

•  Planners are proposing double track service between Scranton and New York. The project is funded up to the $160 million the planners asked for despite a 25% cut in Congress's $216 billion six-year transportation bill passed in May. The service is expected to be operating in five years.  A key decision is around the Lackawanna Cutoff, a 26-mile essentially straight former right of way through northern New Jersey.     [from Scranton Tribune via Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Chapter's Laurel Lines]

•  The oldest multi-arch stone railroad bridge in the US still in use is the 612-foot long Thomas Viaduct spanning the Patapsco River Valley at Relay, MD. Opened for service on July 4, 1835, this viaduct marked the beginning of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's 36-mile long extension to Washington, DC. Designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe III, the bridge gently curves in a four degree arc as it bears two tracks 65 feet above the river, supported by 8 graceful elliptical arches that measure approximately 58 feet across.  Construction began in 1833 and was completed two years later.  This monumental stone
viaduct is named for the first president (1827-1836) of the B&O RR, Philip E. Thomas.   After nearly 165 years, Thomas Viaduct  continues to carry heavy CSX freight trains and fast MARC commuter trains every day.         [from Automatic Block via Central Pennsylvania Chapter's Susquehannock]

•  Former C&O Railway Class J-3 Greenbrier locomotive #614T owned by Ross Rowland was recently retrofitted by NJ Transit with cab signals.  Union Switch & Signal's cab controls have also been installed in Union Pacific's 4-8-4 #844 [from Railway Age]

•  On July 7, 1998, a track gang set a new record for tie installation along the Harrisburg Line.  The track gang installed a record total 1,642 ties in one day.      [from Amtrak Northeast Corridor's On Track]

Editor's Note: My apologies to Tom Smith who first sent me this article in February of 1997!  We had some inter-computer difficulties, then we upgraded the photocopied photos to actual prints which then had to be screened, and then I had some additional formatting difficulties... Well, finally, here is another of Tom's excellent articles.  Hopefully, he will still be willing (and patient) enough to send us more installments in the future.  The good news is that I am now "on the Net" and I can hopefully get the text by E-mail from him and other members in the future at:   SD40GMA@aol.com

MOVING MAIL ON THE PENNSYLVANIA RR
by Tom Smith
The December 1996 issue of TRAINS contained an article on Amtrak’s Fast Mail, the train that carries no passengers in the Northeast Corridor. I always enjoyed watching for this train and photographing it as it passed through Delaware, which it did in nice daylight. The article recalled  earlier railfan adventures, when mail trains added spice and variety to the parade of trains that passed through Wilmington.  We are glad to see Amtrak is making an effort to pursue revenue from moving mail, and train 13 with its AEM7 and about 4 MHC’s was  a diversion from the monotonous procession of AEM7’s and Amfleet cars. It always looked like they had forgotten the rest of their train somewhere.

The “Fast Mail” legend is almost as old as Railroading itself, and we are glad to see Amtrak is maintaining the tradition. Mail and express traffic has long been an integral part of railroad passenger service, and it was the loss of such traffic that led to the precipitous decline of passenger train service in the late 1960s and ultimately to the creation of Amtrak. The movement of mail and express traffic required a substantial investment in facilities, equipment and manpower, and while many rail passengers may have been aware of the presence of “headend” cars on their trains, they may not have  appreciated the logistics of moving the traffic since for the most part it was accomplished out of public view. Few railroads carried a significant amount of headend cars, beyond a Railway Post Office (RPO) car, on their premier trains. Usually mail and express was handled on secondary main line passenger trains, which produced the added benefit of providing passenger service to communities either bypassed by the Limiteds, or at which they stopped at inconvenient hours. (Amtrak’s northbound Fast Mail, Train 12, which carries passengers, is a good example of such a service. If you need to depart  Washington DC at 3:00AM it’s available, and is the only train that  connects Wilmington with the Maple Leaf  in New York). Some railroads ran separate Mail & Express trains that either carried no passengers or had just a single coach for locals riders. Such trains often departed their origin point around midnight when the Post Office had collected and  bagged that day’s mail, and arrived their final destination in the wee hours of the morning (frequently the second morning after departure)  so that incoming mail could de distributed and delivered later that morning.

Three distinct and substantial organizations played a role in the movement of headend traffic, and although their traffic moved together on the same train, their efforts were not integrated. Railway Express Agency was the small shipment specialist, providing door to door transport of package shipments, including perishables,   for the public and small businesses in its own vehicles and terminals. REA used both its own cars (which were mostly refrigerated, although not always used as such) and railroad-supplied express cars. REA managed an immense, complex operation, whose   fleet of express cars still numbered over 2200 in 1965.  Next was the U.S. Post Office, which until the 1960’s moved most of its surface mail by rail. The USPO did not own transporting equipment, and relied exclusively on cars provided by the railroads. The most visible were the RPO cars in which clerks sorted mail en route, but most mail traffic was handled in “Mail Storage” cars, in which bagged mail was transported in baggage cars or box express cars. These cars were sealed, did not carry any other traffic and were not worked en route except at larger terminals. The USPO had strict rules for handling mail, and a complicated formula for paying for the space it used. Lastly, there was the railroad which not only supplied equipment and was responsible for train operation, but also supplied its own headend traffic in the form of checked baggage, company mail and supplies, and sometimes theatrical scenery and live animals like racehorses. Note that a car of baby chicks was shipped (once a week) to Harrisburg on Tr. 15.  As late as 1960 a carload of live lobsters was shipped weekly between Boston and Washington. There were also other entities who contributed to headend traffic, although on a smaller scale. Most notable of these were dairies which transported raw milk in milk   cars (in cans or bulk tanks) from rural farms to big city dairies. Dairy traffic was most prominent in New England, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as some Midwestern dairy states. However, this traffic is long gone, and does not play a part in this overview.  Carloads of weekly magazines like Life, and USN&WR were also scheduled; one day I was making a trip on Tr. 570, when it picked up two X29 box express cars at Williamsport with Grit newspapers. (Is that still published?)

The whole story of how the railroads handled mail and express would require several books, and that is not our purpose here. However, Amtrak’s Fast Mail raises a question of how much traffic potential exists in what we now call the Northeast Corridor.” The Pennsylvania Railroad used to move A LOT of mail between New York and Washington! How Much you might ask? One way to present this largely obscure scenario is to summarize operations in the form of schedules and train consists taken from employee timetables and consist books. We have chosen 1965 as our focus year,   because it  will not be viewed as ancient history, being within memory of nearly all of us, and even though the general decline in passenger and mail traffic was well under way, schedules in effect then were still abundant.  One should  also recognize that this was only 6 years before Amtrak started, at which time the only remaining mail
train in the US was the “NY&WASH” RPO that continued until 1977. In light of what has been lost, the level of service provided in these 1965 tables is surprising.   We will consider here both service on the New York-Washington line, and also East-West trains east of Harrisburg which shared “Corridor” (a term not used then) track for the first 90 miles.

THE TRAINS
Because of the volume of traffic and passengers’ sensitivity to speed, most M&E moved on scheduled, “First Class” trains, which carried no passengers. Nevertheless, headend cars could often be found on regular passenger trains. This was particularly true on East-West trains, where trains 16/25 (Duquesne),
24/33 (Juniata), 22/23 (Mahattan Limited), and 54/55 (Pennsylvania Limited) carried multiple headend cars ahead of their passenger cars. On the NY-Washington line  many passenger trains could also be found with headend cars, and 5 were assigned RPO’s. Overnight trains, the Federal,  and Edison  carried substantial headend traffic, and so did some of the mid-morning and evening runs.

There were 3 solid Mail & Express trains in each direction between New York and Washington, and a fourth between New York and Philadelphia only. Each was usually provided with 2 RPO’s  and express and mail cars to and from various destinations en route, including Wilmington. Without the pressure of handling passengers, these trains could afford long station stops, but ran at the same speed as other passenger trains.  Table 1 shows the schedule of Mail trains between New York and Washington effective Oct. 25, 1964, which would have been in effect in 1965. (for simplicity, times are shown using 24-hour clock) For the benefit of those who may not know, PRR trains referred to herein  can be identified by their numbers:

1-99 series: East-West  (Via Harrisburg) Schedules
100  series: New York-Washington Trains
200  series: New York-Philadelphia trains
400  series: Philadelphia-Washington local trains
500  series Northern Central (Baltimore-Harrisburg) Trains
    (Odd-numbered trains are South or Westbound; Even numbers are North or EB)

The Main Line through Paoli had 4 westbound M&E trains (counting 15&17 as one) and only 2 eastbounds. The reason for the imbalance is partially explained by  eastbound Tr. 50, The Admiral, having no westbound counterpart. Otherwise we can only speculate that people in the Midwest did not answer mail they got from their eastern friends!  Table 2 shows the East-West M&E schedules. Train 13 continued west of Pittsburgh (dp 1020), and carried local passengers between there and St. Louis. Other trains terminated at Pittsburgh, with cars forwarded on other M&E trains that originated there. Tr. 9’s cars went to St.Louis on Tr.7, and to Chicago on Tr. 45. Trains 17 & 19 turned their western cars to Tr. 53, the Fort Pitt,  a coach only Pittsburgh-Chicago daylight passenger local, that carried mostly headend traffic. Tr. 27 took the Juniata’s cars to St.Louis.  Eastbound, St.Louis-Pittsburgh M&E Tr. 14 delivered the cars for Tr.18, and M&E Train 52 brought the cars from Chicago that the eastbound Juniata, Tr. 24, took to New York. Beyond these connections, space prevents us from reviewing PRR operations west of Pittsburgh, nor will we consider the New Haven’s  New York-Boston mail trains that took cars beyond New York. It is sufficient to note that the trains in these schedules were part of an intricate system to deliver mail across the country, and further connections were made at St.Louis, Chicago, Washington, Buffalo and New York.

Table 3 gives a compilation of RPO assignments on PRR trains east of Pittsburgh in 1965, and additionally shows some connecting RPO’s that operated west of there. The origin and destination cities are those of the RPO, not the train, which in many cases continued to points beyond. Note that some trains had 2 or even 3 RPO’s. Since most of PRR’s RPO cars were baggage-RPO combinations, when 2 cars were run together they were always coupled letter end to letter end. The all Pullman Broadway Limited  carried an RPO that specialized in priority mail; the train carried no other head end equipment, not even checked baggage.

THE  EQUIPMENT
The hardware that made this possible was one of the more interesting facets of the mail trains. Essential to the Keystone’s headend revenue was the ubiquitous X29 box express car, which in 1965 numbered 1351 cars, representing 37% of Pennsylvania’s passenger car fleet. Since the number of these cars tended to grow through the 1950’s we presume most of them were converted by the PRR from freight cars by the application of steam, air, and signal lines and air brakes and trucks suitable for passenger trains. Most also had electric lights that could be plugged in to aid in loading and unloading at terminals, but did not have end doors to permit passage between cars. X29 Express cars were used for many things, including REA lading, but mostly as mail storage cars.   They could be found all over the country, and they were all coated with grime! I think they came out of Altoona that way since  I never saw one clean or in fresh paint!

Another staple of the mail fleet was the R50b express refrigerator car, which could be used to carry perishables (like milk or oysters from the Delaware Bay years ago), express, and mail storage. When used as reefers, the cars were cooled by ice bunkers on the roof. The numbers of these cars diminished
rapidly in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, which implies that the PRR  was replacing them with X29’s, possibly to reduce weight since the refrigerating capability was not needed when carrying mail. 

Table 4 is a recap of major PRR car types used in mail traffic taken from the 1965 Official Register of Passenger Train Equipment,  and for comparison, the same cars as they appeared in the 1950 Register. Percentage figures relate those car types to the total number of PRR passenger cars of all types in the respective year. It should be noted that these numbers reflect ONLY the cars most commonly used and are not intended to represent the entire roster. Besides the 40’ box express cars, we tallied 60’ baggage cars, and 70’ Baggage-RPO  cars, those being the most numerous in the 1965 Register. PRR had many classes of RPO, baggage and express cars in various combinations, configurations and lengths. We will not attempt to review all types of PRR headend cars. That is a job for Dick Hall!

The Cabin-rider was a steel caboose (or “cabin” car as the Pennsy called it) converted for passenger service like the X29’s, but with the addition of steam heat. They were a fixture on mail trains, used in lieu of a coach for the crew to ride. Sometimes more than one would be used on a train, either to position a crew member in a more accessible location on a long train, or to facilitate breaking up a train en route into separate trains. Possibly the reason for using a specially modified caboose instead of a surplus older passenger car had to do with reducing weight and the cost of upkeep, as well as supplying the crew with a place to work, rest and cook meals, and the stove provided heat if the steam supply failed on a long train or did not reach the rear cars.

THE CONSISTS
Train consists reflect the cars used and their position in the train. More detail is shown in the consist book than space allows to repeat, but this will give insight into how the trains were made up. Not all cars operated daily. The types of cars shown would lead one to believe the trains had assigned equipment. Instructions given indicate that a designation of “MS-60” could be covered either by an X29 Box Express or R50b reefer. A “B-60”  would generally be a baggage car, if designated “Open” it was worked en route. In practice, an observer would note that the only sure thing were exceptions. Cars assigned did not appear in trains, and cars were in trains that were not in the consist book, so having the book with you wasn’t much help when train watching. Storage cars were usually X29’s, but sometimes baggage cars were used, and baggage cars could be any of different classes, not necessarily the PRR Class B-60. “Rider” cars were usually cabin cars, but often a coach was used. “Exp” cars could be an REA reefer, a baggage car, or a box express. Foreign road cars were commonly used, especially from connecting lines like New Haven, Southern, NYC, ACL, SAL and  a myriad of private owner express cars. About the
only thing you could count on was that a “BM-70” would be an RPO, almost always a PRR car, not necessarily a class BM70. 

FOR THE RAILFAN...
Mail trains were fun to watch, but challenging. There was incredible variety offering an opportunity to photograph different classes of PRR head end cars. We discovered there was even some variety in the X29’s on doors and ends, but all were dirty.

Mail Storage cars for Wilmington were forwarded from Philadelphia on trains 191 and 195. They were switched to a small yard on the south side of Front St. opposite Washington St. and unloaded there for delivery to the Post Office. The consist books do not show any outbound cars picked up at Wilmington, so we are left to wonder how those cars departed Wilmington  or how the Wilmington Post Office handled outgoing mail. A review of schedules and consists reveals many such anomalies for which no explanations are apparent.

The nocturnal peregrinations of mail trains meant that they were seldom observed, and virtually unphotographed. As I recall, the Wilmington station was officially closed when they came through. There were some trains that you could see and worth the  effort to seek out. Tr. 9 went through Paoli about 8:00AM. A photo of it  appeared on p.4 of the July/August 1988 Transfer Table. In length it resembled a freight train, and sometimes carried freight cars like FGE reefers, which may have been used for REA shipments. Train 192 was another one that could be photographed in May or June as it passed through Wilmington about 8:00PM. It was usually longer than its consist reproduced here would indicate, and was the only train in daylight with dual RPO’s.

One train that was very familiar was Tr. 403, which was technically a passenger local between Philadelphia and Washington, yet carried an RPO (removed by 1965, so it does not appear in the consist), and a plethora of mail and express cars for Washington and points south. A Wilmington stop between 11:11-11:25AM to load prodigious quantities of mail and express, placed it there in good sunlight in a   time slot that also saw such trains as the Washingtonian, Senator, Silver Star and Florida Special , which I often watched, as that 80-minute period offered one of the greatest varieties of passenger equipment to pass through Wilmington. Train 403 was one of 3 trains operated between Philadelphia and Washington making local passenger stops at Newark, Elkton, Perryville, Aberdeen and others. It was joined by Tr. 401 which carried heavy commuter traffic from Philadelphia to Wilmington/ Newark, and the only northbound train, 400. I came to know these trains fairly well as a UofD student, as they provided convenient transportation to Newark.  Train 401 occasionally carried mail storage cars, but I often saw it with passenger cars only. Taking Tr. 403 to Baltimore and returning on 400 for an afternoon of train watching  was sometimes a pleasant alternative to boring afternoon classes. Train 400, while it carried little mail, was a slow trip as it made lengthy stops to load express. The trains were fun to ride. At times one could travel in luxury since 403 was sometimes assigned one of PRR’s 44 seat long-haul P85B coaches, then being retired. It was not economical to use low capacity cars on through trains, but they were well suited to 403 which carried few passengers. Other times one could find unmodernized P70’s with plush seats and incandescent lights shaded by white glass globes. 

Most of the traffic shown in these consists still exists; where did it go? REA’s traffic was divided among UPS, Fed Ex and package carriers like Greyhound and Amtrak, none of whom provide the variety of services REA offered. The Post Office diverted first class mail to air and motor carriers, where its  carriage resulted in no side benefits to rail passengers. Experience has shown that first class mail isn’t moving any faster now than when it was handled in RPO’s on passenger trains. A lot of  bulk mail is still
on the rails, but moving in intermodal trains. Conrail still runs Mail train 9 on a similar schedule as shown here, but via Allentown instead of Philadelphia. All the while Amtrak stumbles from one financial crisis to another, politically vulnerable as long as it depends on subsidies. Amtrak has done a commendable job in developing mail traffic, going from virtually no revenue when it started in 1971 to over $25 million today. That revenue is not a subsidy, but payment for service provided, yet Amtrak passengers benefit from it nonetheless. Amtrak does not go to as many places as the cars in these consists did. Yet it seems there is a potential here for Amtrak to increase revenue without a significant increase in operating costs. 
Train No. 9 (Mail & Express)
Car Origin Dest.
Exp NewHaven St.Louis
Exp NewHaven Pittsburgh
Exp NewHaven Chicago
MS60 NewHaven Chicago
MS60 NewHaven St.Louis
MS60 NewHaven Pittsburgh
MS60 NY Pittsburgh
MS60 Newark Pittsburgh
MS60 NY KansasCity
MS60 NY Texarkana
MS60 NY St.Louis
MS60 Newark St.Louis
MS60 NY Cincinnati
MS60 NY Columbus
Exp NY Pittsburgh
Exp NY Chicago
Exp NY Canton
Exp NY Dayton
Exp NY St.Louis
Exp NY Houston
Exp NY Nashville
Exp NY Cincinnati
Exp NY Columbus
Cabin/rider NY Harrisburg
Exp NY Harrisburg
MS60 Phila Harrisburg
MS60 Phila Harrisburg
MS60 Phila Harrisburg
Exp Phila Pittsburgh
Exp Trenton Pittsburgh
Exp Trenton Pittsburgh
Exp Phila Chicago
B60 Phila Chicago
Exp Trenton Chicago
MS60 Phila Chicago
MS60 Phila Chicago
MS60 Phila CouncilBluffs
MS60 Phila St.Paul
MS60 Phila St.Louis
MS60 Phila Texarkana
MS60 Phila KansasCity
Exp Phila Indianapolis
Exp Phila Cincinnati
Exp Trenton St.Louis
Exp Phila Buffalo
Exp Phila Detroit
MS60 Phila Detroit
MS60 Phila Buffalo
Cabin/Rider Phila Pittsburgh
Shop Car Wilmington Altoona
Papers WilkesBarre Indianapolis
MS60 Harrisburg St.Louis
Exp Harrisburg St.Louis
Papers(2cars) WilkesBarre St.Louis
Exp Harrisburg Pittsburgh
Exp Harrisburg Pittsburgh
MS60 Harrisburg Chicago
Exp Harrisburg Chicago
Papers WilkesBarre Chicago
Papers WilkesBarre Tacoma
Shop Car Altoona Columbus
Shop Car Altoona Pittsburgh
Train No. 9 (Mail & Express)
Connects at Pittsburgh with M&E Tr. 7 to St.
Louis and Tr. 45 to Chicago.

Train  No. 13  (Mail & Express)
Car Origin Dest.
B60 NY Pittsburgh
Exp Newark Pittsburgh
Exp NY Pittsburgh
MS60 NY Pittsburgh
MS60 NY Chicago
B60 NY Chicago
BM70 NY Pittsburgh
BM70 NY Pittsburgh
B60 NY St.Louis
MS60 NY St.Louis
MS60 NY St.Louis
MS60 * NY Texarkana
MS60* NY Texarkana
  * (Reg’d Mail)
MS60 NY KansasCity
Exp Boston St.Louis
Exp NY St.Louis
Exp NY OklahomaCity
Exp NY Memphis
Exp NY Texarkana
Exp NY Dallas
Exp NY Houston
Exp NY SanAntonio
Exp NY Louisville
Exp NY Indianapolis
Cabin/Rider NY St.Louis
Exp NY Cincinnati
MS60 Baltimore Pittsburgh


Train 15 (Mail & Express)
Car Origin Dest.
Papers NY Altoona
MS60 NY Pittsburgh
MS60 NY Chicago
MS60 NY St.Louis
MS60 NY Texarkana
MS60 NY KansasCity
B60 NY Pittsburgh
P70/Rider NY Harrisburg
MS60 NY Harrisburg
MS60* Phila Harrisburg
       * (Baby Chicks)
MS60 Phila Harrisburg
B60 Phila Harrisburg
Exp Phila Harrisburg
MS60 Harrisburg Chicago
MS60 Harrisburg Pittsburgh
MS60 Phila CouncilBluffs
MS60 Phila St.Paul
Exp Phila Pittsburgh
Cabin/Rider Phila Pittsburgh

Trains 15, 17 & 19  Connect at Pittsburgh
to Tr. 53 to Chicago

Train 400  (Washington-Phila. Local Psgr)
Car Origin Dest.
MS60 Washington Phila.
Exp-B60 Washington Phila
B60 Washington Phila
P70 Washington Phila

Train 401  (Phila-Washington local Psgr)
Car Origin Dest
MS60 Phila Atlanta
MS60 Phila Jacksonville
MS60 Phila Birmingham
B60 Phila Washington
Exp-B60 Phila Washington
P70  (3 Cars) Phila Washington
MS60 Phila Baltimore
MS60* Phila Baltimore
        *LIFE Magazine; Tue. Only

Train 191  (Mail & Express)
Car Origin Dest.
BM70 NewHaven Washington
BM70 NY Washington
MS60 NY Washington
B60 NY Washington
Exp NY Washington
Exp NY Parkersburg
MS60 NY Columbia
MS60 JerseyCity Jacksonville
MS60 NY Jacksonville
MS60 NY Miami
MS60 NY Atlanta
MS60 NY Knoxville
MS60 NY Birmingham
MS60 NY Greensboro
MS60 JerseyCity Washington
MS60 NY Phila
MS60 Phila Washington
MS60 Phila Birmingham
MS60 Phila Atlanta
MS60 Phila Jacksonville
Exp Phila Richmond
Exp Phila Atlanta
Exp Phila Jacksonville
Exp Phila Raleigh
Exp Trenton Jacksonville
Exp Trenton Richmond
Exp Trenton Atlanta
B60 Phila Washington
P70/Rider NY Washington
B60 Boston Washington
MS60 Boston Phila

Train 191  (Mail & Express)    
Car Origin Dest.
Exp Phila Wilmington
MS60 Hanover Washington
Exp Chicago Washington
Exp Baltimore Richmond
MS60 Baltimore Jacksonville
MS60 Baltimore Atlanta
MS60 Baltimore Charlotte

Train 192  (Mail & Express)
Car Origin Dest
MS60 Washington Springfield
MS60 Washington NewHaven
Exp Jacksonville NY
Exp Charlotte NY
Exp Raleigh NY
MS60 Washington NY
B60 Washington NY
BM70 Washington NY
BM70 Washington NewHaven
MS60 Washington Boston
Rider Washington Boston

Train 403   (Phila-Washington Local Passenger)
Car Origin Dest
Exp Providence Richmond
Exp Providence Washington
MS60 Providence Washington
Exp NY Washington
Exp Newark Washington
Exp Newark Richmond
Exp NY Knoxville
Exp NY Roanoke
MS60 Newark Washington
MS60 NY Washington
MS60 NY Jacksonville
MS60 NY Miami
MS60 NY Knoxville
MS60 NY Birmingham
B60 NY Washington
P70-Coach NY Washington
B60 Phila Washington
MS60 Boston Washington
Exp NewHaven Washington
MS60 NewHaven Washington
MS60 Phila Atlanta
MS60 Phila Jacksonville
MS60 Phila Birmingham
MS60 Phila Washington
MS60 NY Greensboro
MS60 NY Atlanta
Cabin/Rider Phila Washington
MS60 NY Baltimore

Train 403 originates in Philadelphia. Cars from New York and north are forwarded to Philadelphia
on  “Clocker” Tr.  207, Dp. NY 0830.

PRR Train 403 passes through Holly Oak, DE in Feb. 1964 behind GG-1 #4869. Originating in Philadelphia, the train was a passenger local to Washington, DC, carrying a heavy load of mail and express, with many of the cars scheduled to leave Washington on trains to southern points that afternoon.  At this date, an RPO was in the consist in front of the working baggage car ahead of the single P70 coach.   Since few "Corridor" trains carried checked baggage, this train mopped up most of the accumulated baggage.  By 1965, TR. 403 had lost its RPO, but several other trains still had them. 
PRR Train 400, the Washington-Philadelphia all-stops local, pulls away from Newark, DE after making a station stop to load express, or maybe a passenger or two.  The train consists of an X-29 box express car, PRR B-60 baggage car, and a Southern baggage car ahead of its lone P-70 coach on May 17, 1965.

PRR Mail Train 192 rolls past Newark, DE on May 17, 1965.   This was the only solid Mail & Express train that came through Delaware in daylight hours, and then only during the longest days of summer.  Note the two PRR BM-70 RPO cars coupled letter-end to letter-end as was the usual practice.  One of the clerks in the lead car is catching a breath of fresh air at the door. 

SCHEDULE NOTES
Notices, announcements, schedules, etc. are provided here as a service to the members. The Chapter has no affiliation with any commercial operation, museum, or tourist line.

National touring exhibit of O. Winston Link prints (70-75 B&W and 10 color) April 13 - June 13, 1999   Cincinnati Ohio Art Museum - CALL TO CONFIRM DATES !!

Sunday, January 10, 1999      Prime-Mover Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Hockessin Memorial Hall, Hockessin, DE for info call Tom @ 610-255-4785

Sunday, January 10, 1999     Great Winslow Junct. Scale Train & Railroadiana Meet 10 AM - 3 PM, Winslow NJ Fire Hall, Hall & Hay Sts.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1999 - Super Saturday Streetcar Special VI over Philadelphia streetcar routes. Trip departs Germantown car barn at 10:00 am, returns approximately 3:00 PM. A PCC will be used, exactly which one and the route to be determined.  Like all of Steve Barry's trips, this one features
numerous quality photo stops. Ticket prices are $25 (per trip) for Wilmington Chapter members and guests, $30 for general public. Seating is limited, although if demand warrants we may add a second streetcar.  Tickets can be ordered from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Information call 973/383-3355 between 9 AM and 6 PM.

Saturday & Sunday, January 30-31, 1999   Great Scale Model Train Show 9-4  Saturday, 10-4  Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD.

Saturday, February 6, 1999   Model Train/ Toy Show & Sale 9 AM - 3 PM (snow date Feb. 13), Newark High School, Newark, DE

Friday (evening), Saturday & Sunday, February 19-21, 1999    Brass Expo Eisenhower Inn, US Rt. 15 Business south, Gettysburg, PA

Sunday, February 28, 1999    EastRAIL '99 10 AM - 5 PM, Bergen County Tech. Institute, Hackensack, NJ, $10 advance ($12 door), info 973-238-0555

Sunday, March 7, 1999    Harrisburg Chapter Railroad Show & Collectors Market 9 AM - 3 PM, Zembo Temple, 3rd & Division Sts., Harrisburg, PA

Sunday, March 7, 1999    Jersey Central Train Show & Sale 9 AM - 3:30 PM, Mother Seton Region High, Clark, NJ (Garden State Exit 135)

Saturday, March 13, 1999    Hillendale Train Meet 9 AM - 2 PM Saturday, Hillendale Rd. (0.5 mi. north of Mendenhall Inn) Elementary School, Chadds Ford, PA

MARCH 20, 1999 - West Chester Railroad Photographers' Train. Ride the entire West Chester Railroad with photo stops at all the stations, plus some non-station stops as well. Train will feature an Alco S2 on one end, and CPR 1803 (RS18) on the other. This may be 1803's final trip in CPR paint as it will be
repainted in the spring. Trip departs West Chester 12:30 PM, returns approximately 4:00 PM for dinner break, then a night photo session will be held in the West Chester RR yard.   Like all of Steve Barry's trips, this one features numerous quality photo stops. Ticket prices are $25 (per trip) for Wilmington Chapter members and guests, $30 for general public. Seating is limited, although if demand warrants we may add a second coach to the West Chester trip.  Tickets can be ordered from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Information call 973/383-3355 between 9 AM and 6 PM.

Sunday, March 21, 1999   3rd Annual Cumberland Valley Model Railroad & Railroadianna Show 9 AM - 3 PM, Beistle Co., I-81 exit 10, Walnut Bottom Rd. east

Saturday, March 27, 1999   Marlton 1927 Hale Restoration Train Show 10 AM - 3 PM, Evesham Fire Station, 26 East Main St., Marlton, NJ, for info 609-983-9342

Saturday & Sunday, April 17-18, 1999   Great Scale Model Train Show 9-4  Saturday, 10-4  Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD.

Sunday, April 18, 1999    Nordel's Spring Train Show 10 AM - 3 PM, Cranston Heights Fire Co., Kirkwood Highway, Prices Corner, DE, info 302-234-6901

Sunday, May 2, 1999     Great Winslow Junct. Scale Train & Railroadiana Meet 10 AM - 3 PM, Winslow NJ Fire Hall, Hall & Hay Sts.

Friday, May 14, 1998   Cass Photo Special using Western Maryland branch  through Spruce (now called the West Virginia Central), Call Carl Franz evenings at 301-942-6197

Sunday, May 16, 1998   Model Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Historic Strasburg Inn, Strasburg, PA, $3 admission, info 717-392-5515

June 18-27, 1999 Central Coast Chapter's Railfair '99 w/ California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento

Saturday & Sunday, June 19-20, 1999   Great Scale Model Train Show 9-4  Saturday, 10-4  Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD.

June 21-26, 1999       NRHS National Convention hosted by the Central Coast Chapter and the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Sacramento, CA

Saturday & Sunday, August 7-8, 1999  Great Scale Model Train Show, Eisenhower Tower, Gettysburg, PA

Sunday, September 12, 1999     Great Winslow Junct. Scale Train & Railroadiana Meet 10 AM - 3 PM, Winslow NJ Fire Hall, Hall & Hay Sts.

Saturday & Sunday, October 3-4, 1999   Great Scale Model Train Show 9-4  Saturday, 10-4  Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD.

* CHAPTER EVENTS *

Thursday Jan. 21, 1999 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Frank Ferguson, Jr. "Steam in the 70's & 80's"

Saturday Jan. 30, 1999 10 AM Chapter Trip Super Saturday Streetcar Special VI Thursday Feb. 18, 1999 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Dave Watterson "Conrail Changeover from a CSX Viewpoint"

Thursday March 18, 1999 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Ed Thornton

Thursday April 15, 1999 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Bill Russell

Thursday May 20, 1999 7 PM Chapter Meeting Doug Weaver Memorial Photo Contest

The Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) meets at 7:00 PM on the  third Thursday of each month [except December] in the Darley Room at the Claymont Community Center, on Green Street in Claymont, Delaware.  Visitors are always welcome, admission to regular meetings is free.

Check out our Website, thanks to Russ Fox at:http://www.foxcity.com/nrhs/wilm/wilm.htm

The Transfer Table
The Transfer Table is published six to ten times per year as the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.  Items in this publication do not represent the official position of either Officers or Members of the Wilmington Chapter or the Editor of this publication. Permission to reprint articles and news items appearing herein is granted to NRHS Chapters and other newsletters provided appropriate credit is given. Contributions are always welcome and should be sent to the editor at P.O. Box 1136, Hockessin, DE 19707-5136. or send to:         SD40GMA@aol.com
Deadline for entries is the 25th of the month.

Chapter Officers
President Phil Snider
Vice President & Historian Ron Cleaves
Treasurer Ralph Stevens, Jr.
Secretary Walt Robbins
National Director Ed Thornton
Editor Greg Ajamian
Public Relations Dave Watterson
Event Photographer Bruce Barry

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