Another unusual car?

As I'm wrapping up the final few pages on the new website (for now) I was looking more closely at this photo of a J-1 (3019?) in Whiting Street Yard. I think this is a Kent Cochrane photo from c1940, but the window of time based on other elements in this, and another photo, is post-1936, pre-1945.

Is that a PRR X24 with horizontal sheathing and Youngstown doors?

The lettering in the upper left is "Autom/obiles"

Sure, it's a Pennsy car, how unusual can it be? Originally built 1913, the PRR rostered 2,000 cars. Not a lot for them, perhaps, but a lot of a distinctive class. But between 1934 and 1942 1,421 of the cars were converted to K7 stock cars. Only 318 remained in the 1938 ORER, and I've never seen another photo of an X24 with horizontal sheathing.There were still 289 in 1943, and 147 in 1948.

Baggage Cars

Somebody was looking for some baggage car kits, so I was looking through photos to identify the classes of baggage cars I'd need (and what I could spare) and came across something rather interesting. I also needed to finish the updating the page on the new website for passenger equipment, which led to more digging, and yet another interesting find. The result? A post on baggage cars.

Steel Underframe (Wood) Baggage Cars (3800-3946)

Photos seem to confirm that all of the Highland Line passenger trains were assigned Steel Underframe Baggage Cars from the 3800-3946 series of cars. Like Pete Puma, I'll need three or four of them.

The next question is whether I need any steel baggage cars, and which ones. I knew that they showed up in several of the photos at the station. Each day there's a baggage car that is spotted at the station to bring storage mail to Hartford in the evening. I'm 99% sure that these would be 60' steel cars from the 5300-5404 series, and not the longer 70' cars since Train No. 472 is assigned 60' of storage mail.

Can I identify if they are the steel underframe vs steel cars? For example, in one of several Kent Cochrane photos, shere's I-2 No. 1300 at the station. To the left you can see the end of the baggage car.

If you note, the end rails are a simple right angle. That's the arrangement on the 3800-series of cars. Here's I-1 No. 1007 at the station and you can clearly see that the train has a wooden baggage car.

But at the station is another baggage car. If I zoom in, we can see that it has an upper right handrail at about a 45-degree angle.

That's a signature feature of the Osgood-Bradley built steel baggage cars. It won't tell us the length of the car, but since it's only assigned 60' of storage mail, I'm comfortable with that. Are they common?

60' Steel Baggage Car (5300-5404)

But then things get more interesting...

Three photos show alternate angles of baggage cars at the station. First is this baggage car behind DEY-4 No. 0803. You can see a belt line, so it's a steel car (I have commented in the past that I thought it was wood). What I find more interesting is that it's in the yard. That leads me to believe these were probably brought to New Britain by a freight train.

The second photo taken by Jim Karl on the 1949 day is moments later. Ted Culotta noticed the clerestory roof behind No. 0802, and I found the photo above later.

But wait, looking at the spacing between the Ward ventilators, there are six "windows" between them. A photo of in the Bob Liljestrand book shows that the 60' car have only four. Is that a 70' car?

The F&C model, and the prototype photo on their site shows the 70' car also has only four. But here are two photos (the second is of No. 5532) that show some of them had different spacings.

I already have a couple of the 70' car kits in progress, but the vents are cast into the roof and that complicates things. But it is interesting to see a 70' car in New Britain. Since this is a clerestory roof, it's from the 5500-5569 series of cars.

70' Steel Baggage Cars (5500-5569)

In that second Jim Karl photo we can also clearly see the side of two baggage cars spotted at the station. The first is clearly steel, and the second is wood. With three cars, it looks like several may have been brought at the beginning of the week. Counting panels, it appears to be a 60' car.

There's another even better shot of a steel and a wood baggage in the photo of the Comet at the station. These seems to be in the middle of a switching move, because the cars are sitting on the westbound main (Track No. 1). 

In true New Haven fashion, though, it has to be different. The number of panels is obviously different than in the other photo. It also doesn't have Ward vents, nor the angled end railing. Yes, this is a different car. Unique, in fact, on the New Haven. Car no. 5407 was purchased second-hand in 1942 and is the only car on the railroad like it. 

60' Steel Baggage Car (5407)

Could the baggage car in the photo of No. 1300 above also be this car since it lacks the angled end railing? No, because it has an Ajax handbrake, and 5407 has a "vertical wheel type," which, in the photo, looks a lot like an Equipco handbrake.

Some time ago I had used the Jim Karl photo as a commentary on rare cars. Well, here are a couple more. And apparently I need more baggage cars than I thought...

R-1-b 3335 on EA-2

I'm continuing to work on the new version of the website. Here's what I was working on tonight...

R-1-b 3335 eastbound with EA-2 at Newington Junction. Cochrane

The Speed Witch was one of the highest priority freights on the New Haven, consisting primarily of less-than-carload (L.C.L.) traffic bound for the Pennsylvania Railroad via Bay Ridge. This was an advertised service, overnight to Philadelphia from just about any point on the New Haven.

The Speed Witch itself (NE-1) was a Boston to Bay Ridge train, NE-2 was a reverse move from Bay Ridge, but only to Cedar Hill. In busy years, such as 1947, there was a First NE-1 (1/NE-1) from Boston, and a Second NE-1 (2/NE-1) from Bridgeport.

ANE-1 was a Hartford to Bridgeport leg of the Speed Witch, connecting to NE-1 at Bridgeport. EA-2 was the reverse of the schedule, although it didn't have the prestige of the Speed Witch.

ANE-1 was regularly hauled by R-1-b class No. 3335 until the train was eliminated. It appears this was by January 31, 1949. A supplement for the Arranged Freight Train Service with that date has an update for YN-1 indicating that it protects the closing for L.C.L at the freight house in New Britain at 5.45 pm, and establishes connections with NE-1 at Cedar Hill. Prior to that date, the freight house traffic was loaded on ANE-1.

I don't have any evidence that this train ran with other motive power, but No. 3335 was condemned on November 9, 1948. The April, 1948 Arranged Freight Service book only has tonnage ratings for an R-1-b, even though many other runs list ratings for diesels and steam. NE-1 is rated for DER-1 (DL-109) class locomotives. If ANE-1 ran from November 1948 to January 1949, it may have used a different R-1-b class locomotive, or a pair of DER-1 locomotives. DER-2 (FA-1/FB-1) locomotives could also have been used, although I don't know if they could have kept the schedule. It may have also been annulled in November, 1948.

I had the Key brass model. They released a version with Southern valve gear, which is appropriate for this locomotive. The Key model came with a Vanderbilt tender, although the initial release was wrong. Apparently they produced the correct tender, although I don't know if original purchasers simply received one, or if they had to purchase one. However, 3335 had the USRA tender (from one of the original 10 R-1s), so I found a brass tender produced by Sunset to replace the Vandy tender (which I gave to Dick since he had the version with the wrong Vandy tender).

However, both ANE-1 and EA-2 run outside of my op session window. So I decided to sell it, and it went to modeling buddy Bill Chapin who is modeling the Highland Line (among others) and now has the correct R-1-b for these trains.

Operations - Local Freights and Freight Houses

I've been meaning to put this post together for a while after asking more questions of Bart Hollis, former head end brakeman on the Highland Line at the end of the New Haven (he hired out in 1968 in East Hartford Yard, then moved to the Highland after 6 months, so really at the end...)

He worked NX-17 (Waterbury to Plainville) and has been able to confirm much of the research Chris and I have done. There were some surprises as well, but they make sense. 

The Work of the Local Freight

Bart says the conductor received, "a list of the cars in the train with instructions as to where they were to be spotted." 

He also says he doesn't quite remember, but thinks they were given the waybills too, but then indicates the waybills would be delivered to the agents in Bristol and Plainville, so they must have had them.

This would be a the Consist/Wheel Report that we've seen in earlier posts. From Hartford, Maybrook, Cedar Hill and others these would be printed via Teletype. From Waterbury it would still be a handwritten report. This lists all the cars in the train in order, from engine to caboose, and their destinations. In other words, for a local freight it tells you everything you need to know about the cars in your train.

As we know from other research, the waybills would travel with the conductor, and this confirms that they would be given to an Agent once delivered. That is, they don't go to the industry (since they are railroad documents).

I expect that if the Yardmaster knows of any cars to be picked up they would also tell the conductor at that point. 

Bart then provides a town-by-town description of the work:

"The first siding was at Terryville. There was a passing siding on the south side of the track which was only used if we had to double the hill. There was also a trailing point switch that went to the north side that went into the woods and ended. I was told it went to a clock factory years ago. There was a trailing point switch that had a short track that ended on a trestle and only once did we spot a loaded car of coal there."

DERS-1 (DL-109) 0733 entering the east portal of Terryville Tunnel. Tom McNamara

You can see Terryville station and the passing siding in the distance.

"The next switch was the passing siding at Bristol. Off the siding was the house track. When I first started we would occasionally get a car for the house. There was also a track that went just beyond the station that was used as a team track. There was an agent at Bristol by the name of Coffee (I forget his first name). If we had a car for Bristol, he would tell us exactly where it went and if there was one to pick up he would tell us the road and number. I don't know if the conductor got any paperwork, though."

Bristol 1948

There are a couple of interesting things here. First is that they received an occasional car to spot on the house track. More on that in a moment.

The second bit of info, of course, is that the Agent in Bristol told them what work they had. In a small town, this very well may have been a verbal exchange, although for a pickup the waybill would still be given to the conductor. 

"The next break in the rail was Bristol Brass. It was a facing point switch, so we had to work that place on the return. The Bristol agent was responsible for it and so the same instructions came from him."

They received their work while in town, but would work it on the way back.

"The next break was at Hildreth Press. A printing company. This was a trailing point switch that had another track off it. Again, it was handled by Bristol. This place had four spots. They would get a load of paper cars and we had to store them on the passing siding at the Bristol station. I remember as many as twenty loaded cars consigned to Hildreth Press."

By this era, with no passenger trains scheduled on the Highland Line, there were no passing sidings remaining. That is, the track was there, but they weren't designated in the Employee Time Table as a Siding. The Rule Book only defines two types of track:

• Main Track: A track extending through yards and between stations, upon which trains are operated by time-table or train order, or both, or the use of which is governed by block signals.
• Siding: A track auxiliary to the main track for meeting or passing trains.

There are three other related definitions:

• Single Track: A main track upon which trains are operated in both directions.
• Two or More Tracks: Two or more main tracks, upon any of which the current of traffic may be in either specified direction.
• Yard: A system of tracks within defined limits provided for making up of trains, storing of cars, and other purposes, over which movements not authorized by time-table, or by train order, may be made, subject to prescribed signals and rules, or special instructions.

In other words, the Main Track(s) refer only to tracks that are controlled by time table, train order, signals, or later forms of control.

A Siding was a track that was specifically identified in the Employee Time Table for the purpose of meeting or passing trains.

Yards only exist between Yard Limit Signs (a type of fixed signal) and do not require train orders for movements on those tracks. We know that additional rules govern the use of the Main Track within Yard Limits.

So what are the other tracks? They aren't listed in the definitions, but they are referred to in other rules ("Sidings and other tracks to the right of the main track" for example). In the Engine Restrictions section of the ETT we can see a number of examples, such as house track, bulk track, brick yard tracks, industrial tracks, run  around track, plus many identified by name, such as A.H. Hayes Fuel Co. track. They are also frequently referred to by track number.

 (Model) railroaders often call them sidings or spurs. When working with real railroaders, they tend to refer to them by name (Depot box car track, Depot flat car track, etc.) so there's no question which track they are referring to.

Anyway at this point the former Sidings in Terryville, Bristol, and Forestville are now used by the crew as needed, which is exactly what Bart describes. In my era, these were still in use as Sidings, and they would have had to inform the Dispatcher if they were to leave a cut of cars on any of them.

"Next was Wallace Barnes. Again, a trailing point switch. They received covered gondolas loaded with steel coils. Once more, handled by Bristol.

Two RDCs at Forestville in September 1956 (McNamara).

Eagle-eyed readers who know Forestville might notice something odd about this picture...

"Then came Plainville." 

Three trains at Plainville, 1948 (Cochrane).

I-1 1001 with a passenger train at Plainville station on the eastbound main.

DEY-5 (S-2) 0604 with YN-3 coming down the east leg of the wye onto Track No. 5.

Between them, you can just see the caboose of the Bristol local on the westbound main.

That's known as HDX-3 in 1948, but NX-17 in 1968.

There was an operator and an agent there. The agent's name was Ed Coffee, brother to the Bristol agent. Almost all of the loads bound for Plainville came via NX-25 out of Hartford. Occasionally we would be asked to spot one or more of them and once in a while we would pull a load back to Waterbury. I remember a few times we would take a car from Plainville north on the Canal Line to a lumber yard and/or a cement place. Not often. Then, a few times we took a car south on the Canal Line to either a lumber yard or a car of casting sand to a forge. I believe these place were within Plainville Yard Limits as I don't remember ever getting orders to go there."

I love the fact that the two agents on the line were brothers. But this also confirms that the Agent would assign work as needed to the crews that were available where there were multiple trains.

What about the lack of paperwork? I asked whether the orders were verbal or written, and his reply was very informative (and hinted in the notes above):

"For the most part, we could tell by the type of car and the road which one went where."

He also clarified, "As I remember, the only time we got a list was a hand written note with the road and number for Hildreth Press. The rest of the cars were obvious."

Another question I had is whether an industry would tell them to pull a car, or if they had to get permission from the Agent.

 "If the consignee asked us to pull a car, we would as a service to the customer."

This makes sense, although they would still need to get a waybill from the Agent before the car could move on the railroad. Because the Agents along the line would know the work (or the crew calls ahead), I suspect this would be relatively rare. But if they were pulling a car from an industry that is prior to reaching the station, then they would get the waybills from the Agent at that point. 

So while the New Haven had forms for switching at yards, and must have had something for the road too, the reality is that these sort of working documents (that didn't have to be saved for recordkeeping purposes) weren't needed as much for regular crews. They knew their industries, and how they would work them. In the era Chris and I are modeling, there are more industries, and they would be receiving more house cars. So the paperwork would still be important, although the crews will still be able to pick out the obvious cars. They would also use chalk marks to identify specific cars.

Operating a Local Freight 

From a model railroad operating viewpoint, while you may want to know what your work will be ahead of time, most of us won't know a model railroad as well as a crew that works it 5 days a week. After a quick glance to see if there's something unusual, I think the key is to approach it one town at a time.

The train should be blocked by town, as on the prototype. Prior to leaving one station (town), the conductor should already be looking at what work will be done at the next town. Identify the end of the cut, then start by identifying which industries will be served, and an efficient order on how to serve them. 

You don't have to worry about the specific cars at this point, just the industries and the order to serve them. It doesn't matter which order the cars are in the block at this point, because you'll simply cut the train just behind the car that is being dropped at a given industry.

The train may pass some industries on the way into a town. If there are cars to drop, then the train can stop on the way. To determine if there are cars to pick up, then can get that info from the prior station, or the industry can give it to them there. In either case, they can pull the cars, and pick up the waybills from the Agent prior to leaving town.

It's also not uncommon for a Siding or track to be near the center of a town. That is, the local freight would come to the station, pull into the siding to clear the Main, then go get their work from the Agent. They would leave their train on the siding and go back to work any industries in that town that they already passed. It wouldn't be uncommon to work both sides of town before putting their train back together and continuing to the next one.

For a layout owner, I would recommend providing some information for pickups at the start of a run, and the rest would be communicated along the way. When the train arrives in town, the conductor should have already planned out how they will work the industries, and usually they will get their additional work from the Agent (it could simply be a box with a card).

Don't be afraid to spend a few minutes finalizing your planned moves in that town. Again, I think the focus should be on how you'll work the industry itself, don't pay attention to specifically which cars. Then when you go to switch each industry you can look at the cars in the train and determine where to make your cut. 

Freight House Traffic

Chris and I had been told that some freight houses (such as Rocky Hill) were served by truck in our era. Combined with sources like the ETT which lists what stations are open for Train Orders, came to the conclusion that there wasn't an Agent at many of those towns. This is related not only to traffic at the freight house, but also how the crew receives work.

The funny thing is, I believe I've had the answer for several years now, and just didn't realize it. As I've been digging through paperwork, I missed a subtle but important point. The Freight Car and Package Car schedules list scheduled L.C.L cars to the freight houses. I originally thought any remaining traffic to the freight house essentially used it as a bulk/team track. I now think that's incorrect.

I think the freight house could still receive cars, or be used to load cars, they just weren't scheduled. These freight houses were on scheduled truck service from freight houses that received scheduled service, but traffic that wasn't part of those scheduled cars would have still gone direct to the freight house in that town.

Of course, even if the freight house only received from trucks (which I now know is incorrect), they would still have a Freight Agent, and that agent would still be the point of contact for local industries and the place where crews would receive their work. For example, by the 1966 ETT Bristol was not open for Day Train Orders (only Plainville). On the Valley it was Wethersfield and Middletown.

But industry work isn't a  Train Order. That is, they aren't orders that give them permission to occupy the Main Track. Train Orders aren't required to occupy an industry track. So whether or not a station is a Day Train Order station doesn't tell us whether there is a Freight Agent on duty, and Bart's recollections prove that.

So how can we tell?

Well, indirectly any freight house that has scheduled service by rail or truck must have a Freight Agent. That Agent would provide the local work for the crew. But there's also a publication that specifically identifies every station with an Agent.

Official List of Open and Prepay Stations

Open and Prepay Stations for 1949

Issued annually, this book lists every freight station in the North American Rail System, including Canada, Mexico and even Alaska (although from what I understand it wasn't directly connected to the rest of the rail system). Hawaii is not listed, although Cuba (!) is.

Like all such books, entries may have numerous notes.

The first note (designated by an asterisk) states: No Agent. Freight charges to this station must be prepaid. Except as otherwise provided, to order (or negotiable) bills of lading must not be issued to a station where there is no freight agent. In other words, every active freight house is listed, and it identified which ones have an Agent and which do not.

So for Chris' benefit (and to satisfy my curiosity), here's the Valley Line in 1949:

Essex, Deep River, Chester, East Haddam and Moodus, Higganum, Cromwell, Rocky Hill, and Wethersfield are all Open. South Wethersfield is Prepay (no Agent) and there are several notes that apply:

1. Carload freight only. (South Wethersfield)

76. A very long note: Shipments for the following points, except "Shippers' Order Notify," when consigned to the persons or firms named, may be forwarded "Collect," unless shipments are of such nature that the governing "Classification" requires prepayment: Shipments for all other consignees must be prepaid. There are then several pages of Stations and Consignees to which this applies. For South Wethersfield it only applies to B. O. Pelton. (South Wethersfield)

126. Nearest less than carload delivery for this station shown is: Chester > Deep River; South Wethersfield > Wethersfield. This rule likely always accompanies Rule 1 to inform shippers where to route L.C.L for that station. (Chester and South Wethersfield) 

1560. Carloads only, except that less than carload shipments in lots of 4,000 pounds or more will be handled from or to industries having private sidings. (Chester)

So my earlier interpretation was wrong. The freight houses in our era are still active, if low volume.

Planning Ahead

DERS-2c (RS-3) 529 with a circus train in New Britain c1954. K. Cochrane.

I think this is during the summer of '54 when the Highland Line was single-tracked.

I've been working a lot of extra hours lately, we're getting ready for vacation, and I'm still working on rebuilding the main website, among other things. Plus it's mid-year so it seemed a good time to take a step back to refocus my efforts. Usually I would be doing this about this time after the NE Prototype Meet.

I do want to finish those flat car models, and paint more, but the primary focus needs to be getting the layout fully operational for ops sessions. A lot of time will be spent on the layout and basement.

Another thing I need to work on locomotives. There's a good chance that I'll have a friend do the decoders, not because I can't do it, but it's time consuming and I'll be putting that time into other projects. I'll still need to detail them as well. 

For now, the focus will be solely on diesels, since they will be easiest to get running. That narrows the focus to 1949-1954, but the reality is that the line was single-tracked in the summer of '54, so if I'm sticking with November, I'm really modeling through 1953.

The goal is to be able to start some sort of Operating Sessions in September.

1953

This is the obvious starting point since it's only the 44-tonners and RDCs, and priority No. 1. I'll plan on one major locomotive project per month, and I should be able to complete this in August.

• 44-tonners (3)
• Repair/replace the gears.
• Install decoders/speakers/weight.
• Paint and letter.
• By completing all three, one can be leased to Stanley.
• RDCs

• Decide whether to apply the Fight Cancer decals.
• Weathering.

1952

The other years require quite a few more locomotives. This is probably the easiest in terms of the amount of work to be done to get them ready. I'd like to get these done by the end of the year to be able to add a more complex session. 

• FA-1/FB-1/FB-2
• Two Maybrook freights. This is late enough that they can be the factory painted Proto 2000 FA-1/FB-1, plus the Rapido FB-2. These will need a look for final details, then weathering.
• Two RS-3s.
• I'll be detailing three total, at least to start. These will need some work, particularly the pilots. 
• RS-2 0503
• Already done.
• DL-109 
• The brass one, since it would be rebuilt by then. It will be the first brass locomotive running on the layout.
• Paint, letter, and weather.
• DCC.

1951

There are two locomotive projects, a bit more involved:

• RS-1
• Since I've decided to go ahead and make modifications to the shells, these will take some time. 
• Acquire one more.
• Modify the shells
• Paint (hopefully just touchup) and renumber at least two of them.
• DCC if I get one with DC only.
• Weathering.
• S-1
• I'll need two different road numbers, one for 1949, and the other for 1950-1.

• Get KV Models to produce the correct fan grates (the P2k model is wrong).
• There will be other modifications, but not too many.
• Build the cabs.
• DCC
• Paint, letter, and weather.

1949

Only one additional locomotive project.

• DL-109
• If I haven't completed it with the other DL-109
• Complete roof and other shell modifications
• Touch up paint, letter and weather.
• DCC

1950

This will be last simply because I'll need to custom paint and get custom decals made for the Comet. Other than that, all the other locomotives needed will already be completed.

To model operations for any year other than 1953 will require cabooses and passenger cars as well. I'll work my way through those lists in another post or two.

Train Length

Thanks to Dick's suggestion, I've recently had Virtual Railfan running while working on other things on the computer, and it's amazing on how long the trains have gotten. One in Tucson was 3 locomotives, two more mid-train, and I counted 277 cars. All double-stacks. 

While I wouldn't expect anybody to model a train that long, it did remind me of some conversations we've had over train length over the years. The gist is usually that once a model train gets to about 20 cars or more, it "feels" longer. We've got evidence that local freights in my era could be 20 cars fairly regularly, and on many models that's a through freight.

Not all of the trains I'm seeing are that long of course, but there are a few other factors that I think come into play when trying to determine how long of a train on the model is "good enough."

L-1 3206 westbound with AO-3 at signal 89.8 in Newington c1946 (Kent Cochrane).

In my case, some of my trains will be limited by the layout itself. For example, the Holyoke freights from Cedar Hill have to deal with a 19-car (if I recall) staging track. As it turns out, the train is NY-4, and later in the day has to receive YN-3, both of which are actually the local for the Canal Line and north. It usually services Meriden and Berlin before reaching New Britain. As I've been researching, it appears photos seem to indicate that a 12 to 20 car train is appropriate in my era. As a symbol (through) freight, I originally thought these would be much longer, but it really functions as a local freight.

Going back to the steam era, AO-3 is the usual daytime Maybrook freight. This train is the longest train that will run on the layout. I can build a very long train in staging, even 116 cars as at least one train was noted by Tom McNamara on the back of a Cochrane photo. The limitation, though, will be how many cars I can get up the helix.

That 116 car train with an L-1 did have an R-1-b a cut in a dozen cars back, so that will help. But I probably still won't get 116 cars. The DER-2 (Alco FA-1/FB-1) locomotives were delivered in 1947, though. Which means that I won't need steam for very long on this run, even though I have pictures as late as 1947 using an L-1, they were assigned the DER-2s.

Watching the Videos

When watching the train go by, it wasn't so much the length that caught my attention, but how long it took to pass. While a 20 car train on most model railroads might look like a long it doesn't feel like one. Fortunately, for the years I model, the DER-2 (FA-1/FB-1) locomotives were in use and a set of three or four will definitely handle a very long train up the helix. I'll also have the advantage of using a fast clock. If I decide to run, say, a 40-car train at 15 mph, not only will it take a long time to pass in front of us, but it will take 4 times longer by the clock. So that helps.

Consist

The most visible factor may be the consist. In the modern era it's actually easier to shorten a train and still look prototypical, provided the train is all double-stacks, or covered hoppers, or a unit coal train, etc.

The issue I've always had is trying to match photos from my era. Through freights often have a cut of reefers at the front. If this is substantial, perhaps 10-12 cars, a 20 car freight no longer looks right. But if you cut a train by 80% and cut the number of reefers by the same amount, then you get one or two at most, and you lose the feel of a block of reefers.

The picture above is much more workable, as there are only four reefers at the front. In the visible portion of the train after that it's a flat car,  5 house cars (mostly box, but one looks like a reefer), then two gondolas, three more box cars, maybe another gondola, then more box cars.

The trick is trying to maintain what looks like a good mix, within the limits of what's possible on your layout. But I'm coming to the conclusion that for the Maybrook freights I am now leaning toward much longer trains than I originally considered. It will take some experimentation, but I'll see what I can do.

I did do a test ten years ago (!) with a 30 car train that you can see on YouTube. Look at the old mockup for the east side industries entirely inside the top level of the helix. There's a video in the helix as well.

That's a 30 car train and definitely wasn't the maximum that the FAs could handle up the helix, so I think once I get the decoders in those locomotives I'll test a 50 car train and see how that looks going through the center of town.

More Passenger Cars

 Well here's an interesting photo...

This is DERS-2B 9RS-2) 0509 with a westbound passenger train at Plainville, June 16-1949. Another Kent Cochrane photo, of course. The photo states there are 4 passenger cars, although only three are visible. One of the wooden heavyweight baggage cars, of course.

What's interesting is that the two Pullman-Bradley lightweight coaches are the 10-window version, and not the 11-window commuter coach version. One has the skirting in front of the wheels removed, the other one does not.

Both are in the original Hunter Green with aluminum window frames and the New Haven lettered under the windows. They aren't smokers since there aren't script heralds above the trucks. It would have been highly unlikely since there were only 4 lightweight smokers until 26 more were converted in October of 1949.

Although I have a couple of pictures of DERS-2b (RS-2) locomotives on passenger trains on the Highland, I don't have any assignments for that service. 0509 didn't have ATS equipment, so it couldn't have run on the Springfield line. I probably won't be modeling another RS-2, but I do have a photo of 0510 in passenger service on the line.

HDX-5 in Newington and New Britain

I've been trying to maintain a steady pace of posts this year, but at the same time I am also rebuilding my website.

I built my current site on Google Sites. But like so many products and services Google has created, they have decided to end the old Google Sites and create an entirely new (and less flexible) product. Long story short, I've been rebuilding the site on the new Sites (after looking at alternatives), and I've taken the opportunity to essentially rewrite most of it as well. It needed it anyway.

When I get there, it has lots of new information, compiled information from the blog (that was the point anyway), and new photos too. 

Since the new site is still some time off, here's a teaser. I've been working on the page for the New Hartford Local. Kent Cochrane photos, of course, c1947-8 unless noted.

K-1-d No. 423 with HDX-5 westbound at Newington Junction.

479 westbound with HDX-5 with a 15 car* train taken from Black Rock Bridge in New Britain.

*This is noted by Tom McNamara on the back of the photo, which comes from his collection. I count 11 cars. The date is also stamped on the back of the card, but it doesn't look like mid-October to me. All of the distant visible buildings on the north side of the track (to the left of the train) are part of Stanley Works.

The photo of 423 is great, because I could finish the K-1-d that I have since it has Baker valve gear. Since HDX-5 ran with steam until the end of 1948, it makes it easier to get it up and running. Then I can worry about how to fabricate the Southern valve gear for 479 in the future. Of course I'll still have to see if I can get it to haul 11 cars up the helix...

New Britain Passenger Trains 131 and 136

One of my ongoing projects to get the layout ready for operations is to gather the necessary information and supplies to build the passenger trains. It's easy to identify which direction the train is running, since they didn't turn the entire train at Waterbury, only the locomotives. So eastbound trains have the baggage car (and RPO where used) on the end of the train instead of behind the locomotive.

Train 131/136 was frequently photographed in my era, probably because it's the only daytime passenger train (12.30 pm and 5.40 pm). This is the only train with consistent consist information, as all of the other Highland Line trains are commuter trains and are not listed in the consist books.

Train 131/136

1 Express

1 Apartment

1 Coach (M) SL

1 Smoker (M) De Luxe (yes, that's how it's spelled...)

1 Coach (M) SL (Fri & Sat, sometimes only Friday)

What exactly does this mean? I'll start with a picture:

One of my favorite Kent Cochrane photos from March, 1947 of an I-2 with Train 131

In addition to the Russell & Erwin stacks and the 44-tonner shoving a hopper of coal up to the coal trestle, this is a fantastic side view of the entire train. It looks like a Friday train, due to the fifth car, but an extra car would also be added as needed on any day.

The first car is the Express car, that is, a baggage car carrying storage express mail. There's a compartment set aside for mail, 9 ft. from Boston to Waterbury, plus an additional 6 ft from Hartford to Waterbury. In most of the photos this is a wood baggage car, available as a kit from Bethlehem Car Works. It's Sparrows Point kit SP-61. I don't see it listed on the site right now, so you'll need to contact John to see if it's available.

Note that the New Haven clearance diagram has the doors located in the wrong incorrectly (which resulted in the first run of the model also having them in the wrong place - John fixed the issue for the later runs). I purchased cars as soon as they were released, so I'll just be modifying mine.

The second car is an RPO, or a 15' Apartment Car. This means that it has a 15 ft RPO section, and the rest of the car is a baggage car. 

It's easy to spot 131/136 from this era because of the RPO as it's the only train on the Highland assigned one. This is also available from Bethlehem Car Works, kit #263 and it looks excellent. I'll be finishing mine soon.

The third car is the Smoker, even though the consist lists a coach next. This is a heavyweight De Luxe (DL) car with mechanical (M) air conditioning. The De Luxe (also noted as Deluxe, or DeLuxe in NH documents) Smokers are numbered 6800-6823, 6824-6827, and 6829-6843. This car will be a challenge to model. I'll most likely start with a Branchline (now Atlas) single window heavyweight coach. I have a decent idea of how I'll approach it, though, I'll get to that process in a later post when I get around to building one.

Note the 8 exhaust type ventilators, plus the round vent at the end for the saloon. On the Smokers, there is only a mens' saloon at one end of the car. The car is oriented in the photo with the saloon to the right, instead of to the left as in the diagram.

The final two cars are Pullman-Bradley lightweight coaches. They were built with mechanical (M) air conditioning, and are designated as streamlined (SL). The first one is from the 8270-8369 series of cars. These are known as 11-window cars and were built for commuter service with walk-over bench seating for 92 people. The second car, however, is a 10-window coach (8200-8269 series), with twin rotating chairs on each side of the aisle, and seating for 84 people.

There were 10-window Pullman-Bradley Smokers as well. However, there were only four of them (8500-8503) until more were converted in October, 1949, and they were assigned to specific trains.  Once more were converted one was assigned to this train to replace the 6800-series heavyweight.

Note that both of these still have full skirts. The skirting was removed from in front of the trucks starting c1949. 

The 10-window coaches and smokers were both produced by Rapido in the past and can be found on eBay and at shows. In addition, to those cars, the 11-window coaches were produced by E&B Valley and brass from Custom Brass. Neither are up to the standards of the Rapido cars, which is why I have started experimenting with using the brass sides on the Rapido car. My buddy Bill reminded me that I'll also have to alter all of the rivet lines on the roof if I go this route. I've reminded him that Rapido still needs to do the 11-window coaches...

So it's the heavyweight smoker and the 11-window coaches that will be the most challenging aspects of this train, but I'm hoping Rapido will at least get around to the coaches soon.

This was the last train to run with steam on the Highland, until November/December 1948, since it received power at Boston. It was usually hauled by an I-2, but I have photos of this train behind an I-1, I-4 and DER-1 (DL-109) in this era. After the steam was pulled, it was usually assigned a DER-1 (DL-109), but was also run with a DERS-2b (RS-2) or DERS-2c (RS-3), before locomotive-hauled trains were replaced altogether with an RDC-1 and RDC-3 for this run in 1953.

Is it the Highland?

Last week I posted two photos of the Comet in an unknown location, but looks like it may be on the Highland somewere. The primary clue is the line poles on both sides of the track, and their configuration. The general topography and scenery also resembles some areas on the Highland as well.

However, the double track configuration threw me, since this looks like it should be someplace west of Terryville Tunnel, and that was single tracked long before the Comet ran on the Highland Line.

I still don't know exactly where this is, but I no longer think they are on the Highland. I found some other pictures that look like the same location, and unfortunately all of these negatives are damaged. All appear to be Kent Cochrane photos.

Here's a double-headed train led by DL-109 No. 741 in the same location with a good size passenger train. The first car is a combine, and I don't have any records of a combine, nor is there any reason for a pair of DL-109s to be running on the Highland in this era. 

I-2 class 1312 with a short passenger train, with a stainless steel coach on the front. Again, no record of a stainless car ever running on the New Haven except. Bob Vancour pointed out the stainless car is probably dead-heading, since it's in front of the baggage cars. 

Lastly, here's a pair of PAs, led by 0768, again with stainless steel cars. I have no record of PAs running on the Highland, and in this era they were almost all assigned to Shoreline trains, including the most prestigious ones.

No dates on any of these, and they aren't necessarily all from the same day, although they could be. Only the first 10 PAs, delivered in 1948, wore the Hunter Green and Warm Orange pinstripe scheme, and were repainted in the early '50s to match the additional 17 delivered in 1949 in Pullman Green and Imitation Gold. I don't have any specifics on when that repaint happened, but the last photo is most likely c1949-51(?).

Without anything else to go by, the best guess right now is that this was on the Shoreline, someplace in Rhode Island. If you can identify it more precisely, let me know!

The Comet

In lieu of the normal Thursday night Photo Library, we have started getting together on Zoom. So we went through a folder of photos I had that I knew they hadn't seen before. This first photo is one of them, a rare shot of the Comet in service on the Highland Line: 

This is taken from an overpass at Newington Junction, and the train is #128 (eastbound) in 1951, and I'm pretty sure it's a Kent Cochrane photo along with the others in this post. It was scanned backwards, and I hadn't caught that it was in fact Newington rather than someplace east since it ran for most of its Boston to Providence, and then around the Boston area.

In 1950, though, Train 128/129 was added as a second Boston - Waterbury (along with 131/136). It is not listed in the June 25, 1950 time table, but is in the September 24, 1950 one. To the best of my knowledge, it was created for the Comet which was no longer serving between Boston and Providence. Although it was sold for scrap in April 1952, my understanding is that it was no longer on this run by November, 1951. In the April 27, 1952 Engine Assignments, it is hauled by RS-3 543. It was annulled prior to November '52, but reinstated with RDCs by the following year.

So for me, it will be running for ops sessions in 1950. Unfortunately, the Con-Cor model was never released in this later paint scheme, so I've stripped mine and need to work on repainting it.

I do have a few more pictures in service on the Highland. The negatives for these two were both damaged unfortunately, both and eastbound and westbound run.

I'm not sure of the exact location of these photos. It certainly looks like the Highland based on the terrain and line poles. On the south side of the track is a line of poles with two cross arms, and the north side has poles with 6. It also makes it possible to identify which way its running by which track it's on.

This looks like the same location, and I would consider it someplace east of Plainville since it's two tracks. 

The problem is, I don't know of any location that really looks like this east of Plainville. There was a siding at Terryville and Bristol, both west of Plainville and in single track territory, but since the train is on the right hand track in each photo, it appears to be in the double track portion.

Although the Comet did run elsewhere before and after it was on train 128/129, but this really looks like the Highland. So the exact location remains a mystery, but they are interesting in-service photos regardless.

Regardless, there's no question where this final photo was taken:

This is Train 128 again, eastbound. It's not clear why the two baggage cars are sitting on the westbound main instead of either Track No. 5 to the right, or the station track (off the Berlin Line) where they are usually when being loaded. My only guess is that they are in position to be moved after 128 passes.

Train 128 was an early morning train, in New Britain at 7.07 AM, and 129 was evening, leaving New Britain at 6.23 PM. So I'm guessing these photos are summer of '51 prior to it being pulled off the run.

Roster - Locomotives - DERS-2c (RS-3) Locomotives

DERS-2c (RS-3) 529 in New Britain Yard with circus train c1953/4. Kent Cochrane photo.

Since I've started detailing and putting decoders into locomotives, plus narrowing my operating hours, I've started revisiting my research to verify what I'll need.

The DERS-2c (Alco RS-3) locomotives were delivered in 3 groups, 517-536 from August-September 1950; 537-546 in October-November 1951, and 547-561 in January-February 1952. 

Based on my notes from the past, I was planning on building at least six RS-3s, maybe as many as eight. Here's the info I've had on my site for years:

DERS-2c Assignments 4/27/52

526 - NY-2, YA-1

530 - NY-2, YN-1

531 - AY-1, YN-1

537 - 463

545 - 444

546 - 157, 421, 446, 472

DERS-2c Models

520

526

530

531

545

546

My initial choice for road numbers was based in part on the fact that I have four of Athearn 520. The Athearn is the most accurate option, although the cab windows are better in other models. But I have so many of this one because it's the only one released in the delivery scheme with the air-cooled stack. I selected four road numbers for the 1950 delivery, and two for the 1951 delivery since I have two undecorated models.

However, looking at the September 1952 assignments, there have been some changes:

 

523 - 444

532 - NY-2/YN-1

533 - NY-2/YN-1

538 - 467

555 - 446/443/458 (probably a typo and should be 448)

556 - 150/157

557 - 472

558 - 458/463

Now we're up to eight. But once I start looking at my schedule, that eliminates 448/458/467 along with NY-2/YN-1, eliminating 523, 533, and 538.

But digging a little deeper, the RS-3s were only in service on many of these trains until the Budd RDCs were delivered. So by November 443/446/458/460/463 were all handled by a new RDC-2.

That leaves only two RS-3s, 523 for train 444, and 556 for 150/157. So I went from 6-8 to only 2 RS-3s to model, one in each of the delivery schemes.

I'm still lacking engine assignments for 1951 (except steam, I wish I knew who copied that part so we could get the rest...).  In 1950, all passenger trains on the Highland were handled by RS-1s. It has been mentioned in several articles that they lacked the acceleration needed to maintain their schedules and were replaced "within weeks" but the engine assignments indicate they served the Highland Line passenger trains for at least 3 years, through 1950. In April '52 almost all of them are in yard service, after all of the RS-3s had been delivered.

The primary purpose of the RS-3s was to complete the dieselization of the NH (along with the C-Liners). By November '51, had the RS-3s bumped the RS-1s off of Highland passenger service? I'm going to guess that yes, some of them had been replaced already, since they were being serviced in April 1952 with locomotives delivered in 1951; 537, 545, 546. 

So that gives me a roster of 5 RS-3s:

523 - 1952

537 - 1951 - delivered 10-19-51

545 - 1951 - delivered 11-9-51

546 - 1951 - delivered 11-8-51

556 - 1952

While I haven't set a specific date for operations, I know I'm thinking early November, and a Monday. If I set that to the first Monday in November, then in 1952 that's November 5. Which leaves me with a roster of 3 RS-3s: 523, 537, and 556.

I like that not only because it reduces the number of locomotives needed, but it also puts the layout in the middle of a transition. An RS-3 is running on passenger service, but so is an RS-1. In 1950, train 157 is a DERS-3 (H16-44) and 131/136 is running with a DER-1 (DL-109), so each train has different motive power if I carry those forward.

Only one is from the 1950 group, but if I can get a good match for the Pullman Green used on the Athearn model it won't be hard to mask to paint the hood top

What else? Smoke Stacks

One day Chris mentioned that if I were to build the tall smoke stack to scale, it would go to the ceiling. I hadn't gotten around to checking and just had a Walthers smoke stack as a stand in.

So, what are we looking at? There are three smoke stacks that will be on the layout. Two at Russell & Erwin, and one at Stanley Works.

These are the two at Russell & Erwin. The Sanborn maps give the heights, but not the width which I estimated using the scale on the map. Despite the appearance at this angle, the star-shaped one is taller. These are 10' x 150' on the left, and 15' x 175' on the right.

What about the Stanley Works one? In one of my clinics I pointed out the really long ladder, which is what I think might have inspired Chris to point out I'd have to build the things.

I took this photo in 2015. It was demolished on March 18, 2018, so I now know it was built in the '20s, it was made of steel (I thought it might be iron), and was 12' wide and 196' tall. It's also separated from the power house by a bit, which is good since it's all that will fit on the layout.

So, how do those compare with the Walthers model? The Walthers one is 1.25" x 10.5" or a scale 9' x 76' or a bit short. 

To scale, the Russell & Erwin ones should be 1.3" x 21" and 2" x 24" tall.

The Stanley one is 1.65" x 27" and as it turns out, the outer diameter of 1 1/4" PVC pipe is 1.65" so here's a mockup:

I left the Comet and caboose projects in place to help with the scale. To give an idea of how undersized the Walthers model would be for these specific industries, here it is next to the scale sized one:

The question is, of course, do I build them to scale? I think I'll try. If I decide to scale it down, how much would I reduce it? I'm not sure. The two Russell & Erwin ones, of course, are very obvious in the Cochrane photo I cropped above and tower well above the train.

I'll need to put a bit of a taper on this one for Stanley Works, and then either carve or make a wrapper for the steel plates, along with Archer rivets. And a lot of (Tichy?) ladders. For the shorter of the Russell & Erwin ones, the same approach with either a styrene or paper brick wrapper should work. As always, the challenge will be the star-shaped brick Russell & Erwin one. I've pretty much decided the best way is to 3D print it. It's just a question of seeing if any of my 3D printing buddies can do a 2-foot tall smoke stack in one piece.

Glad I'm not modeling O-scale!