I own two Railway Express Agency baggage carts that make lovely yard decorations for my country home, but I'd like to restore them to the appropriate colors with new wood planks and a repainted REA sign.

At the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, we have a few other baggage carts of different styles and vintages - at least one of them is from the Pennsylvania Railroad and has a pretty warped frame and still has its rubber tires. It appears to have been painted in company Tuscan red. Another makes a dandy display table, though its frame has been repainted all green, with unpainted, bright colored wood. A cursory bit of research display a variety of approaches in painting colors and styles.

There are traction lovers, steam fans, diesel people and others - but where are all the baggage cart aficionados? Where can one find references for the proper paint colors and aesthetic features of these ubiquitous railroad props?

Were there any hard and fast rules or did baggage carts - like cabooses - earn their own unique colors and styles?

Thanks kindly,

We (Wasatch) just finished one for the Castle Rock Museum. i had to attempt to color match the green from poor samples we found on the cart but in the end it was really guess work based on photographs. Turned out nicely and the customer was really happy.

Kelly,
All the carts I have seen were painted according to the railroad that owned it. Most seem to have been green. If you know the railroad that owned it or have one to match; I would check with the historical society for that railroad. Most of them publish magazines and have archives of photographs of their stations. And small er artifacts like baggage carts.

The work, like most historic preservation projects will not be cheap. The wood parts are usually hard wood like white oak, which is not cheap. If you want ot replace hard rubber tires; you will have to get into old car publications.

Ted Miles, Western Railway Museum

The REA carts were their standard green with red undercarriage. It depends on when what color the green was. The early dark green was Dulux 83-4474 and red was 83-909 (not much help). PPG/Ditzler 40386 is close. I don't have a PPG color for the red.

PRR carts were similar to, if not actually Tuscan DuPont 5505 probably Duco (I don't think I have the PPG number) all over except the oak beds were unpainted. "PENNSYLVANIA" was stenciled on the sides, possibly in the imitation gold/buff color, PPG 44158.

Does that help any?

Eric, Ted - yes, this is great! And thank you.

I have a metal baggage wagon that is steel that I redid. The ends are metal vs wood. Several people said it wasn't built that way, but the Monticello Railway Museum has 5 of the same style and construction. It may be an Illinois area or Illinois railroad specific design. You can see photos of it on the Illinois Car Works Facebook page.

Fred Heilich

Reactivating this thread. In Clifton, VA, there is a baggage cart alongside the caboose on display next to the NS tracks and it looks like this:

https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/imag ... 98d5&gid=3

This one caught my eye because it appears to be the same type of baggage cart that we have at the Walkersville Southern Railroad. Not the restored one by the station, but rather another further down the track by the fuel point where it has been rotting away for many years as one of those "we'll get around to it" projects while other work has taken higher priority. Its remaining wood is in such poor shape that it would be impossible to determine what size and lengths of wood are appropriate.

If the Clifton baggage cart and the deteriorated one at the WS are the same model, it might be possible to take measurements from the former to apply to the latter. Even better would be blueprints or other diagrams showing exactly what's needed. Do such things exist?

Tim:

The N&W Historical Society has a variety of drawings of baggage trucks:
https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/listdoc ... gage+truck

I've had a dozen of the various wagons over time, still have one taking up a garage bay that my father and I restored. It is too nice to keep outside. I've got another that is in pieces with a new deck in the same garage bay, that I'd like to get finished.
Best
Ken Miller

TVRM has several baggage carts, some at the depots and a couple used in the shops. The all metal carts were painted brown. The one that had a wooden deck had a bare deck and the metal parts were painted green. Occasionally we would use them to move things around.

I live quite close to the Clifton, VA cart and caboose. PM me if anyone needs pictures or measurements.

If you really do plan on parking the cart outside, depending on your location, regular wood may not last long. Even with good oil based paint The IRM only gets 3 or 4 years before the decks start to rot if left completely exposed. Most carts were used in service in RR sheds or parked under station overhangs.
Treated lumber will last much longer but oil based paints do not adhere well. You might experiment with a water based stain if you try treated.