Hi Everyone
This is a summary report for a Union Pacific Freight Conductors' Train Book compiled by a conductor named J.A. Traud from October 26, 1951, to December 6, 1951. During this period, Conductor Traud road 36 trains on the U.P. mainline between Laramie and Rawlins, Wyoming. For 33 of the trains he lists the car initial, number, contents, destination, and other information for every car.
Traud's train book is among 128 such books that I happened upon in the attic of the Laramie Depot earlier this year. Most of these books date from 1937 to 1939, but Traud's is an exception. In previous posts I summarized three books dating from 1938.
In the 33 trains for which Traud lists the car data, there were 2,389 cars, with 1,705 loads and 684 empties weighing an aggregate of 107,732 tons (car + contents). Motive power was provided by 4-6-6-4 Challengers, 4-8-8-4 Big Boys, and 1400 series F3 lashups.
About 85% of the eastbound cars had loads, while less than 57% of the westbound cars were loaded. 71% of all cars, regardless of destination, were loaded. Five of the westbound trains, with an aggregate of 454 cars, consisted entirely of empties. The majority of these empties (by far!) were PFE reefers.
Ownership of the cars was distributed as follows, by direction:
Ownership: Eastbound; Westbound; Total cars
PFE: 479; 327; 806
UP: 149; 95; 244
PRR: 52; 71; 123
NYC: 39; 45; 84
SP: 42; 34; 76
CNW: 47; 22; 69 (23 of the eastbound cars were empty stock cars headed for Council Bluffs and all in the same train, Nov. 17, 1951)
ATSF: 26; 34; 60
MILW: 14; 46; 60
WABASH: 16; 25; 41
IC: 17; 20; 37
CB&Q: 20; 14; 34
GATX: 16; 18; 34
B&O: 15; 18; 33
SOUTHERN: 14; 18; 32
NP: 16; 15; 31
GN: 8; 20; 28
RI: 15; 13; 28
MP: 12; 15; 27
DL&W: 8; 12; 20
GTW: 9; 10; 19
RDG: 10; 9; 19
ACL: 4; 14; 18
ART: 16; 1; 17
C&O: 6; 11; 17
L&N: 9; 8; 17
SLSF: 8; 9; 17
N&W: 8; 8; 16
NKP: 6; 10; 16
SEABOARD: 8; 8; 16
SOO: 6; 8; 14
ERIE: 7; 6; 13
P&LE: 7; 5; 12
PM: 6; 6; 12
T&NO: 6; 6; 12
CN: 3; 8; 11
MDT: 9; 2; 11
CP: 7; 2; 9
C&EI: 3; 5; 8
D&H: 3; 5; 8
D&RGW: 6; 2; 8
NWX: 5; 3; 8
SHPX: 1; 7; 8
SSW: ; 8; 8
ARLX: 2; 5; 7
CDLX: 3; 4; 7
LV: 2; 5; 7
M-K-T: 5; 2; 7
T&P: 1; 6; 7
UTLX: 1; 6; 7
CG: 3; 3; 6
DT&I: 1; 5; 6
I-GN: 2; 4; 6
SLRX: ; 6; 6
FGEX: 3; 2; 5
GM&O: 2; 3; 5
NH: 1; 4; 5
NRC: 5; ; 5
SB&M: 3; 2; 5
Others: 53; 64; 117
Grand Total: 1,245; 1,144; 2,389
Conductor Traud recorded the kind of car for nearly all cars. Here is the distribution of ownership for the box and auto cars, by direction:
Ownership: Eastbound; Westbound; Total box and auto cars
PRR: 44; 59; 103
UP: 32; 65; 97
NYC: 34; 43; 77
SP: 40; 32; 72
MILW: 13; 42; 55
ATSF: 21; 32; 53
CNW: 22; 18; 40
WABASH: 12; 24; 36
IC: 16; 17; 33
SOUTHERN: 13; 18; 31
NP: 14; 12; 26
GN: 6; 19; 25
RI: 12; 13; 25
B&O: 8; 16; 24
MP: 6; 14; 20
GTW: 9; 10; 19
ACL: 4; 14; 18
C&O: 6; 11; 17
DL&W: 6; 11; 17
CB&Q: 4; 12; 16
N&W: 8; 8; 16
SEABOARD: 8; 8; 16
NKP: 4; 10; 14
RDG: 7; 7; 14
SLSF: 6; 8; 14
SOO: 5; 8; 13
ERIE: 6; 6; 12
L&N: 4; 8; 12
PM: 6; 6; 12
CN: 3; 8; 11
T&NO: 6; 5; 11
CP: 7; 2; 9
D&RGW: 6; 2; 8
SSW: 0; 8; 8
C&EI: 3; 4; 7
P&LE: 4; 3; 7
T&P: 1; 6; 7
D&H: 2; 4; 6
DT&I: 1; 5; 6
LV: 1; 5; 6
CG: 2; 3; 5
GM&O: 2; 3; 5
NH: 1; 4; 5
SB&M: 3; 2; 5
Others: 29; 40; 69
Grand Total: 447; 655; 1,102
Here is the distribution of the kinds of cars, by direction:
Kind of car: Eastbound; Westbound; Total cars
Box/Auto: 447; 660; 1,107
C: 48; 0; 48
Coach: 1; 0; 1
Cov Hop: 1; 4; 5
Flat: 12; 8; 20
Gon: 45; 33; 78
Hopper: 41; 14; 55
Reefer: 533; 363; 896
Stock: 90; 18; 108
Tank: 27; 43; 70
Unknown: 0; 1; 1
Grand Total: 1,245; 1,144; 2,389
I don't know exactly what the "C" kind of car is – a spot check of some of the car numbers in the January 1953 ORER showed a mixture of gons and hoppers. Forty-three of the 48 cars were in the same train on October 31, 1951. Most of these 43 cars (27) were headed for North Platte, NE, but there were a variety of other destinations as well. Most of these 43 cars (34) were UP cars, but other roads were represented. The contents were RM (30), MR (4), slack (4), SPL (3), or empty (2). I confess that I don't know what any of these things are! (Except for "empty".)
The next two tables show the distribution of kind of car, by direction, for loads and empties:
Kind of car: Eastbound loads; Westbound loads; Total loaded cars
Box/Auto: 391; 522; 913
C: 46; 0; 46
Coach: 1; 0; 1
Cov Hop: 0; 2; 2
Flat: 8; 4; 12
Gon: 25; 25; 50
Hopper: 34; 1; 35
Reefer: 522; 58; 580
Stock: 22; 17; 39
Tank: 20; 7; 27
(blank): ; 1; 1
Grand Total: 1069; 637; 1706
Kind of car: Eastbound empties; Westbound empties; Total empty cars
Box/Auto: 56; 138; 194
C: 2; 0; 2
Cov Hop: 1; 2; 3
Flat: 4; 4; 8
Gon: 20; 8; 28
Hopper: 7; 13; 20
Reefer: 11; 305; 316
Stock: 68; 1; 69
Tank: 7; 36; 43
Grand Total: 176; 507; 683
Best wishes,
Larry Ostresh
Laramie, Wyoming
