Business Train

[nkp_174]

{ puts dunce cap on and sits in the corner...}



Uh...what's a business train? :oops:

BTW - Things are looking good. Can't wait to see the finally coat of paint.

Railroads have traditionally operated 2 basic types of trains...revenue and non-revenue
Revenue trains are, of course, passenger, freight, mail, etc
Non-revenue are those which related to the operations of the railroad.

The best known non-revenue trains are the work trains, but they were not the only ones. The next best well known where the various business trains...the pay master's train, the local superintendent's train (usually just a private car attached to the end of a normal freight or passenger train), and the Presidents car. Inspectors cars may be considered either business or MOW...to the railroads, it would all be regarded as non-revenue. A third type of non-revenue trains were the supply train and such. The supply train was typically a once-per-month or so train which carried everything needed along the line...toilet paper, pencils, stationary for the stations, etc (perhaps you might call it the janitor's express .

Most railroads moved away from having business cars early in the diesel era...with the private cars being replaced with company automobiles and hotel rooms...except for the top officials.

For instance, the NKP had 8 such cars in the later years (#1-8). Car #5 was built by the New York Central in 1883 for an executive named Chance lepew (sic). It came to the NKP via the LE&W. By her retirement around 1960, she was a local division superintendent's car (and lacked AC). I have posted pictures of NKP Car #5 here: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=338">viewtopic.php?f=35&t=338</a><!-- l -->

The Colorado & Southern ng had 3...B-1, B-2, & B-3. The B-2, aka 911 was originally the paycar and currently sits in Silver Plume, CO. It was the car I was building here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153242">http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153242</a><!-- m -->

In their day, private cars were the equivalent of today's private jets. The East Broad Top's car, Orbisonia (#20), was purchased primarily to pet the ego of their President. He was a fine President...a major reason for the road's modernity...but he loved to have a train crew with Locomotive #1 haul his business car weekly for his lunch meetings with friends. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.spikesys.com/Bin/EBT/ebt_03.jpg">http://www.spikesys.com/Bin/EBT/ebt_03.jpg</a><!-- m -->

There are a few which you can ride today...I've ridden the Orbisonia; you can ride the Edna (RGS) at Knott's Berry Farm; the Durango & Silverton uses three cars: William Jackson Palmer, Nomad, and Cinco Animas.

A few of the most famous private cars are/were:
-Lincoln's car...only used once, in his funeral train
-The Ferdinand Magellan - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan_Railcar">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan_Railcar</a><!-- m -->

I saw Conrail's business cars in Altoona a number of years back. IIRC, they were divied up between NS & CSX. My dad saw one of the NS or CSX business cars in DC a few weeks back. Some private cars (many of which are ex-business cars) are rolling palaces.

Michael