(erielack) re:Diamond

["Janet & Randy Brown" <jananran_@_mymailstation.com>]

The interchange of head end cars was common practice for through express and mail.  Many Erie pics show the very distinctive Santa Fe baggage car with the outside fishbelly frames.  Erie and Santa Fe used Dearborn Station in Chicago and so could easily exchange cars; the baggage cars are usually seen as first head car so they would be first off westbound or last on eastbound, carrying east coast/west coast traffic.

Interchanging at a common terminal was much easier than depending on someone to get one around from one of the other stations; however, since there were common terminals all over the country, a car at a specific terminal might not necessarily belong to one of the roads at that station.

Railroads paid perdiem (rent) for other cars on their lines and received perdiem for their cars on other lines, so they tried to keep things in balance.  Sometimes a car would get out of th pipeline, though; I have (via John McCourt) a picture of a Santa Fe train in San Berdoo and there, first head car, is an Erie ex-milk/now express box.

You could make a case for almost anything, but consist lists would be best for "common."

Randy Brown ELHS#16

------------------------------