Though technically not a locomotive, MP motorcar 450 (in later years, this would be the streamlined Eaglette)was commonly used in conjunction with Mopac's locomotives in the Lincoln branchline's passenger service, seen here changing passengers at Union, Nebraska. - photographer and exact date are unknown, 1940-50's.

MP 670 Graphic by T. Greuter

Road Type First Number Final Number Builder Built Retired MP MotoRailer 670 670 ACF 1942 1961

Offspring of the Eagle - The Eaglette
It was September 1942 when the Missouri Pacific pressed into service new equipment as the connection to the still-new streamlined Eagle . The bi-directional streamlined Eaglette (aka Eaglet) MotoRailer, #670 was one-of-a-kind on the MoPac, patterned after an earlier AC&F design used by the Susquehanna Railroad. The 75' long passenger/baggage self-propelled motor train , built by American Car and Foundry in '42, balanced both service and economy for the 47-mile Lincoln to Union Branch, as a compliment to the Missouri River Eagle passenger service. The MotoRailer seated 34 passengers, weighed over 108,600 lbs and had a baggage capacity of 10,000 lbs. It bounced and jolted it's passengers along the line at a speedy 55 mph. The car was a perfect match to the Eagle's colors, quickly earning it the nicname Eaglette (also called Eaglet and Little Eagle). The motorailer epitomized modern streamlined passenger service of the day on the branch.

More than anything else the electrical ignition diesel-powered Motorailer resembled an Eagle passenger car that operated like a streetcar. In appearance, it was streamlined and rounded-smooth with an Egyptian-stylized spread-eagle ornementation on both ends, somewhat like the Eagle observation/tail cars were. With operational controls at both ends it could run in both directions -- just like a streetcar.

In 1942, during the height of World War 2, Lincoln residents were captivated by the unique vehicle. The Eaglet quickly achieved "celebrity status." Residents, travelers as well as railfans were won over -- the motorailer came to be an undeniable symbol of the Mopac in Lincoln. At a time when luxuries were few and far between, passengers were treated to the comforts of a streamliner while being able to view into the glass-enclosed engineer's cabin. A four-man crew consisting of the engineer, brakeman, conductor, and Railway Express agent were required to operate the 34-passenger capacity unit. In the book "Missouri River and Prairie Rails" we have the names and faces of the Eaglet crew from 1943: Pat Paterson, railway Express agent; David Hamilton, brakeman; C. B. Goodwin, conductor; and an unidentified engineer. D. H. Andrews, another brakeman for the Eaglet, is not pictured.

The front windows of the cabin allowed passengers a whole new view of rail travel, with unparalleled views of the scenic ride. Through the years the motorailer survived the usual crossing accidents and the extremes of Nebraska's weather. When unavailable, an older motorcar or even a steam driven train (powered by an Atlantic or light Pacific) of one or two cars would fill-in.

The Eaglet was a definite hit with the local kid population, achieving fame that would outlast it's all too brief career. A Lincoln-native now living in Eagle, Bob Soflin writes "I grew up in Bethany Park in the 50's... along the banks and in the depths of "Dead Mans' Run" ... where I used to fish for crawdads under the creek bridge between Cotner and 66th South of Vine. The banked curve between 56th and Cotner offered many hours of pleasure walking the rails waiting for the Eaglet and the daily freight. When no trains were expected the creek offered a diversion and when that didn't entertain us we chased wayward golf balls on nearby Park Valley Golf Course.

"Unfortunately, I also witnessed the horrible incident when the Eaglet was late one winter evening and collided with a car at 66th before any signals were installed."

"I loved the Eaglet and knew when she was coming every day. I got to ride her to Union and back twice before they took her off. I also remember seeing some steam freights and one time a circus train came through. "

But of all Bob's memories, one image stands out among the rest, "As the Eaglet approached Cotner from 56th to me it was the most beautiful thing I ever witnessed."

Over the dozen years of being assigned to the branchline, it became evident that the motorcar's ability to handle the more severe snow drifts of the "Siberian Sub" was less than adequate. During bad winters, deep drifts forced the motorailer runs to a standstill.

When word got out the the Eaglette's Lincoln-Union service was to come to an end, words of protest from the public reached the highest places. One letter written to the Nebraska State Railway Commision stated that no less than Paul J. Neff himself, MP's chief executive officer, heard of the impending retirement from of the Eaglette in 1952. It so happened that the motorailer was a long-time favorite of Neff's -- by the time he had his say the Eaglette was immediately back in service and the official responsible for it's early retirement was demoted.

Eventually, no doubt to the disappointment of the community, the seasonal problem, and the decline in passengers due to improved highways forced the Eaglette's task to be substituted by a more mundane MP bus at a lower cost to the road. The last Lincoln-Union run, a twice-daily ritual for a dozen years, occured on July 1954. But retirement wasn't in the picture just yet.

MP 670 was sent to MP's Sedalia, Missouri shops for an overhaul, completed in early 1955 with a pair of new Cummins 300-hp engines and an Allison torque converter. It's new assignment put it to work in the warmer climes of the Helena-McGhee, Arkansas run, inheriting the remnant of the Delta Eagle (which became a new adopted name). Snowdrift dangers were decidedly minimal here.

It wouldn't be until the decline of rail passenger patronage in the '60's that the MotoRailer was at last retired. Sadly the one-of-a-kind Eaglette's story ended at the scrapper's in 1961.

A little Background on the AC&F MotoRailer
American Car & Foundry, the Motorailers' manufacturer, was made up of 13 companies that produced various products over the years from all designs of railcars, to yachts, army tanks, buses, and even mixing bowls.

The self-propelled rail car, called a MotoRailer, were a big change from the noisy, smoky, brutish-looking gas-electric cars that many passengers were familiar with. The American Car & Foundry MotoRailers incorporated the latest in streamlining, had comfortable, visually attractive and air conditioned interiors and were propelled with low compression, electrical ignition diesel power with smooth shifting, torque-converter transmissions. They were also bidirectional with a cab at each end.

Information is spotty on these cars, but I've found them to be used on the PC&SW (4 units built in 1938), the O&W (# 805), the Susquehanna (#1001-1002), and on the Missouri & Arkansas. In 1947 the New York, Susquehanna and Western bought 2 ACF Motorailer's #1005 and 1006, which were sold back to ACF from the Illinois Central in 1943 and sat at the ACF Berwick plant for 4 years before the NYSW bought them. The Alaska Railroad owned Motorailer #213.

Most have met their ultimate fate at the scrappers, but there are still a few who escaped time. Motorailer #157 (listed as ex Norfolk Southern) is stored in Cuba of all places. And reportedly you can ride modified ACF Motorailer cars, powered by n.g. Baldwins, on Colombia's remaining steam-powered passenger routes in the mountainous Bogotá area.

Featured Photographers:

Sources:
Missouri Pacific river and Prairie Rails by Michael M. Bartels
Missouri Pacific Lines in Color by Joe Collias

Every effort has been made to get the correct information on these pages, but mistakes do happen. Reporting of any inaccuracies would be appreciated.