Although my main modeling interest is railroads of Mexico (circa 1980), I've decided to model the Missouri Pacific interchange at Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. As I have started to purchase MP rolling stock, I find that many cars have reporting marks for MP's subsidiary companies. i know what NOT&M and I-GN stand for, but have not yet identified WCW. Anyone know what this MP affiliate is/was?
Second, MP "Herbie" boxcars are plentiful in the model world, with Bachmann and several other manufacturers producing them. But in the prototype world did just one exist? Or did MP create a small fleet of "Herbies"? What would be the earliest year that the prototype(s) existed? Was this design offensive to Mexicans and thus kept out of international interchange?
Thanks for any information you can supply. Gil Hulin, Oregon.
CWC = Charleston & Western Carolina Ry
Eventually ended up as part of CSXT.
Len
Were only two "Herbie's".
First one painted May 1979.
Second one was painted after the UP merger.
"Herbie" history here;
http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/herbie.html
Google is your friend.
Join: http://www.mopac.org. Well worth your money.
Available through the MPHS are historical books, track profile books, accurate MP models and much more. There are close to 1000 members but the dozen or so key members know everything you'd ever want to know about the MP. And they become friends after awhile.
I've never been sorry I joined.
I'm modeling the NI&N, the MP sub I grew up on. The MPHS has provided me with detailed 1943 data of track construction, bridge ratings which tell me the biggest engine ever operated there, locations and types of lineside industries, water tank locations, and on and on.
Quote from: gmhtrains on January 11, 2016, 02:09:54 PM
8<--- I know what NOT&M and I-GN stand for, but have not yet identified WCW. Anyone know what this MP affiliate is/was?
Gil, could you please point us toward a photo - model or prototype - with the WCW reporting marks?
Len's "CWC = Charleston & Western Carolina Ry" though correct, is also a flipping of the initials you gave. And besides, the CWC never physically came near the MP - heck, they never even operated in the same state. As for WCW, I'm not finding it in the 1956 and 1972 Official Equipment Registries as an entity, nor as a mark of the MP, nor even as an MP interchange connection. Tis a mystery!!!
Argh! Dyslexic fingers strike again.
Did MoPac have anything to do with "World Championship Wrestling"??
Len
Quote from: Len on January 12, 2016, 06:58:30 AM
Argh! Dyslexic fingers strike again.
Did MoPac have anything to do with "World Championship Wrestling"??
Len
Goof or not, Len, flipping the letters to the CWC makes sense given that WCW doesn't seem to show up anywhere, not even as a subsidiary of a subsidiary.
Are there any photos of an actual MP car with the 'WCW' on it??
All I'm finding are pictures of a few models, mostly AccuRail, with the 'WCW'. Which makes me wonder if it's a misprint from the mfg.
Len
Update: I think I've finally found it!! Instead of searching for 'WCW' I tried 'W&CW' and 'WC&W'. 'W&CW' found nothing, but 'WC&W' came back with:
Wabash, Chester & Western
If there's another railroad out there that fits 'WCW' and comes anywhere near the MoPac I'm hanged if I can find it.
Len
From MOODY'S Steam Railroads 1945 Edition..
Wabash, Chester & Western R.R. Co
Incorporated Feb 20th 1878 as successor to Iron Mountain, Chester & Eastern Ry.
Chester & Mt Vernon acquired the W,C &W. Sept 10th 1927 at a foreclosure sale.
Operated under lease as of Sept 6th 1927 by Missouri Pacific,
100% ownership by MP Aug 1931.
Petition for Reorganization Filed Dec 1st 1937, into MP system.
Line operated from Menard Ill. to Mt Vernon Ill with a mileage of 63.72 miles and
siding's of 20.34 miles.
Ken Clark
GWN
Back to the MP.......
Anyone here besides the OP and me who are actually modeling the MoPac?
I started this thread and today weathered the "WCW" Missouri Pacific Lines boxcar in question. I got the car off eBay a week ago. It is a nice dull finish double-sheathed wood 40-foot boxcar, made by Accurail. BUT although the dimensional data and car number [45037] are PRINTED on the sides, the W.C.W. initials and Mopac buzzsaw herald [in red] are obviously DECALS. I now think that the W.C.W. initials may refer to the original owner's name for his model railroad rather than some obscure MP subsidiary. Thank you all for questioning the validity of this car.
Now for my next project. I need someone with the May, 1974, Railroad Model Craftsman magazine to photocopy one page for me. As pictured in the article Rails to the Border, I want to model the ex-Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis boxcar that had been sold to one of the regional Mexican railroads. I have the 40' red boxcar with three yellow stripes and "Dixieland" slogan, but want to get the new ownership data correct. I know that it was either Sonora-Baja California (S-BC), Chihushua al Pacifico (Ch-P) or Ferrocarril del Pacifico (FCP), and not NdeM. Please let me know if you have the issue and I will designate who should send it. I don't need five or six photocopies all arriving at once, as I will reimburse your postage and copy cost.
As for the suggestion that I join the MP historical society, I checked out their website and am intrigued that 2016's convention is in Jefferson City, MO. I rode through Jefferson City in the late 1960's aboard the Missouri River Eagle, but didn't get out and haven't returned since. I would seriously consider attending, but have already discovered that Amtrak will not quote a routing nor fare for Eugene, Oregon, to Jefferson City, Missouri. They are talking about an overnight stay required in Chicago or St. Louis, while I am thinking that Eugene to Los Angeles to Kansas City to Jefferson City would be simple. We'll see . . . .
Gil Hulin
You may be on to something. Came across this on Trainweb, it's the MoPac paint scheme for 45xxx series wood sheath boxcars circa 1919:
(http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/j_glenewinkel/mopac_steam/MOPACBoxCar_45111Taken1919.jpg)
Not even close to what you have.
Len
That WCW guy isn't the only one lettering his equipment like an MP sub. Here is one of my cabooses:
(http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/trainman203/image_zpsqyfbhlva.jpeg) (http://s51.photobucket.com/user/trainman203/media/image_zpsqyfbhlva.jpeg.html)
On the 1919 USRA double sheathed boxcar photo, "C.T." does not denote a MoPac sub. It stands for "Columbia Trust." Used on USRA owned equipment that was assigned to the railroad. If then purchased the CT was removed.
I don't model the mop, operate on a club layout that has a mop line.
I actually model the Rock Island as seen in Little Rock. It, of course, has joint trackage and track usage rights to the MOP. As a result I, on rare occasions, run the Delta Eagle which is composed of a P2K E-8, and two passenger cars in grey and blue livery. To be honest with you, I don't know if the Delta Eagle ever came through Little Rock, but its fun for a change up.
Will this help? Scroll down for photos. Joe
http://www.mexlist.com/40foot/PartV.htm
Yes Wabash Chester and Western. My dad was born in and lived in a log cabin in 1921 in Scheller Illinois right next to the WCW Railroad. It paralled an old stage route that went from Mt Vernon, Waltonville, Scheller, Tamaroa, and on towards Chester. Mostly livestock and grain and passengers, it was taken over by MOPAC and became important when coal mines started opening along the route. My dad worked at Orient 3 mine near Waltonvile where coal moved down towards the river in Chester as well as a power plant. Dad told me they called the WCW "Wobble, Creak, & Wobble. If you look up nicknames for RRs you will also find "Wobble, Crooked, and Wobble.
Delta eagle info:
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/741/t/265392.aspx.
We followed that line on an annual vacation trip for many years on US 51. The route between Tallulah LA and Lake Village AR appeared to be largely intact a few years ago though you'd never know that a name train once ran over it. It is now completely overgrown with rotted ties. At one point a farmer was removing rails for his personal use and a few miles away was an overturned Railbox car that had been left for dead. Note that the power is a modified E unit with only one prime mover , the resulting empty space becoming a baggage compartment.