JW.
The PRR also had the B-74b with an end door like the scenery cars. They were for horse and the two wheel buggies for the buggy races. Horse racing was a much bigger enterprise than it is today. Someone doing a daily visit to the track could drop a whole paycheck betting on the Phillies. Yes there were a whole lot more racing back then. I don’t think the horse express cars did much other service.
Pete.
And the theater company rode in Pullmans to the next city on the same train as their scenery. The stage had to be set up ready to go for the next evening’s performance. Two reasons why the cars were elongated baggage cars equipped for passenger service instead of boxcars.
IIRC, the horse/scenery cars had collapsible stalls, feeding/watering troughs, etc that could be folded up out of the way when used for scenery. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to locate a shot of the interior - “Who’d be interested in a picture of an empty tube” Well, we would, a century or so later. However, given PPR’s habit of documenting EVERYTHING, perhaps if you get a copy of the Keystone edition documenting these vehicles, that interest can be met
They didn’t even have TV dinners but had to subsist on fresh cooked meals. Quel horreur!
2910005 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
2910015 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
9594 004 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
9594 002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
lot 282-006 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
lot 282-001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
lot 282-011 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Ed came through.
Loads of interesting shots. It looks as if AC&F was a major supplier of horse cars for the eastern roads. What are the two large cylinders in the roof of the Seaboard car? Steam heat or watering system?
Wish there were dates on the PRR photos. I’ll be shooting for the mid to late thirties. Do I do the 13 inch letters across the top in two sections? Or the 8 inch letters between the doors on the left? Thank goodness no stripes. I dislike doing stripes.
Thank you Ed.
Ed always comes through, in my experience.
Something I did not see coming was the arrangement for the door in the center of the folding ends. It’s a hinged door, in a frame hung from fairly substantial lateral tracks (like a barn door, but probably with boxcar-door hardware) attached on the backside of the door in question. That’s the best of both worlds: the door opens as expected from the vestibule when the car is in train, but is easily shifted sideways, locked securely on its hinges, when the whole end of the car opens. That will be interesting to model.
I agree! I’ve had my share of frustration with PRR striping on models. They always seem to fall on belt rail rivet lines [8o|]
PRR_POC70Rltr by Edmund, on Flickr
These three are from the Hagley Collection. They are dated April 12, 1929:
PRR_B74b_5823 by Edmund, on Flickr
I wasn’t aware that the baggage door windows could be opened on these “pre-porthole” style doors.
PRR_B74b-end open by Edmund, on Flickr
Note the bedding in place, ready for occupancy…
I have to say the tanks would be for extra water for the needs of the horses en-route. Surely there would be an attendant who would see to feed and watering and in anticipation of a long trip would need plenty of water. The elaborate piping system seems to show that the tanks are easily drained and also the same pipe is used fo
Ed.
Thanks for the explanation on the steam heat system. I’m looking at the Bethlehem Car Works kit. They claim it’s a B-74a but it has the roof of a B-74b. I’m not sure if the kit has the end door of the B-74B or the B-74A. I’ve spent most of my day looking through my vast library of PRR books and Keystone magazines. It appears they started the Futura lettering in 1939. I like the larger fancy font so that is a good thing. Finding trucks will be a challenge.
The thing that strikes me about the end doors is the thickness and the heavy duty hinges.
Pete…
Glad that helped, Pete. Unfortunately I can not find an exterior shot of the Seaboard car with the water tanks in the ceiling. I thought the water-fill pipes might be visible. I did find two photos of a B&O and a C-P horse car with belly water tanks. Other horse cars didn’t look like there was any watering system other than a small tank for the wash basin and hopper for the attendant.
In december of 1928 the “American Railway Express” company was re-incorporated as the “Railway Express Agency” and eventually cars were relettered to show the change. I haven’t been able to find gold-leaf lettering for the “American” version.
I’ve done a few cars in the “Futura” lettering just to have a small representation of it. It is pretty challenging to keep up with the PRR lettering changes. I have some Fleet of Modernism decals that I’m planning to tackle in the near future. That will be a chore!
I’d love to find a decent PRR Scenery baggage car but the Railworks model sometimes commands several hundred dollars!
I have photos of some of the B70a cars with 3D5P1 roller bearing trucks that look an awful lot like the 3DP1 diner trucks once offered by Walthers.
https://www.walthers.com/pennsylvania-3d-p1-6-wheel-trucks-diner-version-1-pair
I’ve used these under some diners I have.
Here’s some of my Pennsy head end cars:
Head-End_Dusty by Edmund, on Flickr
Here
Thank you Ed.
Very helpful indeed. I have to say, your modeling is exceptional. Nicely done. Brass Trains .com has a NJCB scenery car. I’m shocked to learn that they only made 600 of the horse cars. No wonder they are hard to find.
Pete.
PSC offers a pair of 3D5P2 trucks that look really nice. Pricey. But nice.
Pete.
