Atlas DS box , NWP

[up1950s]

What a pleasant surprise , wow .

[nkalanaga]

I asked the question in the "Prototype Research" section, but so far no one has answered.  Maybe no one HAS the answer, as data seems to be scarce, at least online.  So, since you seem to be a fan of the NWP, I'll ask you.

Did the NWP have any interchange freight cars by the early 1970s?  I model 1974, but can fudge a little there.

If they did, did any of these cars make it to the 70s?  I know at least some of the Northern Pacific's cars of similar age lasted that long.

[bbussey]

I model 1958, so I might find a way to squeeze one of these neat-looking cars onto the roster.

[mcjaco]

My guess is they didn't make it east Brian. 

I don't recall them having a very big fleet of rolling stock lettered for that branch.

[wcfn100]

I don't believe cars without dimensional data could be interchanged.

Jason

[bbussey]

That's a good point.  The depicted artwork also may not be the final version however.

[Atlas Paul]

NWP has no cars listed in the 1971 and 1976 ORERs

[mcjaco]

^ They were long gone as a seperate entity by then.  That's what I figured. 

It's a very cool car, and one I'm getting one regardless.   

[highway70]

January 1965 Equipment Register does not list any freight cars  for the NWP.

In January 1953 they had 180 freight cars including 98 box cars number series 1900 to 1999

[sirenwerks]

The NWP's separate identity quickly faded starting in 1929, after the Santa Fe sold its interest to the Espee and the NWP monicker became nothing more than an old timer's reference. 

Not many know about the shared ownership of the NWP, they think of it as a branch of the SP, which it was after the sale and in all of our lifetimes.  But it wasn't like the Santa Cruz or Coos Bay branches.  The NWP was cobbled together in the late 1800s as East Coast deforestation was reaching its zenith (or would it be a nadir?).  The Espee was looking at entering the heavily forested North Coast by extending from its Bay Area connections, where it already owned interurban operations.  The Santa Fe was eying access by water, putting in at Larkspur, and actually started building at the NWP's northern terminus to head south.  Both realized two roads weren't necessary or even really physically possible, so the NWP was pieced together from over 40 paper railroads, logging roads, and narrow and standard gauge short and interurban lines owned by the SP, Santa Fe, or other interest that filtered down to control by one or the other class 1s.  Look at the depots and you can tell - the south end has SP-style, Eureka's was definitely Santa Fe standard material, and locales like Willits came from the land of misfit toys, with logging camp practicality influences.

[mcjaco]

^ It's a great little railroad, and the one I plan to model once I get settled into the house.  How can you argue being able to run SP venerable 1st Gen SDs and GPs in the 90's? 

[GaryHinshaw]

^ It's a great little railroad, and the one I plan to model once I get settled into the house.  How can you argue being able to run SP venerable 1st Gen SDs and GPs in the 90's?

+1.  I grew up next to NWP's Tiburon branch and I'm tempted to make my next layout based on it. But I gotta finish my current pike first...

[nkalanaga]

Thank you, everybody, especially Paul and Highway70.  The NWP still had a separate listing in the "Pocket List of Railroad Officials" for the 2nd quarter of 1972, but all it listed for equipment was locos and "misc" cars.  So it looks like I won't be needing any NWP boxcars.  Too bad, because the scheme looks nice.

[Nick Lorusso]

Nkalanaga,
The only equipment that would be present in the 70's for NWP would be MOW equipment. Aztec did a special run at one time of NWP MOW cars. The pop up on Fee Bay every now and then.

[mcjaco]

I'd be all over these, even though they're not my era: