I was watching old movies taken in the 40's and 50's by Joe Collias that included a very brief clip taken outside St. Louis Union Station showing two Frisco passenger cars moving past -- a blue-and-white heavyweight coach coupled to a red-and-silver lightweight coach. The clip did not show what was coupled to either end and so you can't tell if they were part of a train consist or if it was just a switching move. It raises the question, though, of whether some of the early-delivered coaches were actually put into revenue service before the inauguration of the new streamlined trains. Anyone have any information/thoughts on this? Certainly it is intriguing. Gordon
Yes I can finally know if my Blue and Silver/white passenger would work on my early 1950 layout. Most my train is Red/Silver Meteor equipment. All plastic with the exeption of a Hallmark Brass Sleeper car and a real wood Frisco reefer at the head end. It would make my train a little more interesting. Thanks again for the Sleeper Mr. Mott. Ship it on the Frisco!!! Murphy Jenkins
The Frisco Museum newsletter lists Of the wartime blue/gray and heavyweight red/siver paint schemes (Which I believe are scanned on this chat board) show the dates which cars were painted in and out of the B/G scheme and the dates which cars were painted IN the R/S scheme. A few cars were in both schemes and a few cars in each scheme co-existed. Someone else will have to guide you to the scanned newletters. Tom
Not doubting what you saw, but according to the list from the Frisco Museum, no blue and gray (Actually light gray or off-white) Frisco cars were still around in 1961. The last ones were repainted back to Pullman green in 1955. By 1961, there would only be a few red/silver painted heavyweights still in that scheme. Any blue/gray car you saw might have been a rare (That is, not regularly scheduled) B & O or Missouri Pacific sleeper?? Some odd colored cars appearing in the Meteor consist could have been a troop movement or some other kind of special with "foreign" line cars. Tom
Gordon--I Don't actually have an answer about streamline cars in the pre-streamliner era, but here's a somewhat related photo: Texas Special engines with a couple of blue/gray baggage cars. I think what we have here is the Will Rogers being pulled by the Texas Special E-7's (The run where they were broken in) before the streamline cars have arrived in 1947 or early '48. Tom
Tom That really is a great photo, but you have now managed to introduce another mystery into this thread as it certainly appears that the lead unit is burning its white marker light indicating that this is a passenger extra. Photos of the TS e-units, while always nice to see, are fairly plentiful whereas good photos of blue-and-white (or gray) passenger cars like the two in the photo, complete with skirts, certainly are not. I'd sure like to see more of them! Gordon
