It's been converted to a company service supply car via a "patch job". Both the number and the "MWM" at the bottom of the second panel show this. John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

Those "loads" are permanently on the cars because they are used in wire train service to maintain the overhead catenary. John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

Inside length 50 feet, outside length 51 feet 4 inches (July 1915 ORER). John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

Most likely the car GT 54559 was in company service, like GTW flat cars in this number series. As was the case with most other railroads, CNR and its associated lines did not list company service equi

Still looking for a good picture of a crane definately identified as a Browning. The crane in the Flickr photo is a close but not exact match. The boom, in particular; note the large gusset at the low

Several other railroads, notably the MP and subsidiaries, had similar cars. They were "weed scalders", used for weed control. The L&N car is more likely used either to supply steam to a pile driver wh

Obviously a work train, probably unloading rail sections. John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

As a photo dealer myself ($5 each for an 8 x 10, postpaid), I can agree that prints are getting harder to sell. Until sometime in the 1990s, I had a chronic backlog because I had so many orders, but t

Listed in 1919 ORER as "Hopper, twin, steel underframe". John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Sptings, FL

Idler car on the Hoboken wreck train (protective shoes on the boom identify the crane as DL&W 95916, a 150-ton Bucyrus Company product). John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

Photo is of Long Island Rail Road 195 which was on line by 1915 according to the 1915 ORER, along with sister 196. The crane appears to be one of the numerous 70-tonners built by Industrial Works for

I don't think these are Western Union cars. In fact, they might not be occupied camp cars at all. No smoke jacks or ventilators visible. They do look like they were originally open-end passenger cars

Nice find. Until about 1914, Western Union line forces were often housed in camp cars leased from the railroads they were working along, since Western Union telegraph lines nearly always paralleled ra

Second guess is correct. The camp cars were converted wooden Pullmans which already had diaphragms, so the tool and material cars had them, but only at one end because that was their position in the o

That is because they were narrow-gauge cars used on the narrow gauge parts of the Denver & Rio Grande Western in Colorado. Two of them still exist; what was once 301 is on the Cumbres & Toltec; the fo

Indeed. The Soo, the Chicago & Northwestern, the Georgia, the Nickel Plate, and the Frisco all had ex-Western Union cars among their nonrevenue equipment. The Nickel Plate seems to have had the most.

This crane was built by Browning Engineering Company in 1911 as Illinois Traction 830. Capacity was 43,500 pounds- less than 22 tons. It later became Illinois Terminal 01, as is obvious from the photo

Another possibility is that the car contained small water tanks similar to those on pickle cars. Certain railroads, such as the Katy and the Milwaukee Road, built water cars like that for use mostly i

Most cars with the S- prefix were used for storage, according to company rosters. John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL

Silver suggests that the car is intended for nonrevenue service. John C. La Rue, Jr. Bonita Springs, FL