lnbill wrote:

The June issue of MM in the section entitled I think "Miscellaneous"
has a short section on reporting marks and responds to why
some "Private Owner" reporting marks ended in "X" and others did not.
The author contends that at some point this was done to differentiate
those entities that were owned by railroad companies and those that
were not. (I am paraphrasing here) and gives as examples PFE and
SFRD, which were certainly railroad owned.

My memory of this is different. I remember reading that sometime in
the 1900's, I think actually sometime between 1910 and WWI, the ICC
started requiring ALL private owner companies to use X at the end of
their reporting marks. Private owner companies already in existence
at the time of this rule could continue to use their reporting marks
unless the ownership changed. Thus SFRD, PFE, MDT, ART and the
original Armour owned Fruit Growers Express (FGE reporting marks)
were among the companies "grand fathered in."

Thus when Armour was forced to divest itself of Fruit Growers
Express, and several railroads assumed ownership of the company, new
FGEX reporting marks were required.

Is my understanding basically correct, or is MM more nearly correct?

Bill,

You are - A specific example would be WFEX which was controlled by the GN and began operations on September 1, 1923 - WFEX having acquired GN's "fruit transportation equipment."

Tim Gilbert