Southern Pacific Lines

Coast Line Division 

“The Route of the Octopus”

 
 

General

SP Heavyweight Headend Cars

  1. On the Espee Modelers Archive, looking at the Passenger Train Consist page, it lists various headend cars as; baggage, baggage express, express, mail-storage, etc. See the following descriptions:



Class M

MA - Postal Car

  1. Full postal car.

MB - Postal - Baggage Car

  1. Partial postal, partial baggage car.

MP - Postal Car

  1. For transporting newspapers and large packages, having side doors and stanchions, with or without end doors or windows.

Postal Cars

  1. A number of 60' postal cars were rebuilt to postal storage cars, as were a number of 60' baggage cars. The Post Office Department paid for the use of postal cars and postal storage cars. The railroad was obligated to provide a 30' postal, if they provided a 60' car, the PO Dept. would only pay for 30'.

Postal-baggage cars

  1. Postal-baggage cars were used in postal storage service when needed.


MR - Postal Storage Car

  1. Suitable for carrying mail in bulk, without appliances for sorting or, with side doors and stanchions, with or without end doors or windows (this or a standard baggage-express car often placed next to working RPO to store sorted mail)


Interior Paint

Interior color for Harriman style baggage cars & RPOs

  1. In the early 1950s, the interior wall color on the 60' & 70' harriman style baggage & RPO's were most likely Sea Foam Green. Light Gray is also possible. 

  2. Jeff Cauthen


  4. The USPO Railway Mail Service stipulated the interior paint colors for all RPOs inside the circa 1940s-1960s period, was a warm cream tone for the walls of the mail storage part of the car and a cool light green for the working mail "apartment"; white ceiling in both spaces. This standard was applied, according to Federal sources, to all US railroads. On checking the interior of the then-raw SP "shorty Harriman" RPO (ex-San Bruno Branch caboose) No.6008, the same interior colors were there in several good layers.

  5. Kevin Bunker


  7. This information will be in the Color and Lettering Guide that is in production.


  9. Also, CSRM has a copy of SP LINES, COMMON STANDARD, SPECIFICATION C.S. 22, PAINT

  10. CSRM will provide a copy for a reasonable fee.


  12. Adopted May 16, 1914; revised December 2, 1929 

  13. Jeff Cauthen


Harriman postal car plans

  1. In the files section are side elevation and underframe plans of an Associated (Harriman) Lines postal car.  This plan is exact for UP 1229 and CP 4097. The side framing and underbody are representative for all Common Standard cars built for the Associated (Harriman) Lines. The centerline height on this plan is 13' 10", all subsequent cars had the Common Standard 14" centerline height. 

  2. Jeff Cauthen


Mail cranes and Railway Mail Service

  1. In various SP "station books", Colombian or Barker mail cranes are specified for various locations.

  2. You need:

  3. - "Railway Post Offices of California and Nevada”, by Rod Crossley, published by La Posta Publications in 1991.

  4. - Vol. 3 in the SP Passenger car series will have a limited amount of information on SP RPO routes and service.

  5. - "The Ghost Trains of SP's Overland Route, Train Nos. 21-22, Mail, 1947-1967., SPH&TS


  7. "SP station books" that specify cranes, etc. are, "List of officers, agencies, stations, etc" . . . "issued annually by accounting department [Southern Pacific Company], San Francisco. SP "List of Officers, Agencies and Stations" documents start reporting the existence, location and types of mail cranes from 1916. The earliest newspaper references to mail cranes was the February 9, 1895 Los Angeles Times (pg. 8).


  9. Look for copies of Circular 4s at swap meets or possibly on e-bay. One from 1931 and one from 1950 and did not see a reference to mail cranes. They changed some of the data contained in the books from time to time.


Lettering & Numbering

  1. The lettering reads:

  2. 1) United States Mail

  3. 2) Railway Post Office


SP 40 ft RPO Lettering

  1. A 40 ft. RPO and the lettering went as follows:

  2. SOU -- the door -- THERN PACIFIC -- the door -- LINES

  3. car numbers were at each end below the belt rail SP 4239

  4. UNITED STATES MAIL RAILWAY POST OFFICE was centered below the three postal apartment windows


  6. The 1911 version was actually a baggage express car, and photos show it converted and in it's final appearance. For a photo go to:

  7. www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/1916/sp6009.jpg

  8. A copy of Sweetland's SP in Color Volume 1, the photos are great but the captions not so much, there is a photo of a baggage express #6008 on page 75. It differs from the photo on the website in that the "Baggage" lettering is on the opposite of the car between the short door and the car end. The 1909 version has two short doors that both extend up into the letterboard. This lettering was after 1917. As built, it had SOUTHERN PACIFIC (no LINES) only between the doors and the car numbers did not have SP initials.



Specific Postal Cars

40-P  Postal Cars

40-P-1  Postal Cars

  1. SP #4239-4241

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 60-62, 73-75

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 60, 61


40-P-2  Postal Cars

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 73



60-P  Postal Cars

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 68-71, 88-98, 382

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 88, 93


60-P-1  Postal Cars

  1. #4261-4463


  3. #4462, #4463   former EPSW-575,576

  4. #1806 (60-C-1), was the forerunner to the 60-P-1.

  5. This was a 60-foot RPO car built in 1911.

  6. Often seen in the Southern Pacific’s transition-era “Coast Mail,” trains 71 and 72.

Details

Skylights

  1. These RPOs all had skylight windows to meet Federal RPO standards. The skylights went above the letter case.  

Brakes

  1. These cars used a brake lever, see page 50 in Volume 3.

  2. Jeff Cauthen


  4. When the cars were used as RPOs, the hand brake was on the inside of the car. Later, some of these cars were converted to mail storage and the hand brake was moved to the outside.

  5. Charlie


  1. Many SP head-end cars had lever hand brakes, but #4263 had a wheel.

Lettering & Numbering

  1. Before 1910, nothing was lettered as O&C during this period.

  2. If your period 1910-1915, then SP on the letterboard and numbers only. No initials in front of the numbers during this period.  After 1917, whole new lettering scheme was used.

  3. Jeff Cauthen


Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 41-45

                                                                        The Ghost Trains of SP’s Overland Route, “Traffic”

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 43, 45, 48, 51

Modeling 60-P-1 Baggage-Postal Head-End Cars

Atheran Kitbash

  1. This conversion will not yield an exact model. Kitbash an Athearn baggage car by slicing and reassembling it. Start with an Athearn full RPO, and cut it down to 60 feet. Use a styrene cement like Plastruct’s Plastic Weld, because it really softens the plastic and permits the joint to be pressed strongly together and eliminate any minor roughness in the cuts). Add 0.012-inch brass wire handrails alongside doors and at each car corner, first shaving off the molded-on Athearn ones. Also add the Athearn brake wheel at the B end. Many SP head-end cars had lever hand brakes, but this one had a wheel. There should be a side window at the B end, and the center-section windows should be equally spaced, as well as set higher on the car side. The doors are almost right, having the correct 4 foot, 10 inch width, though they have three instead of four window panes. But the model certainly captures the general look of this car.

  2. Tony Thompson                                          http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2014/07/modeling-sp-head-end-cars-part-7a.html

Southern Car & Foundry

  1. Southern Car & Foundry makes a resin 60ft postal 60-P-1.

  2.                                                                       http://www.southerncarandfoundry.com

  3. The kits have a brake housing on one of the ends.


60-P-2  Postal Cars     

  1. SP #4087-4092

Details

Skylights

  1. These RPOs all had skylight windows to meet Federal RPO standards. The skylights went above the letter case.  

Brakes

  1. These cars used a brake lever, see page 50 in Volume 3.

  2. Jeff Cauthen


  4. When the cars were used as RPOs, the hand brake was on the inside of the car. Later, some of these cars were converted to mail storage and the hand brake was moved to the outside.

  5. Charlie

Lettering & Numbering

  1. Before 1910, nothing was lettered as O&C during this period.

  2. If your period 1910-1915, then SP on the letterboard and numbers only.  No initials in front of the numbers during this period.  After 1917, whole new lettering scheme was used.

  3. Jeff Cauthen


Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 46-49, 52, 63

  1.                                                                       http://www.utahrails.net

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 47, 48

Modeling 60-P-2 Baggage-Postal Head-End Cars

Southern Car & Foundry

  1. Southern Car & Foundry makes a resin 60ft postal 60-P-2.

  2.                                                                       http://www.southerncarandfoundry.com


  4. The kits have a brake housing on one of the ends.

  5. Not much information on detailing the underbody in their instructions.

  6. Alan Houtz


  8. See a shot of a built up version done by Charlie Morrill. This image is posted on my website:

  9.                                                                      http://www.proto48.org

  10. Gene Deimling


60-P-3  Postal Cars

  1. SP #4087-4092,

  2.      #4098-4102

  3.      #4249-4251

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 48, 52-59

  1.                                                                       http://www.utahrails.net

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 53, 54, 57

Modeling 60-P-3  HW Baggage-Postal Head-End Cars

Southern Car & Foundry

  1.                                                                       http://www.southerncarandfoundry.com


60-P-4  Postal Cars

  1. SP #4103-4113

  2.      #4403-4405

  3.      #4246, 4247

  4.      #4252-4260


  6. SP #4106 Baggage - Express

  7. SP #4106, 60 foot full postal class 60-P-4 was converted to a Bag-Express car on 12/16/1941.

  8. Steve Peery

Paint


Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 63-66, 192-193

  1.                                                                       http://www.utahrails.net

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 64

  1. Modeling 60-P-4 Baggage-Postal Head-End Cars

  2. Southern Car & Foundry

  3.                                                                       http://www.southerncarandfoundry.com


60-P-5  Postal Cars

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 85-87, 391

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 86



Postal - Storage Cars

40-PS  Postal-Storage

40-PS-1  Postal-Storage

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 62


60-PS  Postal-Storage

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 66, 99, 392


60-PS-1  Postal-Storage

  1. #4093-4096

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 50-51

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 45, 51


60-PS-2

  1. SP series 4095-4112, Class 60-PS-2 were built with 6-wheel trucks and died with 6-wheel trucks. Actually SP 4093-4096 were 60-PD-1 then 60-PS-1.


  3. CP 4098-4102 and 4249 were 60-PS-3.

  4. CP 4098 became H&TC 100, then T&NO 100 and got 4-wheel trucks.

  5. CP 4100 became H&TC 101, then T&NO 101 and got 4-wheel trucks.

  6. CP 4102 became H&TC 102, then T&NO 102 and got 4-wheel trucks.


  8. CP 4103 - 4113 were 60-P-4 with 6-wheel trucks.

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 48

Drawing

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 48


80-PS  Postal-Storage

  1. #4300-4303

  2. Remodeled between 1950 and 1952.

Reference

                                                                         Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Vol 3: Head End Equipment, pg. 353-356


 
Southern Pacific Lines S. P. Postal Cars
General Info Specific Postal Cars 40-P Postal Cars 60-P Postal Cars Postal - Storage Cars 60-PS Postal Storage Cars 80-PS Postal Storage Cars
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