Photos of a gas-electric doodlebug at the station in downtown Anderson in 1954. Photos by Gene Yates. Roger Hensley Collection. From LEW: "Roger, saw your photo of the doodle bug and was this at Anderson? Why I ask this is the passenger train to Elk. stopped in April 1950. If this was 53-54 I don't have a reason why the doodle bug would be there. I worked the 8015, rail detector car, two different times in the middle and late sixties but it just had the one car. It did have a porter for the crew who cooked their meals and made their beds. When we were working with them, as pilots, we had one meal, noon, with them. The last time I acted as pilot it was Aug. and the sweet corn was ready out of the garden and I brought some with green onions and we did have a feast. They used pilots engineers, conductors and then stopped and only used an engineer. They stopped using pilots and run them as track equipment with the track foreman in charge after the PC merger. LEW" Yes, it was at Anderson, LEW. And no, I don't have an explanation for it's being there. I've checked the photo several times and have confirmed that it is Anderson and late 1953 or 1954. RPH
Hate to deepen your mystery, especially since with this resolution I can't be 100% sure. But I'm over 90% sure that Olds parked beside the track is a '56 or '57. And while I'm not positive the car crossing the tracks is a Rambler Marlin, a design introduced in 1964, I don't know what else it could be. I am absolutely sure that roofline has nothing whatsoever to do with 1953.
I can't comment on location or time, but your Doodlebug looks very similar to many owned by the B&M running on branch lines before and after WW-II.
Actually, you showed an EMC, but his looks like a Brill. They ran nationwide. The Santa Fe had four, of which only M-110 looked anything like that. But they didn't wear the sort of customization in his photo. The rail detector car X-8015 is an interesting animal. Hadn't heard of it, but I'm glad I have now, she's interesting. Someone online says it was the only Sperry rail inspection car built from a Brill, and that the doodlebug was built that way new. I'm thinking that's her. The odd window arrangement and all the appliances on the roof certainly match other images I saw around the 'net, and I don't know what other Brill car had no hint of a baggage door. The car may not have toted a trailer car often, but apparently it did on this occasion. Could it be that this is 1968, and the Penn Central is familiarizing former Pennsy personnel with this equipment? Thanks for the view of the EMC car, Hytec, it's very educational. And as a Santa Fe man, I find it refreshing to see one that still has its radiator in the cab. I'm sure the crews appreciated that in Maine. Just as I'm sure the Santa Fe trainmen working out of San Angelo, Texas appreciated the Santa Fe brass for moving theirs up to the roof!
Déjà vu: http://www.trainboard.com/highball/...-gas-electric-doodlebug-in-anderson-in.68119/ http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/1954-gas-electric.49216/
LOL Well, having missed those previous threads, I thank you both. I think Hytec's comments about a dormitory car in the '13 thread deserve consideration. And I certainly don't think once every three years is too often to share this interesting photo. No offense to Roger, but the more I look at the very distinctive profile of that Rambler Marlin crossing the tracks, the more convinced I am that the year is actually 1964. An easy mistake to make when viewing handwriting like mine...
Very interesting. As I said in the earlier thread, I don't believe I ever saw anything like this on the Mohawk Division.
Well, you could be right about the Marlin and the year. I was going on what the photographer said (remembered). And, yes, I had forgotten that I posted this before. :-(
Roger, you can be forgiven. The second thing to go is Memory, and darned if I remember what was first.......
Well, don't stop posting those old Central pics because you're not sure you didn't post them six years ago. I wouldn't be fair. Some of us weren't here six years ago! Well, you can't be talking about hair. It doesn't leave us. It just decides to hide in our noses and ears.
