A few years ago, I wrote about B&O Mail & Express Trains 31 and 32 which, for a time, used the same P&LE tracks and station as the B&O through passenger trains I’m modeling. I learned about them from Harry Stegmaier’s book, Baltimore & Ohio Passenger Service, 1945-1971 – Volume 2: The Route of the Capitol Limited. The book features a photo of a double-headed 32 at the P&LE station in Pittsburgh in 1950. The caption notes that, “Until 1948, this train used the stub end B&O station on the north bank of the Monongahela. It was switched to the P&LE routing to avoid the long backup move from Laughlin Junction“. From that, my only takeaway was that I could model it in my time period. I found the consists for both trains (or “close enough” versions) in my B&O Through Passenger Train Consist Book No. 12. from October 1949. Later, I obtained a copy of B&O Pittsburgh Division Employee Time Table No. 61, which is where I finally learned what times 31 and 32 came through Pittsburgh (and McKeesport), since mail trains weren’t listed in public time tables.
I acknowledged at the time that the times …