Are there any photos out there of them using a Fast Mail rider car (similar to the Rivarossi HO scale "combine") in regular mixed train service? John
Yes, there is or was. Did you ever hear the story about the "Cat who pee'd on the matches". To long to tell here and better told around Christmas time. To be more current. The magazine I had, well one of my felines must have had a real urge and need to go. She saturated the wig wag, thoroughly, so bad that the pages and pictures sogged into a inky mess. If you can imagine. Now back to the book you were talking to me about earlier. Do keep it at your place. That be the wisest...well anyway. I did an oogle google search and will take time to look some more. Guessing that Russell Straw, Kenneth Anthony or Bruce aka Arbomambo, or our Aussie, Randqust might have resources that would help to verify said request. Seems to me there was an agreement with many of the Native American Reservations, where railroads running through them would provide passenger cars to give them access to round trip passenger service. On the Santa Fe they used a number of older 70 ft. or 72 ft. combines on their locals. Later, as the combines that typically brought up the rear end of a fast mail train, mail contract having run out, were then pushed into service on mixed freight/passenger locals. Many serving our Native Brothers and Sisters. Some of those same combines also saw service bringing up the rear of the fast paced Super C trains. Interesting life span for most of these old heavy weights, outlasting other HW's.
This isn't the car in question but does shed some light on the uses these kinds of cars and type of service they provided. http://atsf.railfan.net/atsfpres/atsf2543.html One other that doesn't answer the question directly but provides evidence of: http://atsfrr.net/resources/Sandifer/Howard/Consist/Combine/Combines.htm
The Rivarossi cars are modeled after the 2602-08 rider cars that were converted from Buffet Baggage cars between 1937 and 1940 specifically for assignment on trains 7 and 8, the Fast Mail. They had a relatively small coach compartment as compared with the combines that the Santa Fe liked to use on their mixed trains. They were never permanently assigned to any mixed train but could possibly have been substituted in a pinch. Stranger things happened I am sure. When it all boils down to nit picking, I like the card that Jerry DeBene posted on his model railroad.
These cars were totally rebuilt in 1966 at the Cleburne, Texas shops. After being stripped down and sand blasted they were repainted two tone gray with black roofs. They received new seats, windows, electrical wiring and rebuilt roller bearing trucks. The mail contracts ran out about a year later and the cars were moved into MOW service or scrapped. The 2602 was donated to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris California in 1969.
"They were never permanently assigned to any mixed train but could possibly have been substituted in a pinch." That is pretty much the statement I was looking for. Unfortunately this Rivarossi model is the closest thing that I know of to an ATSF combine in plastic there is out there. Another reason I wanted plastic is because I was going to use a magnetic "wand" and latching reed switches to control the end marker lights; that wouldn't work with a brass model. The "It's my railroad..." is so true....lol. But I wanted to be "it's quite possible" prototypically correct, at least. Thanks, Russell and Rick! John
If you are into kit bashing, you could shorten one and add a few more windows. You can see where more windows could be cut out by the plated over "holes" in the model. You could even paint it box car red to represent some of the cars so painted.
Andy: do you meant to say that if I had reed switches under the roof of a brass model, I'd still be able to use the magnetic "wand" on the top to control these switches? I didn't think the magnetic field would go through the metal. John
There's only one way to find out for sure. We need to get a brass car, mount the reed switch on the inside of the roof and try it. Another idea and I've seen modelers do this, is they place the reed switch inside the end of the car, over the door window allowing them to pass the magnet in front of it to turn the lights on and off. Just a thought!
Thanks to all for your input. I just got the rider car done, with side-by-side latching reed switches in the roof so one (or two, or three) swipes of a magnet will switch the marker lights from front to rear, or visa versa. So, when a train is stopped to do some switching enroute, the marker lights won't switch back and forth depending on the direction of the locomotive on my DC layout. (On my layout of the mid-sixties, when the Post Office cancelled the mail contracts, Santa Fe started using the former Fast Mail riders in mixed train service.) John
Thanks, Russell After these three pictures were taken, I went back and added shims to the middle of the car so the roof sides finish flush with the car body. John
