Help Needed, Great Northern Mail Trains ?

We've talked about mail trains here and gathered together some rather interesting pictorial history.

Currently, I'm in the middle of building a N Scale, Great Northern Mail Train. Which prompts the next question.

I need your help. If you have any pictures of the Great Northern Mail Trains, I'd appreciate your sharing them with me. There isn't much on the Internet and most of them are head end shots. I don't need to know what pulled the mail trains although I've noticed two distinct livery. What I need is any pictorials you might have regarding equipment they used to get the mail across the miles of rails. Foreign or other rail lines Mail Storage/Baggage Cars. Types of REA, GN Box Cars, or other misc., head end equipment.

I have the typical two door and three door Con Cor RPO Streamline Cars, in the Orange and Green Livery, a HW two door Mail Storage/Baggage car in Pullman Green Livery, three GN REA reefer cars, in the GN Livery.

While talking to a Docent at the Sacramento Railroad Museum, he said Great Northern had some of the finest train cars for a Postal Clerk to work in. Pointing to the RPO car on display there. He was a retired Postal Clerk having worked a number of SP routes. Indicating he envied the really smart mail trains of the Great Northern. I've only found one of those on the internet.



Is that a switching puzzle uhh err Yard Ladder, or what? You can see HW's and Streamliners all in one train but I can't make out the front end.

Getting back to the visit we had at the Sacramento Railroad Museum. Now my Dad an REA agent out of Barstow, Ca. got to talking with the retired SP/Mail Clerk, a docent and the stories those two could tell. A fun visit for sure and one of our best trips.

So, If you got any ideas or pictures you can share, I'd appreciate it.

 

My research led me to this interesting interpretation of a Great Northern Fast Mail.
This is HO scale version, which is admittedly out of place for a N Scale discussion. But hey I'll glean my ideas from any resource I can.

Of course what I'm looking for is photos of the prototype.



With the exception of the rear car, I can match most of this train. That should give you some idea of what I'm working with.

 

Who wouldn't like a N Scale layout as follows:

 

Then I found this link: http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/index2.htm?GNENamedGNPassengerTrains_Transcontinentals.htm

Here I did find pictures of various pieces of train equipment and a brief history of the passenger trains number and by name that operated and in what time frames.

Still not the answer I was looking for.

 

One more link sounded hopeful but well see for yourself.
https://streamlinermemories.info/?p=3310

I'm not sure where this author is coming from or whether he has a hidden agenda.
Somewhat helpful but again not the answer I was looking for.

That should give you some idea why I'm asking for any pictorial history. Hoping that some of you Great Northern Railfans, might have pictures to share.

 

One more link I found helpful but where's the pictures?
http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=5734

Notice, they aren't called light weight liners, they are called Streamliners. Just had to throw that in there.

 

The last link I will share here: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/64/v64i05p206-216.pdf

This has pictures and history of noteworthy.

 

Rick, Great article, it was a very good read. - Tonkphilip

 

Rick, Great article, it was a very good read. - Tonkphilip

For Great Northern Rail-fans much of this will hold some interest. What I need is pictures of the actual mail trains and that's hard to find.

Glad you liked it.

 

HemiAdda2d, These links and photo's are helpful and appreciated. A lot of head end shots but hard to see what cars are on behind them.

What I've learned and barely remember about mail trains. They looked odd with a mixed bag or consist of baggage, box cars, reefer cars, even some flat piggy backs and early forms of containers right along with the RPO cars. On most railroads you were likely to find mail storage cars from any connecting railroad east of Chicago sending mail West. For example NYC from New York sending a (sold out) car load of mail in one of their mail storage/baggage cars, box cars and/or reefers. So the mail train would have an odd mix of freight cars with baggage cars and the rider cars at the end. Rider cars could be everything from a coach, combine, to a observation car outfitted with a dining area, sleeping quarters and a wet bar. Very interesting times.

Thanks for the comeback.

Everytime I see your nick, "Hemi," I think of a engine in a Dodge,a friend of mine with the Highway Patrol had outfitted in his cruiser. It was hot.

Okay, I'm good here.

 

Don't know a thing about GN, but here's some wf what I discovered when assembling a late '66 version of the ATSF Fast Mail. There was no particular standard about what a train was made of. Not a single train was all lightweight or Heavyweight cars, and, a knife in the heart of those of you who want to see a Kato set, smoothside and corrugated side cars were mixed indescriminately. And read the above post by BarstowRick, summer time temps at Barstow haven't totally scrambled his brain. And reefers were also common, along with box cars. All were equipped for passenger service, so special trucks were necessary. That will demonstrate a failing in N scale, Lack of suitable parts for real modelers.

 

There have been times I've wondered about that.

See MOM what you did to me sending me to visit my grandparents in Barstow and Phoenix in the hottest months of the summer.

Later!

 

Inspirational!

 

I found a movie/video of a Great Northern Mail Train. An odd mix of equipment which must have been taken just after GN went to Sky Blue Livery and hadn't fully converted everything over. There is baggage/mail storage cars, flats with piggy backs and more. If you share the same interest I have in mail trains you might enjoy this.

The mail train comes up toward the end of this video.



It ends in a patriotic theme which I like.
It was a hard time then but I believe a better time.

Enjoy!

 

Someone must have seen me coming. A certain book says, "Ask and you will receive," well, I don't take that literally. However, you could almost make me a believer.

I decided I needed some groceries. I'm running out of Orange Sherbet after running out of Vanilla Ice Cream. For a diabetic that can't be a good thing. I mean how are we supposed to have a high sugar count, without them? In reflection: I said to my primary care physician, "The good news is my sugar levels are down the bad news is I'm out of Brownies." True story.

So, off to Winco for two reasons Cereal in the morning. They were out of my favorite flavors. Where's the Cheerios and Life cereals? Your in the wrong aisle sir. Sigh!

Finding what I needed I decided to check out the magazine rack and pick up a more recent Railroad Modeler or Model Railroader. Not that I'm crazy about either one but I need my toy train fix and some more toilet paper. Did I say that? As I reached into the magazine rack to recover one of the two, I notice on the Model Railroader Cover a picture of a Great Northern F7 pulling a Heavy Weight (which we used to call Clerestory Roof) passenger train. A what? Did I see uhh...err say Great Northern? I wonder if they have a picture of a MAIL TRAIN? So, I bought it. Nope, they don't.

I didn't see whose layout they were featuring on the cover but found a page number. I found the page. I haven't forgotten how to count. That's a good thing, you know. I found a reference to John Allens HO Scale Gorre & Daphetid. That's cool. Note mentioning, Authored by Lee Marsh. That's okay by me. But who's layout is it? Is it Lee Marsh's layout? Can't assume, you should recognize the obvious message. Article entitled: Conquering the Cascades, with a picture spread of two Y-1 lugs pulling a GN freight train. Good Picture.

Finally on page 37, Lee Marsh is introduced and yes it's his & hers layout. But still no mail trains.

Now if they'd only publish a friends of mine layout and his Santa Fe Mail Train. Hope to see it soon my good friend and fellow model railroader John Acosta.

So far I have one video of a mail train, drifting down grade. Weirdest looking thing. My kind of train.

 

Rick - This was a wonderful movie, the dispatcher radio conversations gave a lot of atmosphere as they discussed where to meet in always calm voices. - tonkphilip

 

Hemiaddad2. That goes along with my finds as well. Not much of a look at the mail trains and the variety of foreign equipment and types of reefers or box cars. The one video above, gives you a hint but doesn't get in close enough to see the details.

Whatever I do will be a close facsimile but not exact.

Thanks all for the help you provided.

Later!