The West Point Route: modeling the Alabama River sleeper
1957 SOUTHERN RWY. EQUIPMENT DIAGRAM FOR PULLMAN-STANDARD PLAN 4140 SLEEPER
stainless steel finish and lettered in the owning railroad’s name in a Gothic font. The Crescent’s consist was con- tracted to three car builders for the eight different carbody configurations. The Crescent had new equipment from front to rear, with ACF supplying only the baggage-dormitory cars, Budd sup- plying two styles of coaches and the dining cars, and Pullman-Standard supplying the baggage-RPO’s, two- drawing room/one master bedroom buffet lounges, ten-roomette/six-bed- room sleepers, and the boat tail five bedroom/buffet observation cars. The cars began arriving in 1949 and by March of 1950 the Crescent was pre- sented to the public in its gleaming, all stainless steel regalia. The Atlanta & West Point Railroad
and the Western Railway of Alabama took delivery of not only passenger cars, but also new locomotives in the form of EMD’s freight-passenger cab units, the FP7. The A&WP took deliv- ery of FP7’s 551 and 552 in August and September of 1949, which was followed by WRofA 502 and 503 in November. The 1,500-horsepower units were se- lected in favor of the standard passen- ger unit, the E8, for use in both freight and passenger service. The Western Railway of Alabama’s, and subject of our article, contributions to the Cres- cent included a Pullman-Standard- built baggage-RPO (No. 87), a Budd- built 52-seat coach (No. 106), a Pull- man-Standard 10-6 sleeper Alabama River, and a five-bedroom/ buffet obser- vation (Royal Palace).
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Bill of materials Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. No. 932-6840 P-S 10-6 sleeper
Evergreen Scale Models No. 103 .010″×.060″ Styrene
Kadee Quality Products No. 58 Semi -scale couplers
Plano Model Products No. 12005 Cut levers (optional)
Microscale Industries Georgia Group Railroads, passenger cars 1940-1970
Floquil Paints Primer, Glaze, Crystal Cote, Old Silver, Bright Silver, Weathered Black, Foundation
The prototype The Pullman-Standard ten-roomette, six-bedroom, corrugated-side sleepers were built to Plan 4140, which was al- ready in production as Pullman-Stan- dard’s River series. The roomette provid- ed a seat, a foldaway bed for one, a sink and toilet at a reasonable fare. The bed- rooms were larger, with seating for two, upper and lower berths, and an en- closed toilet. Plan 4140 also had varia- tions, such as Plan 4140A, 4140B, and 4140C, which differed in window arrangement and amenities. The five participating roads ordered thirty-six of the 10-6 sleepers as fol- lows: Southern Railway (24); PRR (8); L&N (2); A&WP (1); WRofA (1). Addi-
tional copies of the plan were also con- structed for FEC (5)1
, CNO&TP (5),
and RF&P (3). In all, 49 corrugated- side cars were constructed to this plan and named for rivers throughout the United States. The Alabama River and Chatta-
hoochee River sleepers were typically found on-line; however, as necessary, these sleepers would continue on throughout the Crescent’s route in its entirety to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Alabama River and Chattahoochee Riv- er sleepers could also be found in transcontinental service from Atlanta to Los Angeles via Southern Pacific’s Sunset Limited. During this period the Alabama River and Chattahoochee Riv- er were repainted to include Daylight Red letterboards and Pullman badge plates with white Gothic THE WEST POINT ROUTE lettering. The name board remained stainless steel with black Gothic lettering. The trucks were re- painted silver during this service to maintain a uniform appearance with the remainder of the consist. This transcontinental, all-Pullman service created quite a link for the Western Railway of Alabama and was just a part of the Alabama River’s history. As passenger service declined throughout the late 1960’s, the Ala- bama River and Chattahoochee River were relegated to inspection trains, limited use in mixed train service, or storage. On February 15, 1968, the Ala- bama River and Chattahoochee River were discontinued from use in the Crescent consist when Pullman and
OCTOBER 2012
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