Would a mail / express train (one that had baggage express cars and perhaps an RPO) be pulled by a passenger diesel like a FP-7 or E-7? I’ve seen pictures of them being pulled by passenger steamers like a Pacific but haven’t been able to find any diesel pictures to clarify things. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
Brad
anything used for power on a passenger train would work fine. express and mail trains usually had equipment that was equipped for passenger service such as high speed trucks and steam heat and signal lines. an example would be the “west side mail” which operated on the NYC from New York to Chicago. i think that train carried a rider coach for the crew and deadheads. on the old ICRR trains 15 and 16 ran between Memphis and St Louis as mail and express operations and carried 2 coaches on the rear. in those days, segregation laws required seperate cars for white and colored passengers. otherwise, there was only need for one coach. unlike the NYC train i referred to, 15 and 16 were listed in the public timetable and accepted paying passengers. i have seen both trains behind E units.
grizlump
During the early to mid-1960’s Union Pacific used GP30’s and steam generator-equipped GP30B’s or SDP35’s on mail & express trains.
Is there any particular road?
Interesting about UP locos in the 1960’s.
In general, as noted below, any loco with a steam generator.
The road I was thinking about was C&NW,
Assuming that this mail/express train is going to haul a couple of coaches or sleepers I would probably slap a couple of covered wagons–A-As or A-Bs really doesn’t matter–on the head end; I don’t envision a mail/express train as operating on quite the same pressing schedule as a straight passenger run so it probably would not need E-unit muscle on the head-end.
I don’t really know what the Northwestern did!
In the waning days of passenger service before Amtrak took over, many long distance trains had become mail and express trains simply because there weren’t enough passenger fares to make them profitable. These trains would have a coach or two on the rear and were in the passenger timetables but most of their consists were head end cars, (box cars, baggage cars, and maybe an RPO). Generally speaking, any motive power that was suitable for passenger trains would be appropriate for M&E, whether in the steam or diesel era.
C&NW Historical Society has a great website.
Go there. Click on photos link. Then click on passenger.
Looks like appropriate locos would be E7, E8, GP7, and FP9.
Depends on the railroad. Any kind of loco with a steam generator could be used. On some roads, a separate S/g provided heat for the passengers while another unit pulled the train. D&RGW’s Zephyr used this method. You need to check the practice for your particular railroad.
A passenger geared unit would allow for higher speeds. If the normal unit was out of service, a freight unit could be pressed into service but restricted to lower speeds.
The C&NW seems to have had several E & FP units around to provide steam for the cars. They may have some s/g GP’s for branchline use.
It is also possible for a mail/express heavyweight train to have a slower overnight schedule when compared to a lightweight stainless streamliner. The railroad may not care how pretty the train looks if a set of GP’s can hold down the schedule or do en route switching.
Usually the mail trains would move just as fast between stations as the regular passenger trains. They had more station stops, and the stops were longer, as mail and express doesn’t unload itself like passengers do. The mail trains probably would have been harder work for the engines, more starts and stops with a heavier train.