Jackson Sharp coaches

[Udo]

Hello All !

I wish you have or had a nice holiday running your trains under the Christmas tree !

I got two Jackson sharp coaches (kits) and one combine and a "full baggage" car for Christmas.
Because I did not want to wait until I have them all painted, I just assembled them in "running condition" to try and imagine how it looks behind a loco.

On looking closer to the cars, I have one question:
The seats in the cars are arranged all in one direction (Stove and toilet in the back).
The combine has the same arrangement, there the passenges look in the direction to the baggage compartment. That means, the baggage compartment is in the front of the car.
So, is it correct, that the baggage cars were always behind the loco ?
From German trains I know, that the baggage cars were mostly at the end of the train.
Here it seams that the last car was a coach....?
Did they turn the cars also when they changed direction of the train ?

By the way, in my combine kit one middle wall (passenger compartment / baggage compartment) was missing, but the full baggage car kit has two of them ....?

May be somebody can give me some answers.....

I wish all of you a succesful new year with your trains !

Udo

[NarrowMinded]

Hi, I may be wrong, someone can correct me I wont feel bad, but I heard something about running passenger compartments further back to give the cinders that might come out more time to cool so they were less likely to burn someone or start a fire if they came through an open window and also cut down on some of the noise from the loco.

NM

[the Bach-man]

Dear Udo,
The basic order would be Baggage, Combine, Coach(es), Observation. RPOs, which we haven't made, would be forward of all. There is, however, no hard and fast rule.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[Chuck N]

The usual consist for the D&RGW was the RPO, Baggage, coaches and on the San Juan the Parlor car.  The combine was used in mixed trains and locals, and was not usually part of the regular trains.

The RPO was always right behind the engine, because it didn't have end doors and crews should be able to move throughout the nonRPO part of the train.  The US Post Office required that there was no access to the RPO from the train (western movies do not count).

Chuck

[Udo]

Hello All !

Thank's for the very fast and comprehensive answers !
That makes it more clear for me.
Only one question left:
What is an "RPO"?
I am German, and therefore not so familiar with these specific abbreviations.

Udo

[Cascade Northern]

RPO - Railroad Post Office

[Udo]

Hello !

Again such a fast answer !

Thanks and a happy new year !

Udo

[Chuck N]

Railway Post Offices cars were set up to process mail while the train was moving.  They had an arm that collected a mail sack as the train passed through a small town with out stopping.  Sorted mail for no stop towns along the route would be tossed out the door as the train continued down the track with out stopping as well.

Chuck

[Udo]

Hello Chuck !

Thanks for the great explanation !
Meanwhile I have found in the internet also some nice pictures about that equipment to collect the mail during running.
Thanks again !

Udo

[foureyes]

Udo, enjoy those J&S cars.  I've got about a dozen of them now, including some I built from kits.  I've put kadee couplers on all of them, removed the battery powered lights on about 2/3 of them and replaced them with LED's, and installed metal wheels on those that needed them.

Best improvement I made in them was to remove the screws holding the roof to the body and putting four brass nails (escutcheon pins we call them) in the corners of the roof.  Makes getting in much easier, and is so easy if you're working from kits.

One thing I want Bachmann to do is release the end rails as parts.  The old flimsy plastic ones were way too thick and still got weak in hot weather.

[on30gn15]

One note, on lines with no facilities for turning cars at end of branch, locomotive would simply run around train to couple to, if they had one on train, even observation platform end of that car, and simply pull the whole consist backwards.

Shuffling all the cars took time, which = money, and RRs were reluctant to spend money they didn't have to: passenger trains were often money losers to begin with.

Somewhere I've seen a 1930s or 1940s picture of a baggage car at tail end of train.

Went leafing through a few books in the other room and didn't see a photo like that.

If there were multiple baggage or mail-storage cars an RPO could sometimes be buried in the middle of those depending on what cars were picked up or dropped off where along the route.

Oh yeah, Bachmann doesn't make a large scale dining car either.
(not that any of these short lines would need one)
So there's 2 kitbashing projects, RPO and Diner.

[NarrowMinded]

Udo, Chuck,
On the way back from Washington State to So Cal where I live we stopped to Ride the Fort Bragg/ Willits Skunk Train. they still use the no stop method of mail pickup and delivery for people who still live back in the woods, and the locals still use it for everyday transportaion. really a hoot to see this still in use today.

NM

[Udo]

Hello folks !

Thanks for the very comprehensive information on my questions.
as a result of that, I will use the cars in a convenient sequence for me.
@foureyes:
My kits don't have battery power. they are trackpowered. Anyhow, for test run I put in a bridge rectifier and capacitor for the light. This is because I later want to change the light to LED.
My kits also have metal rails, no plastic.
One question about fixing the roof with brass nails.
Where did you put them? from the top, ore under the corners in horizontal direction?

Udo

[jimsco]

About the seats facing backwards. We got to ride the White Pass train, (great experience!) and at the end of the line, the engine switched around to the other end. We all then stood up, and flipped the seats so they faced the other way! Don't know when someone came up with that idea, but it sure works.

[Kevin Strong]

"Walkover" seats go back almost as far as passenger travel. Railroads didn't have (and many still don't) the capacity to turn entire trains, so the seats were made to be reversible. This also provided the riders with a way of sitting and facing other members of their group, instead of all sitting one direction as you would find on a plane. On early coaches, the backs flipped over. Sometimes, the seat would rock one way or the other, depending on the mechanics of the seat. In later years, when the seats became more like actual seats than a bench with a back, the two-seat pair would rotate on the base. You'll find this on most streamliners and modern Amtrak coaches.

Later,

K