Author Topic: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion  (Read 872 times)

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dougnelson

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Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« on: June 22, 2022, 01:52:33 PM »
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I am going to repaint a Wheels of Time baggage car for Louisville & Nashville - circa 1950.  A few questions:

- In that period, did baggage door typically have single square-ish windows, or something else?
- Is the upper carside stripe and the lower carside stripe the same width, or is the lower stripe wider?
- Suggestions for the blue paint color?  Is this similar to MP and B&O blues?  Or maybe CSX blue?
- Is there a star under Railway Express Agency to denote a messenger-equipped car?
- Any other prototype photos?

Car will be similar to this one but the "Railway Express Agency" in place of "REA"


Thanks for any help.  I was surprised there was not much on this in the Railwire archive.

thomasjmdavis

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Re: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2022, 03:42:41 PM »
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I don't  know how helpful this will be, but here goes-

The closest WoT baggage car is the 70' car when equipped with a clerestory roof.  These are very, very close to the cars 1400 and 1401.

The problem you (and I, and anyone who wants to model the "standard" L&N baggage cars) have is that the vast majority of the L&N baggage car fleet were 70' long, and had symmetrical doors that were 5'6 or 6' (approximately), and no such car exists in N scale- all the 70' cars have one large door and one small door.  Cars up to 1472 were clerestory, 1473-1490 were arched roof.

The photo in the OP is lettering circa 1960 something. For 1950s, you would see the conventional "Railway Express Agency" lettering.  Decals are available from "Great Decals" which has a set that will letter any L&N head end car post WWII.  Also, in 1950, some cars may have still been painted dark green with block lettering (this was still true in the late 40s). 

Doors are a good question, and the best answer is, probably, I don't know for sure.  The earliest dated photo with modernized doors I can find in my books is 1952 (one of the combines remodeled into a dorm)- so they were in use on some cars by that date. Another photo is dated 1962, and shows 2 baggage cars- one with conventional multi-window doors, and another with the single center window. But based on photos generally, most baggage cars had single window doors by 1962. My speculation is that sometime after WWII, L&N started replacing doors as needed, with the new style steel doors.  I have seen no photo of a car with old style doors with the "REA Express" lettering, and no car with modernized doors with the early "block lettering" style.  The Palmer script lettering with "Railway Express Agency" on a blue car can be either in the photos I've seen.
As is frequently the case, best option would be to find a photo of a particular car in a particular year.

Color is a matter of opinion.
The colors I've been using are Modelflex L&N gray for the roof, and Model Master Blue Angel Blue (which is, of course, since I am using it, no longer available).  In your photo, at least on my screen, the color is "blacker" than it usually appears.  I've seen cars done with both B&O blue and C&O "enchantment" blue, which also look good.  Do a search for the photos of L&N models posted by altohorn25.  I also read one article that suggested ATSF freight loco blue.

Bob Chapman had articles on L&N Baggage cars in the June 1993 "Dixie Line" (L&N historical society magazine- they had back issues last time I looked) and Feb 1995 Mainline Modeler.

Another note- the L&N also had a small fleet of horse cars that spent much of their time in baggage and express service (when not moving horses).  The MTL car is very close in terms of door size and placement, except that, at least according to drawings and photos, the L&N cars did not have end loading doors on either end.  But the car looks pretty good in L&N colors.

Tom D.

I have a mind like a steel trap...a VERY rusty, old steel trap.

thomasjmdavis

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Re: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2022, 03:51:44 PM »
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Who would have guessed- a google search actually turned up something useful.  Here is an L&N arch roof baggage in late 1949-
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5353409
Tom D.

I have a mind like a steel trap...a VERY rusty, old steel trap.

dougnelson

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Re: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2022, 04:27:51 PM »
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Thanks Tom.  That is very helpful.  I have tons of resources for PRR, but not so much for other railroads.  I have made an assumption that L&N baggage cars would occasionally show up in PRR mail & express trains.

I also found out that the upper car stipe was 5/8" and the lower stripe was 1-1/4".

Lemosteam

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Re: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2022, 10:02:23 PM »
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Doug, the car appears to have roof vents. In PRR land, we know that there were no messenger cars without roof vents, so I would surmise that your image is one of a messenger car.  I do not know if REA had a standard symbology, I.e. a star for messenger, etc. but it seems logical.

OldEastRR

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Re: Louisville & Nashville Baggage Car conversion
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2022, 06:41:28 PM »
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To make the WoT car I had into an NH prototype I had to switch the door placements on one side of the car. On the NH car sides are symmetrical. The car came with smooth doors with one window so I had to scratchbuild the doors from structural styrene. WoT used to sell those kinds of doors as parts but no longer does.