At the recent Chicago O scale show I picked up a couple of really well-built cars, probably from
the 1950's, a Borden (Chicago) milk car with full underbody detail and a MP composite gondola.
It is lettered for MP (rather than a subsidiary) and numbered #7126, with a builders date of 1924.
Assuming the model builder was working from prototype data (the level of workmanship argues
for such care), there is one obvious discrepancy: there are no hand-grabs or ladders on the car
ends. This is a standard 40' or so car, not a mill gondola with drop ends.
I went to my 1934 ORER and found no cars with four-digit road numbers, so could there have
been a renumbering in the previous decade? There were #7000 series steel-underframe gondolas
listed (although apparently drop-bottom ones, which this model does not represent).
Can any MP gurus out there cast light on what is going on? By 1924, I'd have thought ICC rules
would have mandated grabirons or ladders on car ends.


Jace Kahn, General Manager
Ceres and Canisteo RR Co.





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