Tony Thompson writes: "The wheel report, as I understand it, was prepared by the conductor while working the train, and it was handed in at the end of his run to document which cars were spotted

Armand Premo wrote: The wheel report, as I understand it, was prepared by the conductor while working the train, and it was handed in at the end of his run to document which cars were spotted

Ed Hawkins wrote: In fact, page C-42 of the AAR Manual, supplied to me by Guy WIlber, was posted on my blog. It provides for the lowered placard boards (and repositioned route card boards) to

Ed, Regarding new cars, builder's photos of PS-1s show that cars built in November 1953 and later had the placards in the low position while cars built in October 1953 or before had high placards.

Gentlemen .Often overlooked in the overall scheme of things is the function of the Agent,yard clerk ,yard master and other non operating personnel.How is the wheel report and ultimately conductor's

Can anyone tell me: 1)when were placard boards moved to the low position on box car doors and ends; and 2)when were power handbrakes made mandotory on all cars used in interchange service, or if they

The Bettendorf and Barber-Bettendorf Swing Motion caboose trucks were pinned together, in a way. Each side frame had a vertical hole centered on the spring seat. Each transom had corresponding pins

Tim O'Connor says: "Mike, it may come as a shock to you, but some people actually have conductor's books that are not from the Union Pacific in 1949." Why would I be shocked about that? It is widely

MIke, Make sure you get the RC car with the correct end for your needs. I think these are the old IMWX cars and came with "square corners" and "W corners", which are the more rounded off

I think this was true about cigarettes as well -- the tax stamps were put on at the point of manufacture. When I was a kid growing up in NJ we'd hear stories about trucks being stopped on the NJ

Mike, it may come as a shock to you, but some people actually have conductor's books that are not from the Union Pacific in 1949. But I'm glad to see you're taking the proper approach towards

Paul,      Could you share an image or two with me off line? Thanks, Bob McCarthy

Tim O'Connor writes: Subject: Re: [STMFC] Wine traveling on the Overland Route in 1949 "Since these documents were unofficial, I see no reason to assume they are 100% accurate." Since the subject

Thanks for the kind words. These cars were built starting around 1906 for the C&WI (I think). At one time they had 600 gondolas on their roster. I don't know when they were finally retired, maybe in

Paul, Very nice work! What time-frame does this car fit into? I assume the model is HO? Is the model made from Basswood, brass or styrene or all? Did you add any weight to enhance the cars

Additional research in B&O memos and photos develops some clarifications on the clarifications. 1. The roof stiffeners on the Tatum XLT roofs of classes M-27b (double door) and M-27f (single door)

Tyrone and I had discussed these in person a while back, and I postulated that these were an early version of the Bettendorf cast transom, meant to fit a standard sideframe, but I could never find

Brian, Great info there. I've always wondered how those trucks actually worked. I knew how they looked from the side and obvisouly they had to function but that was as far as my knowledge went. One

Of course not. It's just a conjecture, a free-associative inference. I want to see contemporaneous testimony! The standards of truth must not be compromised! Vague recollections need not apply!

This is in response to Tyrone Johnsen's post from eight days ago: These are Swing-Motion Caboose trucks. Swing-motion trucks differ from conventional trucks in that the truck bolster and spring