Head end cars

Our 'Headend" power cars started out Baggage cars. They had 2 diesel gen sets in them, fuel tank in middle and all the windows removed and replaced with filters. Noisy as **** when brought up to speed. I don't remember any 'boxcars' at the start? My 02.

A few basic questions:

1) What era are you attempting to model? Steam era, Early diesel era, or that last of NYC passenger service?

2) Have you done any research pertains to NYC heavyweight passenger trains vs. lightweight/streamlined passenger trains?

3) Have you visited the NYC Technical and Historical site for information?

I have a shelf layout at the moment but I’m finding that I am more interested in the heavyweight steam/diesel transition era. These don’t have to be perfect, but since there are so many deals on express boxcars, I was mainly curious how many road names could be found in an express consist.

I know that a SP or UP baggage could be sealed and sent across the country, but not sure how many of the other Express boxcars made it to other railroads.

I have found Seaboard and New Haven express cars painted in Pullman green, lettered for their parent railroads but also followed by either EXPRESS BAGGAGE or RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY, etc.

just looking to see what I can mix and match without having 90s era cars with steam era cars.

I think the best looking head-end express cars are those that have been painted to match that particular railroad's passenger train consist. They dress up the head end of any passenger train. On eBay, I found a couple of MTH's express reefers for my Santa Fe and Union Pacific passenger trains shown below

These express reefers offer an attractive alternative to the regular green REA express box cars and reefers. Out of curiosity, I Googled "O scale R50B express reefer car" (images) and several railroads showed up, including Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Monon, Pennsylvania, Milwaukee Road, and New York Central. However, I couldn't find any dealers that had the NYC ones for sale. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the help all. I’ve done a little research and it seems common that express cars from all roads could be seen on any given train. Makes sense.

@James M. Dean posted:

Thanks for the help all. I’ve done a little research and it seems common that express cars from all roads could be seen on any given train. Makes sense.

You’re welcome, James. Only I’m a little intrigued with the research you did and concluding “it seems common that express cars from all roads could be seen on any given train.”

If you mean express cars on passenger trains, I have never seen, either in photos or videos, an example of a passenger train hauling express cars at the head end that were not its own. The only exception I know of were the REA express cars which were interchangeable among the different railroads. 🤔

Certain types of express cars were equipped for passenger service.     The various Express Reefers are an example.    I have always assumed that express cars from other roads could be in passenger trains.    All Express trains were considered passenger trains as were all mail trains.    However, I think the RRs avoided putting non-home or maybe any express cars in their premier name Trains.      I think there were lots of secondary trains that carried more and more express and fewer coaches as time went on.

Also, Milk Cars I think are a different category.    RRs that did a lot of milk movement had dedicated trains.    They had to stop often to pick up loaded milk cars or set out empties along a dedicated route.    Central Vermont and Boston & Maine apparently worked together on a milk train.     A train came out of Boston with empties to White River Junction.  A CV train started well north and worked its way to White River Junction picking  up loaded milk cars on the way.    At White River Junction, the loaded cars were turned over to B&M and the CV took the empties.    The B&M took the loads into Boston and the CV went back north setting out the empty milk cars along the way.     I think this was an everyday occurence.    A lot of local milk trains ran from some rural starting point into a city picking up loads or milk cans along the way.    I get the impression this was an overnight job.    The train would run back with empties for the next day's business.

You might want to check out this guy's website on his efforts to model the NYC/B&A in the 1960s. https://nyc65.wordpress.com/resources-2/

I am not sure of the NYC but a lot of PRR baggage express cars made their way into New England via the New Haven passenger trains from Grand Central so yes, express cars did travel on each others roads. 

As for milk, the NYC would have been instrumental in bringing what was known as "Western Cream" (cream from WI and MI primarily) into New England (Boston or Providence) for ice cream making.  It may have transferred to the B&M in Mechanicville for the final leg into Boston but i am not sure.  Vermont (Rutland) milk would haven traveled south to NY city,  while VT, Maine, and New Hampshire milk would have traveled via the B&M to Boston and also to Worcester (MA) (and from Worcester to Providence RI via the New Haven). Milk cars in New England (Hood, White Brothers, Whiting) were primarily dedicated to the area although once the fleet was pooled, you could find other road named milk tankers in Boston such as Frisco and REA.

GGD did a set of 3 NYC head-end heavyweight cars in the "reverse 2-tone" scheme.   MTH did an express reefer in Pullman green.  Lionel did a pair of 21" streamlined baggage/mail cars a few years ago, in neutral gray.

I think I gave the wrong impression unfortunately…what I meant was, in addition to my passenger trains, I’d like to do an express/mail/baggage type train. Baggage cars, express boxcars, reefers, mail etc.

Sorry…I’m still somewhat new to all this. I just recently got into scale rolling stock and locomotives within the past 2 years and kept seeing more and more of the “mixed freight” express trains on some vintage passenger YouTube videos. Trying to recreate that with my shelf layout.

It was last year before I picked up TMCC…was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

Now, my NYC passenger trains use NYC and REA cars, but I’m thinking on a straight non passenger express goods train, express boxcars from other railroads would fit in nicely. Especially the baggage boxcars painted in Pullman green.

Thanks for putting up with my repetitive wording. I’m trying to get better at this and learn…I’m 36 and still have a long way to go, lol. This doesn’t have to be 100 percent prototypical but I’d like to do something somewhat close. Scale sized REA and express boxcars are a dime a dozen for great prices on eBay.

In the 1960's I worked for the Pennsylvania and subsequently Penn Central railroads in express service loading and unloading mail and express cars in Baltimore. There was a mail and express train headed to New York that came through Baltimore around midnight. It always was pulled by 2 GG1's and had 22 +/- cars including a rider coach at the rear. There were two postal cars on it and various railroads express cars.

We frequently saw Atlantic Coast Line and Great Northern express reefers on regular passenger trains as well as NYC converted troop baggage cars and Lackawanna baggage cars.

I am also quite interested in the operations of mail and express trains. I model the B&O, and obtained from the B&ORRHS a copy of several Passenger Train Consist Books. These show which cars made up each scheduled passenger train (including mail/express) between various points as of the effective date. Some cars are called out by use--newspapers or storage mail--rather than carbody type. Not all car routings ran every day, and the books show that as well. Additional cars could also appear due to unusual demand, based on photo evidence of particular trains taken particular days and places.  I have seen photos of a couple of foreign road "baggage" (mail/express really) cars on B&O trains. I remember a GN car for sure. Don't remember whether it was a passenger or mail/express train. Not sure where to find these examples in all my research material.

Presumably, foreign-road cars were used for interline movements originating on the foreign road and terminating on the B&O, or interchanging with connections at the other end of the line. The GN car, for example, could perhaps have been storage mail from the west destined for Washington, DC, refilled with mail for the west on the return movement.

Perhaps the NYC historical society has similar archival material available?

Express "box cars" can differ in whether they have passenger or freight trucks. Just a hunch, but I'd guess any with freight trucks stayed on home rails.

One reason I like express cars is that they are short, making it easier to have more cars in the train without wrapping around too many walls. B&O had 125 converted wagontop boxcars, 100 converted troop sleepers, and 100 unique 50' express cars.

I found a photo of the GN car by Bill Price photo taken in March 1951 and is of 22 The Washingtonian. Per the consist book that took effect October 1950, the first car of 22 would have been an RPO except Sundays, when it would have been a combine. Thus, this GN express car is an unusual occurrence.

NOTE:  PHOTO REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT per OGR TOS.  Please follow our copyright policy if you plan on continuing to be a forum member.

Just noticing truss rods on an apparently steel car. Must be a story there...