Posted in the FLIMSIES section is an article from the Montana Standard newspaper about the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific. Accompanying the article, is a photo of BA&P's line car #M-10. The car appears to be self-powered, although I guess it could have a pantograph to get juice from the overhead catenary. The car appears to be home-built, or perhaps shop modified from an earlier interurban or box motor or...? A very interesting piece of equipment to say the least, which would certainly make an interesting model! What really caught my attention though, was the swinging locomotive type bell on the cars roof. Unless I'm really misinterpreting the photograph, it appears to swing from side to side, rather than front to back to front, etc. I don't recall ever having seen a bell with that type of swing before. Does anyone know of any other rail equipment (locomotive or otherwise) with that type of swinging bell?

Thanks.

Les

The car is a line car used for working on the overhead lines. It is self powered as there is a radiator on the front which means it probably is a gas/electric drive. The tower platform on top is the elevator that allows the workmen to reach the wires for repair or adjustment. It is capable of swiveling from side to side to reach adjacent wires and line attachments.

Indeed, the bell mounted so the pull rope enters the cab on the side of the operator. Unusual, but handy arrangement.

One of the Iowa interurbans had bells mounted on the roof similar to that.

I don't recall seeing a picture of that line car previously. Yes, I would say that it was self-powered.

Later on the BA&P bought a used gas-motor car from a class-I railroad and converted it into a line car.

All the interurbans in Iowa used full size locomotive bells; something about Iowa state law required interurbans to have "bells" rather than streetcar style gongs. However, most of the lines figured out how to mount them in the usual orientation and still get the bell rope down to the motorman.

While looking for a photo to post to this thread showing the subject "sideway bell", I found a previous thread on RyPN started by John Cloos back in April of 2005. In a reply to John on #M-10 by Steve Torrico, it was stated that the car was built by Edwards Railway Motor Car Company in 1925 as a self-propelled line car for BA&P. The design had originally been developed by Edwards in 1922 as a baggage car/locomotive. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a photo of #M-10 that I could post.

Les

Can't vouch for that law, but:



https://www.facebook.com/18985582437056 ... =1&theater

And if I can find the right folder, there are a bunch more photos from that trip.......

Thanks for posting that great photo! I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the truck on the right isn't a second Railway Express Agency truck as the NRHS Baltimore Chapter photo caption says, but one from the U.S. Post Office. I believe their old colors were standard U.S.A. olive green and my memory cells (the ones I have left anyway) seem to remember their stuff so painted.

Hey, what museum can replicate this photo? How about a contest? TRAINS or R&R could award a modest cash prize to the one that comes closest! Jim Wrinn/Jeff Terry; how about it?

Les

The second truck does look like a USPS truck. Note the poster on the side promoting air mail and parcel post.

Except when the trucks were green (jeeesh, I'm old enough to remember them) it was the United States POST OFFICE, as Ben Franklin had intended, not the postal service.

I used to have a date for the color change, but can't recall anymore... late fifities seems about right.

The color change for the post office collection boxes was 1955, so that was probably the date for the vehicles as well. The actual color was olive drab green for both post office collection boxes and vehicles. The post office originally went to that color post World War One when provided with surplus paint by the Department of Defense. The paint used in the 50s may have been surplus World War Two paint.