Anybody happen to know if any railroad books have ever covered this part of a railroad's service to its community? I have used a term that a shortline was "a smalltown's best friend" back in the days when less than carload freight was a part of the rail transportation picture. But I don't think I've seen much history documented on it... Have any shortline books ever covered this aspect?

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> Anybody happen to know if any railroad books
> have ever covered this part of a railroad's
> service to its community? I have used a term
> that a shortline was "a smalltown's
> best friend" back in the days when less
> than carload freight was a part of the rail
> transportation picture. But I don't think
> I've seen much history documented on it...
> Have any shortline books ever covered this
> aspect?

Jim:

I agree that LCL shipments were extremely important to Small Town America. Everything was shipped in and everything was shipped out. I don't think museums have given this much emphasis (it may be difficult to do.) As a start, how about a list of WHAT was actually shipped in to small towns and what people (and businesses) in small towns shipped out. For instance, in the town where our museum is located, there is a company that ships dried flowers out. Not much of a business you say? You should see the trucks that come in to this place...WAL-MART, TARGET, and countless others. All of there business used to be handled by rail...in the baggage cars of the trains that stopped at the local depots. The passenger trains stopped running...they switched to truck.

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana)

midlandblb@cs.com

> Anybody happen to know if any railroad books
> have ever covered this part of a railroad's
> service to its community? I have used a term
> that a shortline was "a smalltown's
> best friend" back in the days when less
> than carload freight was a part of the rail
> transportation picture. But I don't think
> I've seen much history documented on it...
> Have any shortline books ever covered this
> aspect?

Link and others did a pretty good job depicting the Virginia Creeper on the N&W which served many small towns at the time.
Greg


Videos
sales@gregschollvideo.com

> Link and others did a pretty good job
> depicting the Virginia Creeper on the
> N&W which served many small towns at the
> time.
> Greg
I think it would be a fascinating subject for some author to cover. There have to be a lot of interesting stories of odd and unusual things that small carriers found on their LCL manifests, and probably a lot of stories of how depot agents went the extra mile for the local folks. I recall for instance an unusual story about how all the bricks for a building were shipped with postage in the RPO on the Uintah because it was cheaper than the rate for LCL.
Sumpter Valley had a number of unmaned depots along the line where people could meet the train to pick up LCL freight, mail or bd. a pass. train. This service to the hinterlands had to be really important particularly in the days before the automobile was common, and in places where people were rather snow bound by road part of the year.

http://www.svry.com
jamesbane@hotmail.com

In the great state of Ohio, interurbans probably served 10 times more small communities then the Railroads did. Interurbans grabbed as much LCL business from the railroads as they could and they were a natural at this business. From the morning paper to a barrel of fish to a load of milk cans it could go in the front door of a combine or a freight motor with up to three trailers. When the connections were there in the 20s you had a five state coverage with very personal service. Of course they lost it all along with the passenger business when roads were built.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

The Railway Express Agency was the direct ancestor of today's United Parcel Service, Fed Ex, DHL and other package delivery services. Virtually everything came to small town America via Railway Express, delivered to the depot by the local freight with the LCL car. I recall seeing a new bicycle, a gas stove and even a tombstone coming out of the lcl car, as well as the more prosaic boxes and packages. And that was in the early 1960s. In earlier times, kegs of nails, sacks of oatmeal, cases of canned goods, rolled carpet, crates of chickens, flats of peeps, et cetera, et cetera, all came and went on the train.

K4s1361@hotmail.com

> In the great state of Ohio, interurbans
> probably served 10 times more small
> communities then the Railroads did.
> Interurbans grabbed as much LCL business
> from the railroads as they could and they
> were a natural at this business. From the
> morning paper to a barrel of fish to a load
> of milk cans it could go in the front door
> of a combine or a freight motor with up to
> three trailers. When the connections were
> there in the 20s you had a five state
> coverage with very personal service. Of
> course they lost it all along with the
> passenger business when roads were built.

And let's not overlook parcels in the passenger cars themselves, in the same manner as Greyhound Package Express. I recall a trip from Norristown to Allentown on the Lehigh Valley Transit where the front seat of the car was occupied for part of the trip by an automobile gas tank on its way to a repair shop. Expedited service!

David Noyes

dnoyes1@comcast.net

Jim:

Much of my thesis at Clemson was on LCL and small communities in the "Thumb" of Michigan along the Pere Marquette and GTW ("Polly-Ann"/ Cass City Sub), and how the decline in this traffic hurt no only the lines but the towns along them. What's left that wasn't mainline (even some of it mainline in case of Port Huron(Now Avoca)-Saginaw)) is now pretty much owned by RailAmerica's H&E. Happy to copy some of it you'd like; kind of nice to knock the dust off now and then ;-)

TJ


Port Huron Museum
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

The Western Railway Museum is now restoring the Sacramento Northern combine 1005. It was one of about a dozen first line passenger cars operated by the line.

The cars all had that baggage compartment for that
LCL merchandise. Between the bib cities at the ends of the line, that LCL compartment was a
very busy place.


ted_miles@nps.gov

> The Railway Express Agency was the direct
> ancestor of today's United Parcel Service,
> Fed Ex, DHL and other package delivery
> services. Virtually everything came to small
> town America via Railway Express, delivered
> to the depot by the local freight with the
> LCL car. I recall seeing a new bicycle, a
> gas stove and even a tombstone coming out of
> the lcl car, as well as the more prosaic
> boxes and packages. And that was in the
> early 1960s. In earlier times, kegs of
> nails, sacks of oatmeal, cases of canned
> goods, rolled carpet, crates of chickens,
> flats of peeps, et cetera, et cetera, all
> came and went on the train.

What are 'flats of peeps' ??? People who were run over by steamrollers ???
Walter


hoffmannwj@nswccd.navy.mil

> What are 'flats of peeps' ??? People who
> were run over by steamrollers ???
> Walter

Baby chickens or other fowl ...stop by your closest Tractor Supply store in the spring and you will see several different kinds for sale.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> What are 'flats of peeps' ??? People who
> were run over by steamrollers ???
> Walter

Chicks, and not the kind that you ask out on a date :-) ... but the ones that grow up to become dinner!

pkurilecz@yahoo.com

> Anybody happen to know if any railroad books
> have ever covered this part of a railroad's
> service to its community?

LCL wasn’t just important to small towns. It essentially created such retailers as Sears and Wards; it allowed the creation of regionally important newspapers and was an essential part of the wholesaling business. Downtown Chicago had nearly 120 freight houses, but I believe only one remains. That doesn’t include the following still standing structures: 1) the Merchandise Mart, deliberately built over a captive freight house; 2). Navy Pier, part of which was an Erie LCL point reached by carfloat; or 3) an office and warehouse building used by the Chicago Tunnel Company. LCL was handled in dedicated cars, in commuter trains and in baggage cars. Chicago Union Station once had over 800 cans of cream moving across its platforms daily. Before over the road interchange, the IC loaded about 30 “trap cars” per day for delivery of LCL to other local freight houses. It received a like number. The Polk Street house of the PRR was the largest in the area. It covered two square blocks with eight stories of warehousing, with tracks on two levels and drayage on two other levels. Even then the old Panhandle houses were retained- one of which lasted as a private warehouse until this year.

There are nice books on related subjects, REA and Parcel Post, but to my knowledge none directly on the subject.


fred_ash@bankone.com

A quick Amazon search led to the book Ten Turtles to Tucumcari, a personal history of the Railway Express Agency. Published in September of this year.

While REA was the functional predecessor of UPS and FedEx, I always thought it was the corporation that later became American Express (credit card).


Ten Turles to Tucumcari

> LCL wasnÂ’t just important to small towns. It
> essentially created such retailers as Sears
> and Wards; it allowed the creation of
> regionally important newspapers and was an
> essential part of the wholesaling business.
> Downtown Chicago had nearly 120 freight
> houses, but I believe only one remains. That
> doesnÂ’t include the following still standing
> structures: 1) the Merchandise Mart,
> deliberately built over a captive freight
> house; 2). Navy Pier, part of which was an
> Erie LCL point reached by carfloat; or 3) an
> office and warehouse building used by the
> Chicago Tunnel Company. LCL was handled in
> dedicated cars, in commuter trains and in
> baggage cars. Chicago Union Station once had
> over 800 cans of cream moving across its
> platforms daily. Before over the road
> interchange, the IC loaded about 30 “trap
> cars” per day for delivery of LCL to other
> local freight houses. It received a like
> number. The Polk Street house of the PRR was
> the largest in the area. It covered two
> square blocks with eight stories of
> warehousing, with tracks on two levels and
> drayage on two other levels. Even then the
> old Panhandle houses were retained- one of
> which lasted as a private warehouse until
> this year.

> There are nice books on related subjects,
> REA and Parcel Post, but to my knowledge
> none directly on the subject.

In 1961, I rode the daily mixed of the Cadiz R.R. from Cadiz, K.Y., to the I.C.R.R. connection at Henderson ( ???? ) KY. Coming back, the side-door caboose was loaded with all sorts of LCL, including a coffin. Today the Cadiz is a memory, done in finally by the "just-in-time" trucking mania that makes for such wonderful driving conditions on the I-System. Persoally, I'd take 1961.

justighe@bright.net