Nothing attached. Or … did the magic not work this time? Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Nice photo. Good find! One of the loads into Burlington on my Gridley Branch could be some type of construction or road grading equipment. Considering the time period of 1952-53 a grader would be a go

Remember that not all of the Fe-7 through Fe-20 class 50 foot “automobile” cars were in assigned / dedicated service. A good number of these cars were in general service. That is, they were free roame

Not sure if this is of any help … but these cars did haul more than autos and auto parts. The following is from car spotting done by a young James Burke in his home town of Climax, Kansas on the ATSF

Did the Birmingham Tank Company, part of Ingalls Shipbuilding, ever build railroad tank cars? I have done a bit of on-line searching and have yet to find any reference about this company having built

That looks to be a USRA 0-6-0 oil burner. A perfect locomotive for a short short line. Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Now that I am getting caught up on my list o'stuff to do around the house--we will not discuss what is on the wife's list--I am beginning to layout the sides of an MKT single sheathed caboose. You kno

Nice photo. BUT what is that tower in the background? Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Ahh YES. So true. Just my old dog memory failing me … again. Thanks, Ben, I appreciate the help. Now just need to get those lazy little gray cells into action. :-) Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Not being an expert on box cars — or anything else — are any of these 1937 cars being offered accurate reproductions? Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Lookin’ good Bob, Yup! the Rock Island does rock!! I just might have one of these CB&T kits way way back in the cabinet. You have prompted the need to get an archeological dig underway. :-) Cheers, Bi

This sounds like a good reason to pick up a number of undec cars, re-detail them along with painting and lettering. At least the starting point is good. Cheers & Happy Modeling, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Thanks for the LCL reefer info. In the next week I am going to take some time to do a bit of “research” with regard to if an LCL reefer service was operated on the Gridley Branch — ATSF Burlington Dis

Don, There were 11 “towns” — four were flagstops and the rest were small — along the line. The Gridley Branch — officially the Burlington District — ran from BN Jct which was four miles south of Ottaw

In my previous message (below) I mentioned that the KCRM Gift Shop was housed in a Wilson meat reefer. If the magic works there should be an attachment of a scanned slide (of questionable quality) of

The gift shop of the Kansas City Railroad Museum was housed in a Wilson meat reefer. It was my weekend “home” for several years. This part of my life has given me a fondness for meat reefers. Unfortun

Bob, This will be a good time filler during this period of self-isolation. Thanks, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Thank you Ben and Elden, An appliance service car would be a good addition to the layout’s fleet. It appears that the X29D dates from 1953 which happens to me my modeling year. A quick search reveals

Elden, What is the rough date that the X29F box cars went into service? Would these have been in service during the circle keystone era? My knowledge of the PRR is quite limited thus this rather basic

Eric, Thank You. This is one less worry in my modeling life. Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA