Post-64 Head End Cars

[NW Mailing List]

Evan

There was a slide on ebay several months ago of the eastbound Arrow at Bluefield, 1968, I believe showing a boxcar on the rear. 

I know that on occasion, that "hot" refrigerator cars would be put on the rear, like with strawberries to be dropped off at the Kroger warehouse at West Salem. My father worked the Salem Shifter at that time, and they had to wait, usually parked in the middle track until the car was dropped to get it spotted for Kroger to unload and distribute. He told me they would slow the passenger train, the brakeman would turn the angle cock, then pull the pin and let the car drop on its own. It was slow enough the emergency application on the reefer did not bash up the load. The shifter crew always was ready to go retrieve it and get it spotted right away.

Today, nothing comes to the Kroger warehouse by rail.

Ken Miller

On May 19, 2017, at 9:05 AM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List wrote:

> Thanks for the consist Harry.  I've never heard of boxcars in the Pocahontas' consist.  Are there any photos of this happening? 
> 
> Also, how frequently were ex-NKP and Wabash cars seen on the "original" N&W?
> 
> -Evan Miller
> 
> On May 17, 2017, at 4:15 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Evan:
>> Here's Radford Division #4 arriving Roanoke July 18, 1970
>>  
>> N&W 518 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -EMD GP9
>> N&W 519 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  EMD GP9
>> N&W 1279 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Baggage (ex-NKP)
>> N&W 1321 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Baggage (BEg)
>> N&W 1401 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Mail Storage (MS)
>> N&W  501 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Coach (P1)
>> N&W 1611 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Vista-Dome Coach
>> N&W  538  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Coach (P3)
>> N&W Sussex County - - - - - - - - - - -  10 Rmtte., 6 DBR Pullman
>> N&W  400 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Office Car (XO)
>>  
>> It wasn't unusual to see hy-cube box cars in No. 4's consist.  They
>> were easily identified as Ford "shut down" cars.  Seems there were
>> some tax advantages, so Ford believed in a "just in time" inventory.
>> Ford parts en route to the Norfolk Plant would arrive in No. 86 at
>> Portlock and be spotted to be used on the assembly line the same
>> day.  So if a parts car was mishandled or bad ordered, it was
>> expedited to Norfolk in No. 4 (and maybe No. 26) to avoid shutting
>> the assembly line down.
>>  
>> At one time, the Norfolk plant got a  new manager and it seems every
>> Friday, the assembly line would be short a parts car.  Ford would fly
>> the parts in. to avoid a shut down.  It developed that the plant manager
>> never moved his family from Detroit and he would  get a "freeby" flight on
>> the parts plane.                                                   Harry Bundy
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