Arrow and added baggage cars

[NW Mailing List]

This is not strictly on the below subject, but I am reminded of one 
experience that I had during four years of trips between Bluefield, WV, 
(near my home close to Princeton, WV) and Berea College on the L&N in 
Kentucky.  Going back and forth I tried some off-the-path train trips 
(ie.. N&W to St. Paul,VA; CRR to Elkhorn City, KY; C&O to Ashland, KY 
and on to Winchester, KY; and L&N to Berea).  But my most-common rides 
were on the coaches of the N&W's Pocahontas and Powhatan Arrow between 
Bluefield and Cincinnati (L&N between Cincinnati and Berea).  The Arrow 
still had the P3coaches that were built for that train.  After several 
trips on the coaches of both of these N&W trains, I noticed that the 
older coaches on the Pocahontas rode smoother than the new P3 coaches on 
the Powhatan Arrow.  Anyone else notice a similar difference in the ride 
qualities of the two different groups of coaches?

Gordon Hamilton


On 1/4/2025 10:06 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>
> Thank you Ken.  Your response answered several of the questions 
> bouncing around in my head.  Walter Davis
>
> On 1/4/2025 9:43 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>> Walter
>>
>> The Arrow as originally planned in 1945-46 was a seven car train. That was why the order with Pullman-Standard included, two P-1 locker or crew cars, two P2 partitioned coaches, 10, P3 58-seat coaches, four D-1 diners (two for the Pocahontas) and two P-4 observation lounge cars.
>>
>> The seven-car trains were to be set up as follows:
>>
>> One P1 Coach or Locker Car with space for dining car crew and coach seats
>> One P2 Coach, partitioned coach for race separation to meet Virginia law
>> Three P3 Coaches
>> One D1 diner
>> One P4 Observation Lounge
>>
>> Unfortunately, the railroad fairly quickly learned, with the Arrow having run since April 1946, that three coaches were frequently too much, so it was cut back to one or two P3 coaches, depending on load and days of the week.
>>
>> Traffic never picked up except for holiday travel and other rare occasions.
>> By the early 1950s, the P1s were converted to full coaches with a smoking section.
>>
>> The train did not handle checked baggage, but about early 1957, a combine was added to the consist, I assume to handle some checked baggage.
>>
>> Along about the same time, it was not unusual to see a mail-storage car in the consist, that had been late arriving for another train.
>>
>> The N&W began a big effort to eliminate as much passenger service as possible. With attempted adjustments of the schedule with the timetable change at the end of April 1957 the RPO was placed in the Arrow west of Bluefield. I believe it might have been with schedule changes on the Cavalier, I’ve got a whole file on it, just not in hand at the moment.
>>
>> By early 1959, the round-end observation-lounge cars were parked and by May sold off.
>>
>> A few years later, the Arrow was then combined with the Cavalier, further slowing the schedule, and it was finally allowed to die in May 1969 as part of the upgrade of the Pocahontas.
>>
>> Best
>> Ken Miller
>>
>>> On Jan 4, 2025, at 7:08 AM, NW Mailing List<nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Does anyone know when the Arrow started adding baggage and/or post office cars to the consists of the original 5 car trains?  Walter Davis in Youngsville, NC
>>> -- 
>>> Walter Davis
>>>
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> -- 
> Walter Davis
>
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