Head End Cars

Very nice collection.

Awesome!

Art

rattler:

You sure like your head end cars. Very nice presentation of your collection

Nice collection.  I like head end cars as well.  My favorites are RPOs, but I also like express cars and milk cars.

I have a friend whose dad was an RPO supervisor on the Pennsy, so Pennsy RPO cars

from all the three rail makers are collected.  I collect RPO cars for western roads that

ran into Colorado, from all the makers,  as well as RPO kit built cars of various configurations, such as those offered by Walthers, All-Nation, and others,  on three rail trucks, with plans for a USPS rail mail distribution center served by them.  Even my

one car trains are combines that contain a postal, as well as baggage and passenger,

sections.

Yep!!!!!!!! 

No such thing as too many head end cars.

You got that right John.  Always room for the Santa Fe Fast Mail!

Great looking Santa Fe passenger cars......

A wise O gauge operator living somewhere in Illinois once told me "One can never have too many baggage cars".  I took him at his word.  I don't believe I'll ever catch up though.

Great looking head end cars John.

Kindred enthusiast here...

When forum threads have been started seeking suggestions for the manufacturers consideration of future production, more than once I've suggested a Mail Train, such as the ATSF was famous for running.  

The usual paradigm for a heavyweight train set has been a single baggage car dominated by multiples of passenger-carrying cars of various types.

My druthers?....  A string of mail-baggage carrying cars...heavyweights and maybe an express boxcar on AFC trucks, or two...with but a single coach car on the rear!  And that coach car would simply have a scissors-style gate across the vestibule opening and some classy marker lights hung on the corners!  About a half-dozen hardy soul figures inside would be a nice touch!

Yep, a mail train....Commonly seen in the 1:1 world about 75 years ago, but not so much in the 1:48 world in which we now lose ourselves.

Boring?  TEHO.

KD

MTH NYC and PRR headend cars

My feelings as well though NYC here. Here are just a few.

Lionel and MTH (modified with more correct doors).

Atlas-MTH

Pete

Hi All,

Stupid Question from me:I read a thread somewhere on here awhile back that the Lionel REA express reefer (milk car).is not correct in that it is not prototypical, they did not run cars like that or was not real? or something to that effect, I am kinda new to prototypical cars and would like to learn more about what is fantasy and what belongs where, I have that car and would like to know if it did exist or Lionel's fantasy.

Thanks

Fred

Fred,

If your question is, "Was there an REA car with interior milk tanks?", the answer is probably no.  If you question is, "Was there an REA wood side express reefer, the answer is there probably was.

I think most REA cars were on long term lease from individual railroads, the owning road's name in the facia.

John

Thanks John, Both of the answers are what I was looking for,The Lionel car is a nicely detailed car but it is a Lionel's fantasy car,If there was no interior milk tanks on the head end car what did they carry?

Thanks

Fred

Fred,

When the REA was formed, the ICC gave them authority to haul anything and everything.  They had rates on things from cadavers to multi-car shipments of aggregate.  They began before UPS, FedEx, and DHL.  If grandma wanted to send a bicycle to little Johnny in Superior, Montana she could order it from Sears, Roebuck or Western Auto or Montgomery Ward.  Either have them delivery it or she could buy it locally and send it via REA.  Agents in almost every station.  There are several good books about REA.  If you are interested in a nice overview, Ten Turtles to Tucumcari is worth reading.

John

Thanks John,I will look into that book, I thought to be an head end car it had to carry mail or perishables.

Fred

John....great thread!!  I am a Santa Fe fan too and now you have me crawling around under the layout this weekend looking for my cars!!

Alan