Re: Was their Good Reasons to Heat the Baggage Car

Bill, The best reason to heat these cars was that an express man was paid to ride them. Another reason was that milk and other goods that would not benefit from freezing was carried in express cars. Less-car-load freight of all kinds was also carried in express cars, and this was a thriving business up to the late 1930s, contributing to making some passenger runs like the "San Juan" and the "Shavano" at least pay their way(along with the crucial mail contract). The railroad tried to get one express man to handle this increasing traffic, and often ther "San Juan" had as many as 6 express cars in consist. The expressmen's union did not like this, and wanted a man on each car. A strike in the late '30s ended this revenue source, and the railroad then limited express to just one car. After the strike the railroad made these express car surplus, and all but those equipped for "San Juan" service and #126 (The last survivor of the shorter express cars) we sold to the NdeM along with a group of surplus passenger cars in 1942. In Gerald M. Best's excellent and long out-of-print "Mexican Narrow Gauge" there are a couple of photos with these cars in their consists.