Perhaps ten years ago I was on a business trip in Memphis and my hotel window had a fair view of the NS main and signals too. It was nice to have some quiet time anticipating and watching the trains pass by. The Marlboro man was everywhere it seemed. 1218's coal smoke was preferable to his. [Grovestone, NC 07/23/1989].
Worked an Agent/Operators position off the Extra list for a couple of weeks at a location that was also a Railway Express Agency. Railway Express Agents got a percentage of all the REA shipments that were originated or terminated at their agencies. If I recall correctly REA paid me about $150 for the shipments through the Agency during the time I was working the position. Recall when the Agent's position at Loogootee, IN became available for Bid, one of the regular Train Dispatchers gave up his TD Seniority to bid in the position, which on the surface sounds like a bad deal. Under the surface however, it was a different deal. Loogootee was also the Railway Express Agency that served the Naval Weapons Depot at Crane, IN. The time was in the middle 1960's during the middle of the Viet Nam conflict. The Loogootee REA Agency was sending and receiving a truckload of shipments daily and on some occasions was receiving a full REA railcar load of inbound shipment. The Agent at Loogootee was earning three to four times the B&O's Agent pay rate with the commissions he was getting off the REA business.
I swear, Bachmann made a Gazzillion of those Super Domes in N-scale! They're still everywhere! Looks like this 1:1 scale train is an executive train though!
At that time, around 1990, it was ATSF business car #60 - the only ATSF big dome car that didn't go to AutoTrain. It's now BNSF #31 Bay View.
Somewhere in California. Written on the back: The men couldn't move the stock car alone, but the horse and men moved it right along. Engine was late so they loaded and moved the car by themselves."
And even more so that it was loaded with Kodachrome! Can't tell exactly what year it was taken, but by the time color film was widely available and easy to afford, stock cars were history.
I know my father was shooting with color film before WW II and I was having stock cars at my work location in the early 1970's. So between the two was a long time that both color film and stock cars existed.
Color photo of a similar ATSF stock car taken in June 1968. https://www.rr-fallenflags.org/atsf/atsf26875jpb.jpg
When the Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe built through the western part of Galveston County, the communities of Hitchcock, Alta Loma, Arcadia, and Algoa grew up along the route. Soon the latter three communities banded together to form the Santa Fe school district, named after the railroad. Fast forward 100 years and the city of Hitchcock attempted to annex the three unincorporated towns. The three decided to incorporate under the name Santa Fe, after the name of their school district to fend off the takeover. Thus the new town of Santa Fe was born in Texas in 1978. Here is the office of the nearby Hitchcock depot. The old depot has been preserved as a museum.
Nice telephone on the wall. Wondering if it is a 'public' telephone to communicate with customers or if it is a railroad phone to communicate with company officials or the Train Dispatcher. In the depicted time frame telegraph would be the normal communications mode for Train Dispatching, and the depicted scene does not appear to be centered around the bay window section of the station where 'normally' the Train Order Operator would be located. The 'crew' shown look like they are associated with the Agency functions of the station.
