LD Trains with mail - terminating points

[Cal]

When Amtrak used to haul mail on their routes, how did they handle pulling in/out of their origins and destinations? Since it seemed the train might be too long to fit into LAUPT or CUS. Did they drop off the mail before coming in, or did they always reverse into terminuses to ensure the superliners were on the platform (assuming the mail cars were between the engines and the baggage car).

 

[jis]

In Chicago they used to drop off the MHCs before platforming and picked them up in the yard after departing from the platform.

 

[Willbridge]

When Amtrak used to haul mail on their routes, how did they handle pulling in/out of their origins and destinations? Since it seemed the train might be too long to fit into LAUPT or CUS. Did they drop off the mail before coming in, or did they always reverse into terminuses to ensure the superliners were on the platform (assuming the mail cars were between the engines and the baggage car).

In Kansas City they switched mail cars in the yard west of town. In Denver and Portland, the station tracks were longer and the trains were shorter.

 

[Trogdor]

When Amtrak used to haul mail on their routes, how did they handle pulling in/out of their origins and destinations? Since it seemed the train might be too long to fit into LAUPT or CUS. Did they drop off the mail before coming in, or did they always reverse into terminuses to ensure the superliners were on the platform (assuming the mail cars were between the engines and the baggage car).

I don’t specifically recall what they did with the true head-end cars, but much of the freight during the late 90s/early 2000s was attached to the rear (especially roadrailers, which had to be on the rear, as well as any other non-HEP equipment). Those were typically dropped off in the yard before arrival / picked up after departure. Sometimes, if you were really lucky, they would pull straight in (at CHI) and sort it out after, but half the time it seemed they would back in, mess around with unhooking the freight from the rear, then slowly crawl back into the station (because they seemingly never wanted a quick arrival for passengers).

 

[Palmland]

I lived in Jacksonville when Ed Ellis began Amtrak’s mail and express program. It was exciting to see the new building that was erected at the station to handle the business and a switch crew stationed there to serve it.

Jacksonville is still an excellent place to do enroute switching with a platform for the two tracks (one of which is on the mainline). In addition there is a through siding that serves the now unused building and another track on its backside. At that time the switcher added the M&E cars to trains to/from the north. They also switched the Silver Meteor into Tampa and Miami sections.

The station could easily handle additional switching and an extended Palmetto (as it did then).

 

[MARC Rider]

When the Capitol Limited had a lot of mail/express in the 1990s and early 2000s, we always boarded in Washington on the lower level, with the mail cars and roadrailers trailing on behind into the !st st. tunnel.