Sperry Rail Service #129
Ross Bligh
Sperry Rail Service #129 was in BC Rail's North Vancouver yard this
evening. She was built in 1937, and is a most unusual looking piece of
equipment, resembling a tram on steroids. There were interesting
touches, such as the triangular number boards lettered in some archaic
font, and curious touches, such as the plastic ice-cream pail on the
roof. The inside was pretty much obscured. I couldn't see in from a
distance and wasn't about to start going off-road through the yard to
have a closer look. Can anyone tell me just what sort of service #129 provides? (She's in desperate need of a coat of paint)
Sirsonic
The entire SRS(Sperry Rail Service) fleet of some 26 on-track rail
inspection vehicles are rebuilt from doodelbugs(sp.?). They provide rail
inspection services, they use their vehicles to anaylize the rail for
internal flaws, that would not show up during a normal inspection.
Usually these are flaws in the steel from when it was made, but they can
occur over time and also by enviromental forces, trains, etc. I belive
that it is an electromagnetic process, but I think I may be wrong. They
were the last rail related corp. owned by the Penn Centeral Corp (>:-l)
until they were sold in 1994. ( It was also at this time that PC changed
their name) SRS is part of a railroad M.O.W. industry that also includes
the Loram Corp. (famous for their fleet of rail grinders) and Pandrol
Jackson (famous for their f***ed up F40's) There are many other railroad
construction co's but that is another topic. Some railroads have their
own equipment to supplement the busy SRS equipment.
"Conrail NK to the TV-3 over,
Your by the door at 7:03
with a hairy butt!"
Sirs...@aol.com M.P. 20.05 Conrail Lehigh Line
Co-Founder of RAVE
Konstantin Olchanski
In article <4o9tb7$5...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, sirs...@aol.com (Sirsonic) writes:
> The entire SRS(Sperry Rail Service) fleet of some 26 on-track rail
> inspection vehicles are rebuilt from doodelbugs(sp.?).
Now I am curious: what is a doodlebug?
C.O.
Roger Rassche
Douglas B. Smith wrote:
>
> In <4oaq50$l...@sun20.ccd.bnl.gov> olch...@a0.phy.bnl.gov (Konstantin
> Olchanski) writes:
>
> >Now I am curious: what is a doodlebug?
>
>
> They were gas-electric (mostly) self-propelled passenger cars that
> appeared in the 20's and 30's as an attempt to maintain branchline
> passenger and lcl service. Most didn't last past the 1950's.
> Somewhere along the way, they picked up the monicker, "doodlebug." The
> service they provided was superceded by trucks for the lcl
> (less-than-carload) freight and by the privately owned automobile for
> personal travel. There are still some in their original configuration
> in various museums, but most are undoubtedly gone the way of the steam
> locomotive and the caboose. Aside, I'm not certain that all, if any,
> of Sperry's cars were rebuilt from doodlebugs. They are a pretty
> specialized piece of equipment. But I've been known to be wrong before
> (this last statement is bait for the experts, of course).
I don't have the roster handy, but I recall for the last 20 or so years Sperry has been
building new cars from scratch as needed, the same basic shape as a gas-electric, but
updated.
Roger
Matt Conrad
Sirsonic <sirs...@aol.com> wrote:
> The entire SRS(Sperry Rail Service) fleet of some 26 on-track rail
Also hi-rail trucks.
> inspection vehicles are rebuilt from doodelbugs(sp.?). They provide rail
Rebuilt from old coaches, I was told.
> inspection services, they use their vehicles to anaylize the rail for
> internal flaws, that would not show up during a normal inspection.
> Usually these are flaws in the steel from when it was made, but they can
> occur over time and also by enviromental forces, trains, etc. I belive
> that it is an electromagnetic process, but I think I may be wrong. They
Induction and ultrasonic on the big Detector Cars, ultrasonic only on the hi-railers, although SRS is working on a way to put induction testing on the
trucks, too.
> were the last rail related corp. owned by the Penn Centeral Corp (>:-l)
> until they were sold in 1994. ( It was also at this time that PC changed
This sale caused a real morale problem, as the first thing the new owner did was axe benefits. This occurred shortly before I hired on.
> their name) SRS is part of a railroad M.O.W. industry that also includes
> the Loram Corp. (famous for their fleet of rail grinders) and Pandrol
> Jackson (famous for their f***ed up F40's) There are many other railroad
> construction co's but that is another topic. Some railroads have their
> own equipment to supplement the busy SRS equipment.
For a complete story on what it's like to work for Sperry and what Sperry cars do, check out my SRS FAQ. Here's the URL:
http://web.InfoAve.Net/~jmconrad/IrnPny/
There's also a link to this from my main page, but you'll have to navigate a couple other pages in between.
--
-Matt Conrad, Artist, J.M.Conrad Co., jmco...@InfoAve.net
Providing fine art and Mac software for train nuts like myself.
http://web.InfoAve.net/~jmconrad/
The gelding's name is "No Steam."
mrus...@epix.net
In Article<1996May26.0...@news.etc.bc.ca>, <rbl...@cln.etc.bc.ca> writes:
> Newsgroups: misc.transport.rail.americas
> Path: news2.epix.net!uunet!in2.uu.net!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!arclight.uoregon.edu!news.bc.net!unixg.ubc.ca!news!cln.etc.bc.ca!rbligh
> From: rbl...@cln.etc.bc.ca (Ross Bligh)
> Subject: Sperry Rail Service #129
> X-Nntp-Posting-Host: cln.etc.bc.ca
> Message-ID: <1996May26.0...@news.etc.bc.ca>
> Originator: rbligh@cln
> Sender: ne...@news.etc.bc.ca (System Administration)
> Reply-To: rbl...@cln.etc.bc.ca (Ross Bligh)
> Organization: The Education Technology Centre of British Columbia. (Canada)
> Date: Sun, 26 May 1996 03:12:36 GMT
> Lines: 9
From what I gather Sperry Rail Services check the rails with some sort of
electronic equipment to see if there are faults or cracks in the rails.
I came across on in CP's Taylor, PA yard.
There was an ad in the paper recently were Sperry Rail Service was looking for
workers. The crew lives for extended periods of time in these track cars. On
of their cars ( I forgot which number) is an ex Lehigh Valley "doodlebug".
"Doodlebug" is the name that was given to the gas-electric cars the were used
on Hazelton, PA and Lehightion, PA branch lines.
Often these cars would pull a lightweight trailer, which was just a passenger
car with just a little less weight.
A picture of one, along with a description is found in "Lehigh Valley In Color
,Volume 2" by Robert Yanosey and published by Morning Sun Books.
Douglas B. Smith
Matt Conrad
Konstantin Olchanski <olch...@a0.phy.bnl.gov> wrote:
> In article <4o9tb7$5...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, sirs...@aol.com (Sirsonic)
> writes: > The entire SRS(Sperry Rail Service) fleet of some 26 on-track
> rail > inspection vehicles are rebuilt from doodelbugs(sp.?).
>
>
> Now I am curious: what is a doodlebug?
Somebody needs to set up a Web page FAQ with lots of pix to answer this, as it comes up quite often. I'd do it except my Web site is based on useage
and I'm already paying too much! Besides, I don't have the pix.
Doodlebugs are essentially self-propelled coaches (or rather baggage-passenger combines, as most had a coach section and a baggage section). Usually,
they had gasoline generators and electric transmissions, but a few later ones were diesel-powered, and a few were built with mechanical transmissions.
There's one still stored in the enginehouse of the Hampton & Branchville RR in SC that has the engine mounted under the floor of the car on the front
truck, and geared directly to the axles. There's a good picture of it in the book "Logging RR's of SC" by Thomas Fetters, which is a *great* book,
BTW.
There are a few other doodlebugs around, one PRR unit on the Wilmington & Western in DE that runs, another under restoration on the Black River &
Western in NJ (also Pensy). I rode that one in the early '80s. The EBT has a narrow-gauge doodlebug that the company built from Brill parts, it's used
occasionally. I think there's an unusual all-baggage AT&SF one in Texas, I could be wrong about the location. The "Skunk" railcars on that line in CA,
I forget the name, also qualify. I think at least one was built for a shortline in the Carolinas, I can't remember enough of that story to recount it
reliably.
As far as Sperry cars go, when I worked for Sperry I was told those cars were built from coaches, not doodlebugs. If you want an idea of what a
doodlebug looks like, look at a Sperry car and imagine it with coach seating in the rear, and you're just about there. Sperry cars are fun to drive,
BTW!
Vernon Erle Ikeda
Some of Sperry cars are new (bodies by Hillebrand and Five Star), but
many of the older ones were built from used carbodies purchased
from the RR's.
On 27 May 1996, Douglas B. Smith wrote:
> In <4oaq50$l...@sun20.ccd.bnl.gov> olch...@a0.phy.bnl.gov (Konstantin
> Olchanski) writes:
>
> >Now I am curious: what is a doodlebug?
>
> And Smitty replies:
>
> They were gas-electric (mostly) self-propelled passenger cars that
> appeared in the 20's and 30's as an attempt to maintain branchline
> passenger and lcl service. Most didn't last past the 1950's.
> Somewhere along the way, they picked up the monicker, "doodlebug." The
> service they provided was superceded by trucks for the lcl
> (less-than-carload) freight and by the privately owned automobile for
> personal travel. There are still some in their original configuration
> in various museums, but most are undoubtedly gone the way of the steam
> locomotive and the caboose. Aside, I'm not certain that all, if any,
> of Sperry's cars were rebuilt from doodlebugs. They are a pretty
> specialized piece of equipment. But I've been known to be wrong before
> (this last statement is bait for the experts, of course).
>
>
===============================================
Vernon Erle Ikeda VE2MBS
internet: ve...@hamgate.concordia.ca
amprnet: ve...@gw.ve2cua.ampr.org
ax.25: VE2MBS@VE2TCP.#MTL.PQ.CAN.NOAM
" Why is it that we drive on the parkway
but park in the driveway?"
- From "Why ask why"
===============================================
Sirsonic
Sperry might have built themselves new cars, but the original (and better)
cars were made from doodlebugs. If they are not doodlebugs, they sure do
a good impersonation of them!
"Conrail NK to the TV-3 over,
Your by the door at 7:03
with a hairy butt!"
Sirs...@aol.com M.P. 20.05 Conrail Lehigh Line
Co-Founder of RAVE
The opinions expressed here are mine, and do not
represent those of anyone else, unless you
agree with them.
Vernon S. Tyler
In <4ocl4m$f...@newsbf02.news.aol.com> sirs...@aol.com (Sirsonic)
writes:
>Sperry might have built themselves new cars, but the original (and
>better) cars were made from doodlebugs. If they are not doodlebugs,
>they sure do a good impersonation of them!
I'll second that. The earlier Sperry cars, for example those seen
in service in the '60's, looked very much like rebuilds from second
hand "doodlebugs."
In the decade of the '50's, there should have certainly been a good
stock of fairly recent build EMC (EMD), Brills and Macks. At the same
time, the operating railroads had for the most part thrown in the towel
on running branch line services with the cars.
Another doodlebug note mentioned an all baggage ATSF unit. Several
of the ATSF books picture the unit. Seems to me in later years it was
painted in "warbonnet" and pulled a couple of cars in and out of Clovis
NM.
Vern
Matt Conrad
Matt Conrad
Roger Rassche <rras...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> > locomotive and the caboose. Aside, I'm not certain that all, if any, >
> of Sperry's cars were rebuilt from doodlebugs. They are a pretty >
> specialized piece of equipment. But I've been known to be wrong before >
> (this last statement is bait for the experts, of course). I don't have the
> roster handy, but I recall for the last 20 or so years Sperry has been
> building new cars from scratch as needed, the same basic shape as a
> gas-electric, but updated.
>
> Roger
I can neither confirm nor refute that, however I can tell you that the
newest Sperry car was built in the mid-1980s. I used to know the exact
year - it was either 1982 or 1987 (hey, a 7 is just a 2 without a
foot!). The newer cars (which might be the ones built from scratch) have
3 individual bedrooms for the crew (2 bunks in each), while the older
cars have four bunks arranged dormitory-style. Both the cars I worked on
(SRS 123 and then SRS 118) were dormitory cars.
I was *told* (by not-very-reliable sources) that the cars I served on
were rebuilt from old coach bodies. They do sorta look like Harriman
coaches like the SP and UP used. FYI, all Sperry's heavy work is done in
the company shops in Danbury, CT. They also have a shop in either
Louisiana or Texas, or someplace down that way (it's been a while now).
That's for medium work like turning wheels and repainting. Most of the
repair work (even traction motor changeouts) is handled on whatever
siding the car is tied up on (trust me on this one!).
Jerry Leslie
Konstantin Olchanski (olch...@a0.phy.bnl.gov) wrote:
: In article <4o9tb7$5...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, sirs...@aol.com (Sirsonic) writes:
: > The entire SRS(Sperry Rail Service) fleet of some 26 on-track rail
: > inspection vehicles are rebuilt from doodelbugs(sp.?).
: Now I am curious: what is a doodlebug?
A slang term for a self-propelled rail car, usually diesel-powered,
created to provide lower cost passenger service than a locomotive
and passenger cars.
The first one I ever saw was on a short line into Cassville, Missouri:
the Cassville and Exeter.
--Jerry,
Gerald (Jerry) R. Leslie Aspen Technology, Inc. (my opinions are my own)
jerry....@aspentech.com jle...@dmccorp.com gle...@isvsrv.enet.dec.com
Joe Pike
This may fall under the heading of "local usage," but down here
in Nawth Texus "Doodlebug" was usually attached to your gas-elec.
motor car (usually single unit, but occasionally included a
trailer) which might have any/all compartments for Express,
Baggage, RPO (Mail), and passengers. Not fast; not elegant, but
they did provide transportation/communication for many small
communities outside the influence of metropolitan areas.
Joe
>
>
Matt Conrad
Vernon S. Tyler <ve...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> In <4ocl4m$f...@newsbf02.news.aol.com> sirs...@aol.com (Sirsonic)
> writes:
> >
> >Sperry might have built themselves new cars, but the original (and
> >better) cars were made from doodlebugs. If they are not doodlebugs,
> >they sure do a good impersonation of them!
>
> I'll second that. The earlier Sperry cars, for example those seen
> in service in the '60's, looked very much like rebuilds from second
> hand "doodlebugs."
Even if a few were built from doodlebugs, there isn't much of the
original left. SRS 118 is the oldest car in the fleet (so I was told)
and I spent a good 2 1/2 months becoming intimately familiar with every
millimeter of the thing. I would doubt that much more than the basic
carbody was used no matter what was the starting point. Don't try and go
by window and door location, these are slightly different on each car
(although there are two basic patterns) and have no relation whatsoever
to the original car's body or configuration. The window and door
placement is determined strictly by the interior arrangement of the car
and their functionality (I have a floor plan of SRS 118 on my SRS FAQ
Web site). One of the things I was told about the construction of the
Sperry cars was that they were built from old coach bodies, and cut in
the center to reduce their legnth. FYI, Sperry cars are about 48' long
(I used to know the exact dimension, but it's now gone from my brain).
Also, many of the Sperry cars have gotten "nose jobs" which extended the
"front porch" where the driver sits (and despite North American
practice, on Sperry he's the "driver," *not* "engineer"). SRS 118 has
not had a nose job, the other car I worked on, SRS 123, has. The
modification extends the front of the car a foot or so, giving more room
between the engine compartment and the front center window. This makes
it possible for somebody to get around the driver (I had to stand up
when the conductor needed past me on 118), and for two people to pass
one another on the front platform. It doesn't change the appearance of
the front end at all.
I think the resemblance to a doodlebug is functional, not because
doodlebugs were used as starting points. The propelling engine is up
front, next to the driver, just like in a doodlebug (Sperry cars used to
have Hercules gasoline engines, they now all have Cat diesels). The
radiator is over the engine, with a fan over that. The driver sits on
the right, with the engine in the center. This is a design dictated by
the practical limitations of where you can put stuff, so natually Sperry
cars and doodlebugs would use the same solution. If you look closely at
a Sperry car you'll see it's very specialized and the resemblance to a
doodlebug is cursory at best.
Also, most of the cars in service in the '60s are the same cars in
service today! Very few have been retired, although a number of cars
have been added to the fleet. The older cars you're referring to are the
lower-numbered cars, 118 to somewhere in the mid-130's.
BBReynolds
The "warbonnet" Santa Fe, all-baggage "doodlebug" unit is at the RR Museum
at the Texas State Fair Grounds in Dallas, in operational condition, used
for excursions several times a year, of EMC/EMD origin, and with updated
EMD engine...museum also has a "Big Boy", a GG-1, a "Russian Decapod", and
many other treats...keep me from going stir-krazy while on a contract in
Dallas....
Mark A. Holmstrup
mus...@ix.netcom.com(Douglas B. Smith ) wrote:
>[snip]
>They were gas-electric (mostly) self-propelled passenger cars that
>of Sperry's cars were rebuilt from doodlebugs. They are a pretty
>specialized piece of equipment. But I've been known to be wrong before
>(this last statement is bait for the experts, of course).
Smitty-
I'm no expert, but I do know that at least one of Sperry's cars was a
doodlebug. I saw one of the cars in DC a few months back (I think it
was #125) and ended up calling Sperry to find out what it was. They
told me that it was made by the St. Louis Car Co. in the late 30's or
early 40's and originally had a gasoline engine. Sperry rehabed the car
in the last few years and replaced the original engine with a diesel
unit.
Regards,
Mark Holmstrup
Kevin Standlee
mrus...@epix.net writes:
>
> There was an ad in the paper recently were Sperry Rail Service was looking fo
> workers. The crew lives for extended periods of time in these track cars. O
I was interested in that, myself, until I heard they only pay about $8-9
(US) per hour. If I were just out of college I might have jumped at it,
but not anymore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a thought from Kevin Standlee -> (stan...@LunaCity.com)
LunaCity BBS - Mountain View, CA - 415 968 8140
Evan Werkema
It's probably worth noting that, for many railroads, doodlebugs were the
first internal combustion power of any kind on their roster. They were, for
better or worse, a tentative first step on the road to dieselization. Santa
Fe, for instance, bought their first McKeen cars in 1909, 26 YEARS before
their first diesel. Heck, in 1909 no US railroad had diesels, and wouldn't
for another decade. I wonder if railroads' experiences with doodlebugs
eased their minds about placing diesels in passenger service early on,
giving us the diesel-powered Zephyrs and City trains years before road
freight diesels.
--
_----____......._,,___---__---_________---__---__---__________
/__________======__\___========________==============I______/ |
_______//,-,-, |o| ====== _\ ======== ==============I | |
|\____/ -'-'-' | | |o|\ |o|I | |
I |)|=== 100 | | _______| |/ | |I | | I
I__|_| |_| (_______|_|_________Santa Fe___________|_|I______|_|__I
=/__|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|_|~~~~~~~~~~_~===============~~~~~~~~|~~~~|_|~~~~~~~~~|__I
/`--' ( )==( )==( )-|_________________|_________________| ( )==( )==( ) `--'
Evan Werkem...@uclink4.berkeley.edu-Ship and Travel Santa Fe...All the Way!
RICHARD BRUNDAGE
RB>Sperry Rail Service #129 was in BC Rail's North Vancouver yard this
RB>evening. She was built in 1937,
My records show that it is ex Lehigh Valley coach bag doodlebug
#29, blt by EMD/SLC 12/25.
I wonder if the 1937 date you saw was the date SRS rebuilt the
car into a Rail Detector?
Dick Brundage Tulsa Oklahoma
---
ş OLX 2.1 ş My name is Mr. Timkin and Ive lost my bearings.
Evan L. Werkema
In a previous article, bbrey...@aol.com (BBReynolds) says:
>The "warbonnet" Santa Fe, all-baggage "doodlebug" unit is at the RR Museum
>at the Texas State Fair Grounds in Dallas, in operational condition, used
>for excursions several times a year, of EMC/EMD origin, and with updated
>EMD engine
<ahem>
M.160, the car in question, may have an EMD engine in it now, but it
definitely wasn't built by EMD. It was originally built by the J. G. Brill
Co. as a 535hp gas burning car (well, okay, distillate burning) in 1931. It was
the first of a three car order, M.160-M.162. They started out on the Amarillo
to Carlsbad trains, and later transferred to incredibly long Wichita, KS to
San Angelo, TX run. Just after WWII, M.160 became the first Santa Fe doodlebug
to be dieselized, receiving a Sterling marine diesel rated at the same
horsepower. Unfortunately, the marine diesel just wasn't up to the rigors
of railroad use, and M.160 and M.162 (which got the same engine) had to
be derated to 400-something hp to keep from falling apart. Some time later,
I think in the mid-50's, Santa Fe reengined the M.160 cars again using
EMD 567's, plus control stands and transition pulled from the 2-class E1's.
These hot-rods could now make in the neighborhood of 60 mph, but branchline
service rarely required that that level of performance. ;) In the process of
getting the EMD engines, the cars were semi-streamlined (basically, the notch
above the cab was filled in).
M.160 became the last of its class when it was sent to work the Clovis-
Carlsbad, NM train alongside M.190. It was finally retired with the
termination of that train in the 1960's and was given to Dallas. Nice to hear
that it's now operational again...all the more reason to go back to Texas.
--
o_II_-__-__-----____________ ---------------- /====================\
I_________I__I I 870 I I I I I I I I oooooo II
/-o--0-0-0-0~~~~~o=o~==~o=o~~~o==o~~~~~~o==o~~~o=o=o~~~~~~~~~~o=o=o~~
Matt Conrad
<mrus...@epix.net> wrote:
> From what I gather Sperry Rail Services check the rails with some sort of
> electronic equipment to see if there are faults or cracks in the rails.
Correct. Induction and ultrasonic tests, specifically. Sperry also has
about 30 hi-rail trucks which do the same work.
> There was an ad in the paper recently were Sperry Rail Service was looking for
> workers. The crew lives for extended periods of time in these track cars. On
Spery has a *very* high employee turnover rate. The average new hire
lasts 2 months. I lasted four, and I'm rather proud of that. It's a
rough life. You're tied to that railcar by virtue of the fact that it's
not only home, it's your only transportation other than your shoes.
Especially fun at night, when you're usually parked right next to a
heavily-used main line, at a grade crossing, with the main on *your*
side of the car and freights screaming past three feet away from your
pillow, whistle blaring, all night long (I do miss that a bit)...
> Often these cars would pull a lightweight trailer, which was just a passenger
> car with just a little less weight.
That's a *very* obsolete design, none of them are left. We're talking
'20s and '30s here, *maybe* into the early '50s. All modern Sperry cars
are totally self-contained.
> A picture of one, along with a description is found in "Lehigh Valley In Color
> ,Volume 2" by Robert Yanosey and published by Morning Sun Books.
You can also find a photo and floor plan of one of the "communal" or
"dormatory" Sperry cars (SRS 118) at
http://we.InfoAve.net/~jmconrad/IrnPny/. Also a more detailed
description and an accound of what it's like to work for Sperry.
I'll stay with this thread until it dies! :o)
sno...@ix.netcom.com
> There are a few other doodlebugs around, one PRR unit on the Wilmington & Western
> in DE that runs, another under restoration on the Black River &
> Western in NJ (also Pensy). I rode that one in the early '80s. The EBT has a
> narrow-gauge doodlebug that the company built from Brill parts, it's used
> occasionally. I think there's an unusual all-baggage AT&SF one in Texas, I could
> be wrong about the location. The "Skunk" railcars on that line in CA,
> I forget the name, also qualify.
The Fort Bragg & Willits Railroad operates almost daily service between the two
cities. They are located about 2 hours north of San Francisco on Highway 1.
> I think at least one was built for a shortline in the Carolinas, I can't remember
> enough of that story to recount it
> reliably.
>
In the 50's the New Haven purchased 10 Mack Railbusses that were sorta a bus on
rails. A few of them were used in local service. Several of them were sold to Sperry
in the late 50's.
Ed Keilty wrote a very comprehensive book about the DOODLEBUG that may still be
found in better purveyors of railroad books!!!! Or try Interurban Press now known as
Pentrex.
> As far as Sperry cars go, when I worked for Sperry I was told those cars were
> built from coaches, not doodlebugs. If you want an idea of what a
> doodlebug looks like, look at a Sperry car and imagine it with coach seating in
> the rear, and you're just about there. Sperry cars are fun to drive,
> BTW!
>
> --
> -Matt Conrad, Artist, J.M.Conrad Co., jmco...@InfoAve.net
> Providing fine art and Mac software for train nuts like myself.
> http://web.InfoAve.net/~jmconrad/
> The gelding's name is "No Steam."
----
Dave Snowden
Redondo Beach, California
sno...@IX.netcom.com
Kevin Standlee
sno...@ix.netcom.com writes:
>
> > There are a few other doodlebugs around, one PRR unit on the Wilmington & W
> > in DE that runs, another under restoration on the Black River &
> > Western in NJ (also Pensy). I rode that one in the early '80s. The EBT has
> > narrow-gauge doodlebug that the company built from Brill parts, it's used
> > occasionally. I think there's an unusual all-baggage AT&SF one in Texas, I
> > be wrong about the location. The "Skunk" railcars on that line in CA,
> > I forget the name, also qualify.
>
> The Fort Bragg & Willits Railroad operates almost daily service between the t
> cities. They are located about 2 hours north of San Francisco on Highway 1.
>
That would be the California Western Railroad.
Last I heard, the CWR was owned by the Kyle group, but was up for sale.
The CWR runs a minimum of one round-trip from Fort Bragg to Willits (It
was their M-300 railcar when I rode it a few months ago) and one or two
half-trips (Fort Bragg to the midway point at Northspur and return)
daily. During the on-season, they run more trips and they have steam
excursions on weekends and certain weekdays. Don't have the specific
dates handy, however.
Colin R. Leech
Matt Conrad (jmco...@InfoAve.net) writes:
> Doodlebugs are essentially self-propelled coaches (or rather baggage-passenger combines, as most had a coach section and a baggage section).
The ones that people are most familiar with would be RDCs. THere are still
a few RDCs in service in various places.
--
##### |\^/| Colin R. Leech ag414 or crl...@freenet.carleton.ca
##### _|\| |/|_ Civil engineer by training, transport planner by choice.
##### > < Opinions are my own. Consider them shareware if you want.
##### >_./|\._< "If you can't return a favour, pass it on." - A.L. Brown
Douglas B. Smith
In <3B2soD...@LunaCity.com> stan...@LunaCity.com (Kevin Standlee)
writes:
>Last I heard, the CWR was owned by the Kyle group, but was up for
sale. The CWR runs a minimum of one round-trip from Fort Bragg to
Willits (It was their M-300 railcar when I rode it a few months ago)
And Smitty adds:
Somebody else mentioned a car being built for a shortline in NC.
M-300 originally was an Aberdeen & Rockfish car (same road whose 2-8-2
#40 ended up on the Valley RR in CT). Another A&R car ended up going
to Cuba. Who knows if it's still there. BTW, all this info is in the
100-year history that A&R published back in 94.
Burridge, Gerard
>Smitty-
>Regards,
>Mark Holmstrup
The original Sperry single-unit cars were essentially 'doodlebug' car
bodies with the Sperry equipement jnstalled rather than
passenger/freight carrying equipment. (The first 4 units were double
unit motor-trailer sets)
Some were built new, others were converted from railroad gas-electric
self-propelled cars:
#105 brill, 1929 -new
107 Brill, 1930 - new - to NYC X8015 ]
115 Brill, 1930 - new ]-Model 75
116 Brill, 1930 -new ]
117 St Louis Car/EMC, 1934 - from B&O 6005
118 St Lous Car/EMC, 1934 - from B&O 6004
119 St Louis Car/EMC, 1934 - from B&O 6003
120 re# from 105, 1935
121 re# from 116, 1935
122 re# from 115, 1935
123 St Louis Car/EMC, 1936 - from LV 14
124 SRS Brooklyn, 1937 - from LV 20
125 SRS Brooklyn, 1937 - from LV 26
126 SRS Brooklyn, 1937 - from CNW 9900
127 SRS Brooklyn, 1939 - from B&M 1151
128 SRS Brooklyn, 1939 - from LV 15
129 SRS Brooklyn, 1939 - from LV 29 <<<<<<<subject line
130 SRS Brooklyn, 1940 - from LV 28
131 SRS Brooklyn, 1941 - from LV 27
132 SRS Brooklyn, 1942 - from SAL 2003
133 SRS Brooklyn, 1943 - from SAL 2002
134 SRS Brooklyn, 1945 - from SAL 2022
135 SRS Brooklyn, 1945 - from SAL 2023
136 SRS Brooklyn, 1948 - from NYC M-11 << Hallmark import
Nos 124 - 136 orig built EMC.
#140 SRS Danbury, 1966 - new
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Gerry Burridge burr...@odyssee.net
PO Box 152
Pte.Claire-Dorval, Que., CANADA Always looking for RUTLAND
H9R 4N9 photos, film, ephemera, ....
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