B&M Pullman Standard Streamline Cars

[gokeefe]

I have been doing a fair amount of research related to these cars. Of the three coaches that still exist today (originally numbered B&M 4803 "Blackbird"/4806 "Chickadee"/4807 "Snowbird") one of them, "Chickadee" may not have been photographed since 2002 when it was sold by the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad to Southwind Rail Travel Limited (Reporting Mark: SRTX), a small private rail car leasing company located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Does anyone know the SRTX reporting number for this car?

[Engineer Spike]

How did the sale get brought to light? Did some disgruntled B&M employee bring this to the attention, of the authorities?

[edbear]

The Interstate Commerce Commission routinely audited the B & M out of its local Boston office (and it audited other Class I carriers in its district). The Form A Annual Report had to be completed and published by March 31 for the prior calendar year. The auditors looked at all financial aspects of railroads including equipment and real estate disposals, contracts, etc. The B & M disposed of quite a bit of equipment from 1955 onward. Schiavone & Sons were a New Haven, CT based outfit and opened a Boston operation at Mystic Wharf where they mostly cut up 30-40 year old heavyweight passenger cars, and some freight cars too and later the E-units. B & M sold lots of real estate too, to a favored buyer and his numerous real estate firms. The streamlined cars were sold to International Railway Car Co. Big difference was some of the officers were the same for International as they were for the B & M. This was a Clayton Anti-Trust Act violation because the sale of the cars was not put out for bid. B & M management also got caught in dealings with Traglam which had something to do with piggyback service or trucking. Same thing railroad officers were also Traglam officers. No B & M officers also worked for the real estate baron or Schiavone. A lot of B & M real estate went for bargain prices, but a lot of it was shabby and down by the tracks. Most of the rolling stock that was sold went cheap, but there was no market for40 year old coaches that were beyond their prime when B & M bought them on the 2nd hand market. I think the ICC auditors just stumbled onto the sale contract.

[b&m 1566]

Actually, both the B&M and MEC cars were delivered with maroon window bands, the MEC cars were re-painted with dark green in the mid 1950's when the MEC started painting their equipment green instead of maroon. I would also like to point out that these cars were never re-numbered, they spent their whole time on the B&M-MEC in the number series they were delivered in. They are as follows.

B&M DINER-LOUNGE - (70) BALD EAGLE (71) HERMIT THRUSH
B&M COMBINE - (3800) PURPLE FINCH (3801) BLUE JAY
B&M COACH - (4800) BOBOLINK (4801) ROBIN (4802) HUMMINGBIRD (4803) BLACKBIRD (4804) BLUEBIRD (4805) ORIOLE (4806) CHICKADEE
(4807) SNOWBIRD

MEC DINER-LOUNGE - (15) MERRYMEETING (16) ARUNDEL
MEC COMBINE - (540) LUMBER KING (541) FOREST QUEEN
MEC COACH - (240) ALAMOOSOOK (241) WEBHANNET (242) KATAHDIN (243) PARMACHENEE (244) SAGADAHOC (245) ABENAKI (246) KINEO
(247) PASSAMAQUODDY

Didn't the B&M have a stainless steel car called the Salisbury Beach too?

[gokeefe]

Yes but that was a sleeper from a different series.

[b&m 1566]

Oh, how many stainless steel cars did the B&M have in total (not including the RDC and the Talgo cars)? I didn't realize there were different series.

[edbear]

The B & M had the 12 1947 Pullman stainless steel combines, coaches, restaurant-lounge cars and 4 6-4-6 Pullman sleepers from a 1954 order. These were unusual as they were assembled in Worcester. Bangor & Aroostook bought two more off the assembly line and New Haven bought some more to retire some heavyweights it was still using on the OWL, MONTREALER & WASHINGTONIAN.